Consolidating contemporaries - A peek into India & its difficulties

Overview:

India is sandwiched between two hostile countries as its immovable neighbors – Pakistan & China. At one end, Pakistan is a terror hub and is the open-source of radical elements. Various international organizations such as United Nations, FATF, etc. have already heeded to this. FATF has officially put Pakistan in the grey list of countries due to its support for the terror groups. If it does not rectify its way of business, it may be that it will be blacklisted. However, Pakistan has shamelessly ignored such moves. It has no regard for its citizens who are being turned to radicalism. A large number of somehow ‘well-to-do’ Pakistanis supports Pakistan-backed propaganda and not the actual development works. Hostility begets hostility and nothing else. On the other hand, China has high ambitions of becoming a world leader. It may surely not want other regional players to rise to its scale. It thus supports the hostility of Pakistan towards India. Not only that, but it is also turning a blind eye to the open terror attacks done by the Pakistan based organizations in India. China's dominance is being observed by its debt trap policies and over-militarization of the neighboring seas. It's a pity that it is on the same path as a once over-ambitious Japan which was cowed down by the nuclear disaster causing it to change its way. 

These are some of the key challenges that because of which India has to invest heavily in procuring weapons equal to the capacity of its neighbors. We are in a competition of weaponization. This is resulting in a wealth drain.

India's dilemma:

If we do not strengthen our borders, it will invite instability inside the country. A large pie of the budget is dedicated to defense-related subjects. There is a greater realization within the country and the government's thinktank of indigenizing the defense sector and thus saving the pie for the much-needed social development. However, we lack a great deal as a force factor to drive this in-ground. Our research & development is incomparable to the major countries, especially China & much behind the USA, still a global power whom we aim to compete with. Many of our universities often cite the lack of enough funds to work on the field and dedicate well to nurture the innovations. India's only a quarter of the students could graduate. Neither thus the human capital could grow at the required pace and nor human development as indicated by the global indicators of the Global gender gap index, hunger index, and so on. The condition is severe to the level that ambitious students do not see their future in the field. They often migrate to Europe or the USA and work in their universities. This brain drain is a major cause of worry that should be addressed on priority. 

It was only recently that some schemes were launched to check this. Also, a new National Education Policy 2020 has been put forward by the government. What matters more is the ground implementation. We all know that with the present bureaucratic system it is a difficult task. The spirit is tried to be emboldened by the new avatar of erstwhile Planning Commission, the NITI Aayog. It has been imbibing the culture of competitive federalism. For example, we have an Indianised SDG Index which measures the various states & the Union Territories on the basis of their achievements on the parameter. They are regularly ranking the units based on the cleanliness index.

Depth:

The legal system of the country is in total disarray. We have more than 3 crore cases pending in various Indian courts. This is obviously because of the socio-economic-politico situation in the country. Near to half of the legislators are facing criminal charges against them and even knowing their background Indians never mind voting for them. Later on, we complain that no work is being done and that no one comes to them once they are elected. The democratic set up of the country has given them the power to elect their own representatives. It seems that we are not fully utilizing the democratic powers that we possess. It is not that we do not have prospective aspirants for the job. The modern educated students do not see a future into this. There is a bad culture of political monetization. Those who have money power are having better chances for the job. The large demography often lacks the money to even start. Moreover, there is an insecurity that comes from being a middle-class mindset. Their parents would never encourage them to go to politics. Going for the Arts subject is a bad omen. He is considered a fool. 

Doing a Ph.D. is not encouraged, one, because the family needs a helping hand as soon as possible. The students are nourished to take an engineering degree or do an MBBS. The rest all are socially downgraded. In the past during the time of independence, most of our leaders were highly educated. Revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil, and so on were self-taught people who talked about ideas that the people of today do not even seem to understand.

Many of these are leading to misplaced priorities. During the elections, people are easily misled by religious overtones. 

Way to:

If this cycle does not end, we are bound to suffer. All of our problems are deeply linked to the law & order situation of the country. We need a complete overhaul of the judiciary & the legislature. If pollution is increasing, or there is poor urban design, we need people who take responsibility for their tasks. During the rains, our megacities are perennially drowned.

The unemployment of the youth is also because of their unemployability and lack of up-to-date skills. The trust of the people in the system has to be upheld. People should feel that they will not be betrayed and that apart from the normal day-to-day going of life, there is something more to it, morality, dignity & truth. This could prevent the laissez-faire system from turning into crony capitalism. Equal opportunity to all the people of the country, transparent polity, accountability will go a long way for the economy to rise. We have no reason not to learn from Israel, a tiny country surrounding with all kinds of problems, yet paving the way, bit by bit in terms of innovation & growth (I don't suggest its violent dealings with neighbors).

Thus we require both internal & external stability which is clearly linked with each other. Owing to our more permanent external situation, we need to work out with the internal atmosphere. To all of us & for the sake of our past legacy of tolerance, peace, non-interference, I wish us All the best.