India, a superpower...Really?

OK, this post is a reality check. While India is being heralded as the next superpower, what with the recent NSG waiver, the global takeovers by Indian companies, there are people dying of starvation in Bihar, of terror activities in our metros, of malnutrition in Vidarbha... As one of my teachers puts it, in India there are islands of prosperity amidst a sea of poverty. And we, sitting in Chandigarh, cannot ask for more. But sometimes a reality check is really needed to keep us firmly on the ground.

Well, there are 200 million children in India and 50 million donot go to School. And almost half of the child population in India is malnourished, nearly 50 million of whom are forced to work. 33% of all illiterates of the world live in India and 26% of the population still lives below the official poverty line. In the village areas of Orissa and Bihar, the poverty rates are worse than some of the poorest countries of Africa. 100 million people live in slums. And a few days back, a leading national daily reported India's emerging status as a cheap dumping ground for the toxic wastes of the west.

Is this the superpower we dream of, the India 2020 of some of our greatest leaders? Certianly not. There are a lot of challenges ahead which we need to face.We need to find out were we went wrong, where we are going wrong. And I think, this cannot be done without the participation of the country's youth, since all the work cannot be left to the government. The citizens have to be more sensitive to the needs of the nation. Rabindranath Tagore's words "Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection... Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake." cannot be more true.