What 62 years of Independence has brought for India Part 2(Cont)~~~~

The date is 1st January,2009 almost 62 years after achieving Inpependence in 1947 little Chinki is busy packing her bag to leave for school in a little village 55 Kms from Bhuj, Gujarat, India. Lured by promises of free Mid-Day Meal and other freebies thousands of children like Chinki are attracted to attending school 5 kms from her village. Every morning 100's of children from the nearning villages travel by foot/cycle to reach a District Centre where under a banyan tree and a small hut in shambles is the village school. The lone education centre for the next 150 kms. Seated under a banyan tree with a broken slate in her hand Chinki and her friends recite Ka,Kha,Ga religiously. Chinki is just in the 1st Standard and in the tree next to hers children in the 5th Standard recite A,B,C,D. Some are simply strolling or fooling around. All are waiting for the clock to tick 12 and there is time for lunch. Rice and Vegetables the scheme launched by Congress Govt to lure children to school in 2003 having a budgeted outlay of Rs 12,000/- crore in 07-08 has been highly successful. Yes it has been successful not in spreading literacy and education levels in the country but in filling the deep pockets of corrupt officials whose primary motive in life is to siphone off funds meant for the poor.

India once an epicentre of education and knowledge with world class universities like Nalanda and Taxila which were ruined by the Mughals and the remaining infrastructure was destroyed by the British. Gone is the ancient system of Gurukul education and the Guru-Chatra relationship that existed. The British enslaved us and prevented any education of our growing population as awareness and education encourages people towards revolution. Thus this system has stuck with us till date. Just have a look at our village schools and our you would be reminded of a cow shed. With no books, no teachers schools in rural India have become a canteen where children of the BPL families come to fill their belly and the entire purpose of the Central Govt gone down the drain. With no progress in the sphere of education taking place India stills lacks a lot behind. The education levels in India is as low as 61% as recent as 07-08 according to the UNDP report. And here by educated we don not mean to say very fluent in English or Spanish. In India education is when a person is able to write his/her name in basic HINDI. The point to lament is that still 49% of the Indians do not know how to read or write ven in Hindi. They instead prefer to use their thumbs.

Rapid investment in Rural schools an infrastructure is the basic need of the hour. Today more than 50% of the village lack basic pukka roads and have to walk over mud and sometimes cross even rivers and lakes to reach their schools only to find no basic education or knowledge addition taking place. With no rules, discpline, principals, the tyrant village headmaster with a thick stick in his han reins supreme in the rural villages even today. The Headmaster instead of fulfilling his duty and teaching the little kids is busy selling food grains and other grants and aids provided by the Govt. He is more interested in providing private tutions in his village than teaching the kids and thereby doing his work.

India is corrupt down to the very core and we Indians have taken corruption as a way of life here. Not aware about our rights we prefer to bribe the officials than to take burden to find out officially the correct way of doing the work be it getting a ration card, driving license or any form of work. The fact remains that we Love to Bribe and Cheat the system. We like doing smart rather than hard work an it is this mentality tat has rotten the entire system of governance in India. Unless you grease the palms of the babus no progress in our work takes place.

India has to concede lessons from its neighbour China and that too fast. The GDP of China and India were comparable in 1980 but today China's GDP has swollen to 4.5 times that of India and growing faster day by day. China is all set to emerge as the next global economic power  its GDP will take over the GDP of US by the year 2026 and thats not too far away. China embarked on the road to liberalization in 1973 and the task has not been easier there too but China has what India lacks the Political Will to reform. That has been the basic difference in the ideologies of the two countries. With vote bank politics ruling over everything in India and still the political will to clear the hurdles and bring about reform not present due to fear of criticism and hue and cry by the leftist, India is stuck in the track.

Thus enslaved by the Britishers India still is afraid to dream and reform without foreign aid. It is still wating for IMF or the WB to bring about economic reforms in their own country but the matter of fact is that reform has to come and that too fast. But the staus quo policies of the present Congress Govt doing no good to iniate reforms the future does not looks very certain and bright. With loads, and loads of reports, recommendations, suggestions by the best and the brightest minds of India and the World pilling up on the PM's desk he is seemed the least concerned. Being a babu of the central govt he is most experienced in carefully arranging piles of papers all around him afterall he has 30 years of experience in the very same job.

We dont know what the next decade(s) will hold for India but a starking question still remains Is India afterall FREE????? I have severe doubts.....wat abt u?????