‘Growth, expansion, increase’ are some of the terms associated when one refers to the term ‘development’. Development means progress, it means to evolve with time to time, it means to adapt and change our self to the future course of action. We have been seeing a whole lot of news around shouting India is on a developmental graph. There has been a lot of growth in India. But the question still remains are we developing?
There are a plethora of issues which can be aimed at to tackle a complex issue called ‘a country’s development’. Lot of questions can be raised as to what is the real cause of development- what is/are the determining factor(s) that an portray India’s image as a development per say? Education, literacy, economics, increasing trade, good relations with developed nations, happy and satisfied people, good infrastructure, better conditions to live in, eradication of poverty, employment and more? – I would say a healthy and a proper mix of all these is the formative pattern for so called ‘development’. But have we asked ourselves – where do we really stand on the matters related to these? Is the current education system right for the kind and manner of edification they subscribe to? Education is seen as a means of business and money making in the current scenario, rather than imparting knowledge. Politicians have found a ‘noble’ way of creating social service by acquiring huge chunks of prime lands in the city and setting up these money minting businesses in the name of educational institutions.
Literacy? How many of us are really literate? By being literate I do not mean acquiring degrees after degrees – literate meaning being educative and aware of the kind of role he/she has to perform as a part of the development process?
Economics – with the ever increasing inflation rate, is India on a developmental path or a subsidal one. Inflation accompanied with recession created huge vacuums in the market. Storing large numbers of food grains unnecessarily in the godowns, some erratic policies of the government – creating huge difference in the demand and supply of goods- is this development? Increasing trade and keeping good relations with foreign countries – creating avenues for the newer foreign companies and their penetration into the Indian market leaves a major trail in the form of loss of small scale industries, huge failure in terms of generating employment – rather than encouraging local talent, being spendthrift for foreign services – is this development?
We often refer to the leaps of development the Indian cities are making- but no body questions – is this called development? Majority of Indian cities today are on sprawl- it is no development. There is a major difference between what is a development and what is a sprawl as far as city is concerned. Creating opportunities for unnecessary expanse of a city – not envisioning the direction of progress leads to huge graphical differences as far as city development is concerned. Rather than creating infrastructural facilities for the existing population there has been a needless addition to the existing infrastructural network. Hardly anybody augments the city’s actual needs –rests are just repeatedly raping it. No proper studies and no trained or skilled professionals are hired for the huge infrastructural needs of the city. A trend to imitate approaches of foreign cities and repeating the same without inspecting its need in India is on a rampage. Money and self profit is driving this expanse which is often referred to as development.
Rather than creating better living conditions – we are creating worsening conditions for the future generations. They will curse us for the kind of developmental pattern left for them to follow. We ourselves mention to ourselves- what will happen to the cities 20 years from now, somewhere we ourselves are forecasting its downfall.
The term ‘development’ has also very genuine meanings like maturity, progress, improvement- and it is high time we indulge into the real meaning of these terms if we want to call ourselves developed. Creating smarter societies, humble living conditions, deploying the land resource properly, creating awareness amongst ourselves, choosing between logical than emotional is the need of the hour, which can give a true and true meaning to the term ‘development’
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