HYDERABAD: Govt has lost touch with people Hoshang Merchant, 70, poet, author
“When I was born in 1947, my parents wanted me to become an IAS officer. How could have I become one? If there’s corruption all around, then one cannot think of honesty and high ambitions. It’s dishonesty that you see all around you. I gave up the idea and went to USA for higher studies, and when I came back, Emergency was declared. So many years have passed, nothing has changed.Globalisation is a challenge for the people of middle class who don’t get fat pay cheques.
Thanks to this demonetisation our economy is doomed. Foreign policy with China isn’t good. To top it all, we have mob lynching and restrictions on choice of food. I won’t be surprised if the ruling party changes the Constitution entirely and converts India to a Hindu Rashtra much like Nepal. It will take a long, long time for us as a Nation to emerge from this darkness.”
A distant memory Avay Shukla, 60-plus, retired IAS officer
India doesn’t present a very pretty picture in 2017. Especially over the last three years, it has become a nation of paradoxes. The economy is growing at 6.9 percent, but there are no jobs for the 20 million being added to the rolls each year. The informal sector has been devastated by demonetisation, the formal sector confused by GST. We talk proudly of our ancient culture and values but have forsaken its best parts - tolerance, respect for women, accommodation of religions. We venerate our classical sages and wise men but hound intellectuals, writers, artists, teachers. We worship the female form as Kali, but kill female foetuses in the womb or rape them when they emerge. We declare that Kashmir is an integral part of India but treat its citizens like enemies. We swear by the rights of Scheduled Castes and Tribals but flog them on the streets and in police stations. We talk of the future, but our behaviour is regressing. The true meaning of Independence Day is becoming a distant memory.
Miles to go before we sleep Sandhya Janak, 50-plus, character artiste in Telugu film industry
In these 70 years of Independence, we did make remarkable strides from political arena to socio-economical life with many firsts in space technology, low cost nuclear energy, telecom, aviation, but unfortunately, we are still backward in many respects like the education of the girl child,child marriages,gender discrimination, dowry deaths, unemployment, women safety etc. It’s high time we don’t get into the patriotic mode only on special occassions, but fulfill our goals and obligations on a daily basis, like a self-inflicted discipline. One should feel proud of one’s country, its heritage and historical glory to be able to bring abut a change in the mindsets of people and their habits. Let’s make PM Modi’s ‘Acche Din’- “Good days are coming” a reality as India approaches its 70th birthday to make it a healthy, tolerant, secular society as our founding fathers dreamt of!
Let’s cash in on our vast demographic gain
Lakshmi Nambiar, 40, Director, Shrishti Art Gallery and Partner, Anthill Ventures
To me one of the most important transformation in India since independence is the economic reforms in 1991. Our country opened up to the global economy, reforms encouraged competition pushing economic growth. And now the implementation of the GST is another landmark transformation for how we do business and pushing the country into a common market. I am very bullish about India and it’s future as long as we can empower, educate and provide necessary skills to make the youth employable and make the best use of the the huge demographic advantage that we have. Only regret is that the growth was not all inclusive. The situation of the very poor remains the same. I do wish that we can do a lot more for the poor in the next four decades than what we have done in the last four.
Moving away from human relationships Aneetha Kanukolanu, 30-plus, content marketer
I feel that the nation is being plauged by a multitude of problems. The primary among is the non-availability of quality primary education and primary health in every nook and corner of the country. That is something that we need to work towards immediately. At present there is too much disparity in the quality of these basic facilities available across the country. The quality of life, especially in our cities has gone down drastically. We now spend a considerable amount of time commuting, in our bursting at the seams public transport. The amazing technology advancements though helpful seem to have alienated us from each other. We socialise virtually and very little physically - only at weddings or special occasions. One needs to make a conscious effort to stay connected in the physical world.
Education can give us elevation RJ Grace, 20-plus, radio jockey
I was born and brought up in Hyderabad. Having lived in the city, I hadn’t been exposed to rural life, I was surprised to see the pathetic situations prevalant in the villages. I was 13 when I visited my friend’s village and witnessed a complete lack of healthcare system. Lack of education added to their woes. I had many things running in my head for that next one week but then I was helpless, looking at the healthcare and educational facilities at the village; What if it’s an emergency, do they have to travel all the way to the town? But today I feel happy to see the major changes in health care and education from the rural level. We need to find alternatives. If building infrastructure is tough, explore distance education. We will have to find a way to beat the issues at hand and move head. That is the country I dream of.
We are a connected nation Avanthika, 10-plus, dancer and artiste
Since I was born in the US , I can’t accurately say, how India was at the time of my birth. But I do know, that it was economically on par with most countries. Present day India is a lot more civilised than ten years back, but I think that many events happened in between the time period of 2005 - 2017. Some changes I personally found were – lately, the internet and social media are playing a big role in our lives. 10 years back, I presume that this wasn’t the case.
A prominent problem in present day India is poverty. My solution to this problem is not foolproof, but it is the only one I think will work. Those who are truly poor, challenged, and old - we must give them shelter, food, and a good environment to thrive. But, the people who are healthy and can work physically or mentally, they must realise this themselves and go work. There are plenty of jobs for everybody. When everyone comes together, there is no one to stop us.