Says latest report on malnourished children is disturbing
Policy planners and governments have been cautioned that India cannot remain a sustainable democracy if mass deprivations continue to be there denying acceptable levels of living for millions of people.
A deep sense of anguish was expressed that the latest report on malnourished children showed that “something is deeply wrong in India and it is completely unacceptable that children live malnourished while the country is claiming tremendous developments in science.”
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, put forth his thoughts on the direct link between sustainability and social issues at the inaugural session of a three-day international conference on ‘Science, Society and Sustainability,' organised by the Lady Doak College here on Wednesday.
“With a secular Constitution, India could guarantee religious and linguistic plurality. But, what is unacceptable is that at least 70 per cent of people in India still lack the ways and means to have acceptable levels of living.
Huge deprivations and mass deprivations are there even though there are government schemes. No significant dent could be made yet on the aspect of deprivation suffered by people and unless we address that major problem, this is not going to be a sustainable democracy,” Mr. Ram said.
Stating that Maoism/insurgency was also a sustainability issue, he said that issues such as deprivation were the roots of insurgency.
Referring to the Hunger and Malnutrition Report findings, which said that 42 per cent of Indian children are underweight, Mr. Ram said even though it was not a surprise, it was completely unacceptable since the country had been going towards a high growth trajectory.
Mr. Ram was very critical of the manner in which superstitions and irrational behaviour were still posing a burden to the country at a time when much emphasis was laid on science.
“At the recent Indian Science Congress held in Bhubaneswar, which was attended by the Prime Minister Manomohan Singh, many promises have been made on science.
Spending on research and development and publication of papers by Indian scientists in reputable international journals are some of the issues.
We need more political will in the sphere of science,” he said.
“The burden of superstition and obscurantism is not good. If society has to progress, it has to overcome the ill-effects of superstitions. Science has a major role to play,” Mr. Ram stressed.
He said that the Lady Doak College was playing a commendable role by giving social opportunities for different sections of society.
Robin Gottfried, Director, Center for Religion and Environment and Professor of Economics, The University of South, U.S., in his keynote address, spoke on the social dimensions of sustainability, environment and ecology.
Keywords: child malnutrition, Indian democracy
Comments:
India is a bundle of contradictions: high levels of economic growth on
the one side and poverty, hunger and misery for millions on the other;
development of science on the one hand and superstition, irrationality
and obscurantism on the other. Science in India has mainly been a
question of acquiring a technique; the philosophy, the world-view
behind science has never influenced even our scientists. Most
scientists themselves follow obscurantist practices. In the West the
emergence of modern science in 16th century was coupled with a new
rational outlook on the way the universe works and thus it offered a
challenge to the obscurantist religious world views. Religion itsef
was challenged to rethink and innovate. This process has not taken
place in India. Teaching of science will not ipso facto result in a
scientific world-view; that is what Indian experience teaches us. The
world-view behind the sciences has to confront the traditional world
views inherited from culture and religion.
It is all very good to make such speeches but where are the funds for making sustained investment in people's nutrition? Because of large scale movement of black money out of the economy the fiscal deficit target for this year has already been shot and the government is bent upon bringing a Food Security Bill that will bust the budget even more. All for a political cause!
When our prime minister has used the epithet 'national shame'
referring to the hugeness of malnutrition prevailing in India one
was at a loss as whether to weep or laugh at the hypocrisy of our
politicians. The prime minister the world believes is a great
economist. But his contribution regarding articulating the diagnosis
and cure for Indian poverty is yet to be heard. His brain child,
"Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme" has been
an utter failure is proved by the story of malnutrition.
When balance is broken between the cost of labour and the prices of products produced by the labour, this is what happen- more inflations. There was time when one income family could provide for the family. Now it takes two income just to survive. This because of unrestricted inflation on the prices of vital commodities, processed items etc. This cannot go on. Government & and country have confront this situation world wide and in India. Price inflation with regards to cost is the worst enemy of any progress. How can you keep up economy when one cannot pay for you basic needs.
With so much of advancements, and with so much of knowledge, still people are reeling under the poverty and their children are malnourished is simply unacceptable. It is responsible of not only the government, but also the fellow humans. In India, one part of the society is making merry for 24 hours for 365 days. But, a vast majority of fellow Indians, unable to even dream for one time decent food.
I am a reader of The Hindu for the past 30 years. And I appreciate its editors of The Hindu - who give importance to such human miserys in our country - rather than publishing ugly pictures for circulation purposes.
Reportedly, India today is characterised by 1. mass plunder/exploitation of the vast majority eking out a pitiable existence, by the few either ABUSING people’s authority & trust vested in them or, by TAKING ADVANTAGE of India’s corrupt politicians/bureaucrats, institutions & systems; 2. people’s democratic power neutralised by a clever labyrinth of bribes & social engineering measures (helpfully delivering communal vote-banks but tragically ensuring that these vulnerable groups remain sop-junkies forever) ; 3. unbelievable levels of mass deprivations(70%); 4. practically everyone enduring daily harassment through instruments of government; 5. almost all denied any hope of fair redress under the law; 6. the above leading to destruction of any sense of justice, equality of opportunity, and moral/ethical values in society. UNLESS CHANGED, does anyone really think that the economy can thrive in the medium term or, that technological, economic ‘fixes’ alone can deliver mass prosperity?
In this conference speakers should highlight the effects of science research either fundamental or applied,on the development of the deprived society.If crimes are inflicted in the name of certain beliefs,the criminals should be punished,since we are not fully euipped to question the beliefs which are in existence for so many years.people are deprived of their rights due to so many accepted practices under our democracy.Those are also to be attacked by the speakers.
We are more or less used to accepting gaps in deliverables in certain functional areas without even viewing as who is responsible.One can even forget accountability on a case to case basis. However, when you look at cumulative progresses in the overall context one tends to agree when Mr.N.Ram says"But, what is unacceptable is that at least 70 per cent of people in India still lack the ways and means to have acceptable levels of living".
"India cannot remain a sustainable democracy if mass deprivations"
Very well said. One of the most dangerous development we have been observing is the sheer exploitation of people from places like Orissa, north east, who have been emigrating in large numbers to rest of India in search of livelihood. These unfortunate people are forced to do horrendous and dangerous semi skilled jobs which the locals will not agree to do. These workers have to do with no defacto protection of law. This existence of "second rate citizens" are a great danger to our democracy and cannot be wished away unless there is a balanced growth with out leaving large swath the republic untouched.
I think by calling India the "IT superpower" and channeling the next generation of scientists and engineers towards IT jobs, we have made a big mistake for the long run. It only helps private profit, the "jobs created" are somehow unreal; they are created by "clients", and nothing has been created except the glorification of labour arbitrage.
From Himachal Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh, Shimla, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka it is impossible for people with small land holdings to grow any food or fruit as Monkeys come in invariably and eat / destroy everything. Mangoes have to be removed raw and poisoned with calcium carbide to ripen as not a single ripe mango can be found on a tree.Best to transfer the monkeys that invade towns to Islands where there is a large water divide. Tourists can then go and feed the monkeys, but they manage quite well on roots and leaves and flowers. City monkeys are aggressive for when they cause a nuisance, people in anger stone them or try to get rid of them with crackers etc... This keeps them in a constant level of stress. Also they produce babies every FIVE months and the dominant male then impregnates all the females even it's young daughters,so they increase exponentially. Monkeys have their own way of communication. Once they are sent to islands, they will learn to stay away from towns
What else, other than the deprivation fo vast majority, our liberalizers and planners had expected when they removed the upper celing on CEO salary without keeping bottom limit and a link between them to ensure a quality living for the downtrodden, viz. daily wage earners, sweepers, cleaners, clerks, etc?
N. Ram is on the dot with respect to the material Indian condition, and in the context of the conference, he has mentioned, but not elaborated, on science and superstition. One may trace the morphing of the ideas a long way back in time, but the contemporary problem is the matter of discovering commutative tolerance. I am reminded of my physics professor who repeatedly quipped that electrons are green - it took me awhile (many years, in fact) to realise that he was making a statement about modern (quantum) science - the breakdown of pure objective experience at extreme limits. In the lab, the observation of the electron is mediated by the green phosphor of the 'scope, legitimising his quip. Science represented the body of reliable or logically derivable knowledge classically; but in the modern sense, in denoting a specific path to the body of knowledge, is susceptible to become tomorrow's superstition! Let us not attribute to science (alone) the sustainability of our society!
We are all obsessed with the periphery without addressing the root cause of the problem. It is high time we realised that the present model of governance can never resolve the problem of poverty in this country.Unless there is decentralisation of power to the grass roots our real issues cannot be tackled. Real planning must be bottom up and not top down.The people at the grass roots should have the authority and wherewithal to solve their problems.Our people are quite mature and capable of taking care of themselves without interference from politicians and bureaucrats.Technology if it is made available to the people, can go a long way can removing poverty.
The reforms of 1991 have been partially successful and could not achieve the expected outcomes. Death by starvation, malnutrition and illiteracy continue to haunt our policy makers. Our policy makers have to understand that the trickling down approach of development has largely failed and we need bottom up approach of development. In this context, the MG-NREGA, RKSY like programmes are of immense significance provided they do not succumb to corruptive practices. A strong and able leadership is of prime need for formulating and
implementing the plans. The Congress should rise to the occasion and repeat the reforms of 1991 though in a modified way considering the changes that have place. That is also the best way to woo the voters.
After reading the article and comments on it, one thing comes in my mind is E-Governance in India. Technology is well developed in India, but Bureaucrats are not showing their interest in it because of lack of vision or etc. One thing we should understand that to prevent corruption in this country Lokpal Bill is not only the solution, Science and Technology can also play a major role to stop corruption.
It may sound irrelavant here,but the fact is.unless we do something to change our social structure,or atleast somebody comes forward to boldly address it,we are not going to see any significant development in Indias plight against these drawbacks.The problems India faces today is mostly connected to and is the result of a faulty social structure,address it first,the problems will autimatically diminish.It would demand a significant change in our economic,legal,political, cultural,and our religious(includes caste) system,and it cannot be corrected by a single person or Government,the society as a whole has to get involved.We always talk high about our culture and society,and never prepared to look into the drawbacks it holds,change that attitude,we can see a change here.May sound irrelavant,give it a serious thought,you will find the reason and connection.
We are too much talkative about the physical corruption but silenced about the corrupted policies.In our country policies are formed and implemented by the representatives of 1%.They don't understand the problems of the majority people in the grass root level.Public funds are looted in the name of development and disinvestment.The policies such as economic,eduction which have deep impact on the masses are determined within the frame work of liberalization.Privatization has become our motto.The officials of liberalization policies are strong enough to bribe our political parties (except the left I see a ray of hope there) and bureaucrats. They decide how we think and act.In such a situation the state of common man is not going to change.