The Reflections of a Voter

I am well aware of the magnitude of carrying such a large nation, as India. Being its leader, must be the most onerous task. India comes with her own unique problems, among which, a few need to be more comprehensively looked into.

People

Small hamlets appear on the highway, coursing from one city to another. From the cool comfort of your car, you see there is a tree and around it a structure that acts as a seat for the village folks, and sometimes as a settee when they need to curl up for an afternoon slumber under that tree. Most often, I have noticed the bucolic innocence of photo-aging on the faces of farmers, are lines of labor and no returns. India’s majority population are agriculturists. The next leader needs to employ a completely new approach to this sector. Merely giving loans under one scheme or another, or even waiving it off, is not going to improve the lives of these people. That would be a temporary relief. Hybrid seeds and fertilizers are really of no use when the farmer has insufficient water for the process of irrigation.

The question the next prime minister needs to ask is, are small farmlands a boon or the bane? A small farmland may not yield optimally. A farmland, which cannot be dispensed with either, because it acts as a home, and as many forms of identity for the individual and his family. It evolves into a sentiment. The next prime minister must find a way to make these small farmlands productive by new methods of conjoined farming. Will productivity increase with physically joining the farmlands, resettling the farmers and houses in a planned manner at the border? Yes! Farmers grow shrubs marking their ownership of the patch of farmland. The hedges use up fertile land. There will be an increase in the square meter of arable fields once the hedges are gone. The farmers can cultivate as a unit and proportionally divide their produce. These are avenues and facts that must be looked into, as small farmlands are just not lucrative.

The schools have just concluded their exams. The boards, across the country will be conducting more exams depending on the course. Education is the central focus in any family. Yet after arduous years of studying there are few jobs to be found. The unemployment rate is currently high. There is also disguised employment and underpaid jobs. Sometimes I worry that this may not be within the realms of any Indian government, to solve this problem, because their focus is on five-year populist plans, and then more about returning to the seat. Governments need to initiate job-opportunities. A plan must be initiated for sustained creations of jobs, in the future, evaluating population projections. For which party egos must be set aside, and the way politics is today in India that is a near impossibility. New approach to job creation is required, like government to government job contracts abroad. The nuances can be worked out. Medical tourism too can be partnered with other countries. 

Laws and Engineered Polarization

The traffic is chaotic, a scooter will surprise you head-on, in a one-way. Okay you avert a potential accident and heave a sigh, but the daring motorist will mock your anxiety. Throw you a glance of disdain and weave his way through traffic breaking every rule in the book. There are sufficient and plenty laws drafted we just need to heed. The road is just one example. The question is are we honest enough to follow laws? We need adherence.

A garbage truck grabs my attention. The driver of the truck has become immune to the stench. The guy who rakes the garbage, in and out of the truck, is sleeping on the pile, while he rides to the dump! This is economic polarization. Polarization can happen as a natural course, by subjection of certain sections of the Indian society to more difficult and harder jobs, with low pay cheques. This economic polarization can pave the path of crime. This could well be an endemic practice, but leaders have to awaken to such oppression and act as Abraham Lincoln did, as and when. Give citizen and business houses equal opportunities to grow, evolve and return to the country with job opportunities for others.

More importantly it is sad to see fellow Indians live in fear and distrust. To say more on this matter maybe overstepping in the current political scenario. It is sad that even friends have become divided in this political mislead. I must think of the problems faced by my country and think of the peace that must prevail for economic growth and harmony and then cast my vote. I cannot be governed by people who engineer me to hate my fellow countrymen. Education and media can be better used.