Stop blaming govt, says Amartya Sen

Nobel laureate Dr. Amrtya Sen being honored by Sangita Reddy, chairperson of FICCI APSC Jyotsna Angara, Chairman FLO, in Hyderabad on Thursday. PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said people should start questioning and discussing issues of importance instead of blaming the government.

At a session organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organisation here on Thursday, he said: “The government does what people demand in a democracy. It is the failure of governance and of the cities. India lags behind countries like Bangladesh and sub-Saharan Africa in providing basic facilities like public toilets.”

The country should groom the culture of discussing problems in a big way and the answers lie within us,” he added.

Neglected sector He said primary education in India has been thoroughly neglected and talent was restricted.

Need for better varsities Responding to a question on why India could not create world class universities, he observed: “It is not a mystery. It is just that we did not choose to create and we are not doing it. But there is a great need to create.”

For the girl child

Reflecting on the female characters in the Mahabharata and sources of inspiration for women and girl child, he felt stories of ‘Chitrangada’ and episodes of ‘Kunti samvada’ could be of great help to the younger generation.

Asked what advice he would give to his children that could be passed on to the girl child in India, he said they should be given a lot of advice.