THE PROBLEM OF PROPORTIONS
So, against all my promises, it takes me 7 months and 17 days to return to my Pensieve. Life was tiresome in 3-1 and it has redefined the word boredom in 3-2, as far as acads go, though, frankly speaking, I enjoyed all the slogging in 3-1, and it just isn’t fun any more, in 3-2.
Nevertheless, let me move away from boring you with my own tale, and let’s get down to the topic of this blog.
The blog is not about my own disproportionate-looking tummy, but rather about the lack of proportion, which exists within the Indian nation, in every walk of life.
Let’s begin with Forbes’ list of the wealthiest people on the World. Statistics show that half of the top 8 richest people in the world are Indians (LN Mittal, the Ambani brothers and KP Singh of DLF fame), yet, on the other hand, we see people struggling for even 1 square meal a day, in many parts of India. These 4 people are hardly a reflection of the true India.
Even if we remove these “exceptional” billionaires, statistics show that globalization has improved the quality of life by leaps and bounds, and they also show an increase in the per capita income.
These statistics are misleading. They are depicting the urban scenario, more often than not. In a situation of huge contrasts, we can find headlines depicting the “achievements” (for want of a better word), of Messrs. Ambani and farmer suicides, on the same front page of a newspaper. Remember though, that we needn’t go over the moon regarding the former headline, since the person is a businessman after all, and is concerned about his company, and all the good that he does to the nation is restricted to providing jobs, or open a few educational institutions for profit. Without these farmers, however, we might have nothing to fill our stomachs. This might seem an exaggeration, but until we sort this problem out, we might see the food crisis deepen further. Already, people are dying of hunger, and the last thing we need is the food suppliers giving up on life. (PS: Apparently, the chief Minister of Maharashtra, in response to the farmer suicides in Vidarbha, enlightened us with these gems: “Suicide is a crime, and the farmers are lucky to get away with it.)
State Governments want to promote foreign investment in their own state, and bring the city life up to the mark by opening malls, multiplexes et al. The Central government, on the other hand, is engrossed with formulating policies it cannot implement, or sign MoU’s with other countries (definitely, not wrong). The governments, both at the Centre and at the State level, have got their priorities all wrong. The central government cannot bring forth a definite framework for national development. The state governments, on the other hand, are going for the glitz, instead of strengthening the roots. And no one needs reminding that weak foundations will lead to the structure capsizing. Great nations have been built through strong development at the grassroots.
This unequal development leads to a widening gap between rural and urban life, and a lack of facilities in the villages. Further, it also affects the cities, as people migrate to the urban areas in search of a better livelihood, thus putting extra pressure on the city, and depleting the rural areas of the required human resources. Great nations have been built on strong foundations, and there is no need to reiterate the danger, which “weak roots” pose to the national structure.
All that I can say regarding imbalance in governance and development is: The rich can take care of themselves; it is the poor who need the helping hand, in the form of resources, education etc. Obviously, food for the poor is more important than a new mall for the spoilt brats of the rich. Let governance be more uniform, and let it first focus on grassroots development.
The scenario in the sphere of education is none too rosy. Here also, we have a disproportionately large number of engineers, yet there is no fruitful research work going on in India. The guys either end up writing useless bits of code for the software companies, or drain their brains in the US of A. Such a large population of engineers, but the country hardly gets anything back. Again, in the field of medicine, we cater to patients coming from the middle east etc. yet there is no one to ensure better healthcare in the rural areas. For all the subsidized education that they get, the medical students protest against being sent to the rural areas on deputation. A fine way indeed, to repay your debt to the nation!!!!!!!!!!!! Basic sciences have been neglected. Great institutions like IISc Bangalore and TIFR Mumbai are not getting the respect they deserve. And, the less said about commerce and arts, the better. My view is that people from all education streams are needed, but somehow most Indian people have a tendency to believe that commerce and arts (especially) is for losers.
And last but not the least, we can see the same lack of proportion in sports, where poor administration, combined with neglect, has ensured that the Indian hockey team won’t walk out onto the turf in Beijing. Those people, who, 40 years ago, believed that it was a shame for the national hockey team to come second, would never have envisaged such a horrid turn of events for Indian hockey. Similarly, with a 1 billion (and counting) population at it’s disposal, our football team can’t even qualify for the Asian Cup. A sad state of events for the country, which narrowly missed the bronze medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and won the Asian Games Gold medal in 1951 and 1962!!!!! And, on the other hand, we see the Indian Premier League, a cheap publicity gimmick in the guise of cricket, which reflects the times, and how business and commercialization of cricket has spelt doom for the other sports. Every leap year, there will be voices saying “1 Olympic medal for a billion”, and yet somehow, with the largest non-participating contingent to the Olympics, we manage to come back with the solitary medal. In other countries, they may as well be scoffing at us, for such a PATHETIC track record.
There are many more “disproportionate” examples which I can quote, but I am more interested in speaking the reason for this imbalance. I may be wrong, but two reasons which I can point out are 1) Money and 2) Herd mentality.
There is nothing wrong in earning money. Nothing wrong!!! The more money people earn, the further the living standards increase. However, doing anything blindly in the name of earning money is foolish. This is precisely the malady which India suffers from. OK, choose your career stream judiciously. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Ensure that you will be earning sufficiently, and can have a comfortable life. At the same time, just don’t choose any stream, only because there is more money in it. Give some credence to your interests. If you are good enough in it, the money will automatically follow, you will have a comfortable life, come out in life with flying colors, and what’s more, be at peace with yourself, because you are doing something because your mind is in it. Else, you will end up like those people in the Monster Ads. Out of Place!
This may seem too philosophical, you may have heard it a thousand times before, yet it is necessary to bring home this point again, because, in recent times, people have made a habit of repeatedly going against these tenets. People enter Engineering in droves, only because thy feel that it is a route to a hidden treasure chest. Catering to this large population is the recent trend of “An Engineering College per Colony”. And to cap it all, at the end of 4 years, every engineer; civil, chemical or electrical, ends up in a software company. And the others, who end up as true engineers, go to the US to do an MS, and add to the burgeoning population of Indians in the USA.
I agree, post-graduate engineering education in India is not up to the mark, but then, that’s due to the absence of good teachers. Even if we remunerate the teachers well and ensure that facilities are available for higher research through Government funding, I don’t know whether they would want to stay back. Their attitude will be “Who would become a professor?” A clear case of false notions, herd mentality and money-mindedness!!! And this herd mentality also ensures that these students never take up the long tough, yet highly rewarding path to entrepreneurship. If we had high-level research in India through entrepreneurs, many of the problems mentioned above would be rectified. However, there are two other reasons for the lack of entrepreneurs. The tendency of the young generation to expect quick results, coupled with the familial pressures to get married, settle down etc. are deterrents to entrepreneurship.
There is a lot of money and fame to be earned in basic sciences, and all that is needed for a person is to chart out the path towards his goal. This is the same of every other field. This might sound cliche’, but money and fame are there to be earned everywhere, and all that a person needs to do is to create his own destiny. Unfortunately, no one wants to chart out the path, and all that they want is the roadmap and the directions to be given to them. This is the reason why someone interested in the sciences often goes for engineering, because the “herd” is going there, and he/she doesn’t want to miss out.
PS: In terms of encouragement to the basic sciences, BITS-Pilani rox to the core!!!!!
It is commercialization, coupled with poor governance, which has spelt doom for the other sports. While the presence of industrial barons such as Dalmiya, AC Muthaiah etc. in cricket ensured the flow of the big bucks in cricket. All the other sports federations are being headed by politicians, with 1 or 2 exceptions, and they are champions in that useless game “the BLAME game”.
Sample this: Mr. VK Malhotra, MP from Delhi, and chief of Indian Archery Federation for atleast 35 years, when asked about the failure of the Indian archery team to win any medals at the Athens Olympics replied: “Why are you asking only me? Ask the chiefs of other federations the same question.”
Very Snappy retort, one may say.
But, we return to the point, it is their lackadaisical approach, because of which proper facilities are not being provided. They are simply not interested in attracting sponsors and promoting the sport. This, coupled with the fact that the sponsors see money only in International cricket, not even Ranji Trophy finals, has ensured that other sports are not getting any attention.
The governing bodies have to generate public interest in the sport. This, they can do, by ensuring better sporting and training facilities, so that we are able to churn out champions. Public enthusiasm, and hence sponsorship will also follow. More people will thus take to the various other sports.
PS: I don’t mean to criticize the Indian cricket team in any way. I am myself a big cricket buff, and extremely pleased with the professional performances Team India has given in recent times. Yet, I feel that the benefits of employment under the sports quota, as is the case with other sports, needn’t be extended to them, since they are well off, in fact, raking in the millions without these benefits.
btw, All is not rosy in the World of cricket. Read this:
http://in.sports.yahoo.com/080320/48/6rz2f.html
Till then, Goodbye!!!
Signing off On “Holi”day
Ashwin Iyer
