STRIKE - Why should the 'aam-aadmi' suffer?

Sometimes small incidents - very small incidents, can cause a deep stir in the otherwise pacific mind. A similar situation overwhelmed me yesterday......
Scene: A private bus, jam-packed with about 70 passengers! Most of them frustrated. Some frustrated over the hike in ticket fare, some frustrated over the over-crowded bus and others frustrated over the unnecessary delay that the bus driver is causing, trying to utilize every inch of the space inside the bus. And the cause of all these frustrations? Just one - a nation wide strike by the trade union. One can witness "unity in diversity" in the bus. There are people of every kind... males-females, rich-poor, young-old, indians-foreigners. Behind this diversity, there is unity - each one of them is frustrated over the poor management. Amongst all this commotion and agitation, a hoarse voice is suddenly heard. I pay attention more keenly!

"arey bhai.... problem to sarkaar se hai na. toh sarkaar se ladai karo. aam aadmi ko kyun pareshaan karte ho?"

For others, this statement might not mean anything much. But for me, it was sufficient to evoke a thought. And the news in today's newspaper justifies my concern.

"The strike called by workers of banks, insurance companies and transport services against the policies of Union government affected normal life in the state on Tuesday...... Medical services were partially affected ....... Since morning, school children and office-goers were clueless and confused due to the non-availability of buses.... nearly 60,000 cheques remained stuck in the banks".

It was the government who was targetted, but the common man became the victim. A perfect "kahin pe nigaahein, kahin pe nishaana" situation!

Now, the question arises- Did this strike manage to strike the eardrums of the government? Or do any such strikes really affect the government, let alone this particular strike? I don't think so. And I'm pretty much confident that most of you would agree with me.

But merely raising questions won't be of any use, unless the root cause of the problem is spotted and some solution is suggested. Is it wrong to carry out such agitations against the government? No, its not. Infact, such movements act as watchguards to the proper functioning of the bureaucrats and the politicians. May be the problem lies in the manner, in which such movements are carried out. To be able to have a better understanding of the issue, lets look across the boundaries of our nation for a moment.

In the far north-east, there lies an island in the pacific ocean. This island has been crowned as the world's third largest economy. This island is also confronted with situations, wherein the governing body fails to acknowledge the problems of some particular group of people. But, the way the people handle such situation is quite mesmerizing. Instead of carrying out strikes and lockouts, the people go to their workplaces as normal. Instead of abandoning their work, they work over-time. They produce in excess. Henceforth, it becomes difficult for the government to manage the inventory properly. The government also becomes handicapped by its resources. However, the comman man is unaffected, because he is not devoid of any day to day services. 

Is this the perfect solution? I dont know. I am no one to judge. But its apparently a better solution. It is the solution where the arrow is quite successful in meeting the bull's eye!

The truth is always bitter

"India to topple Japan as world's 3rd-largest economy", states a headline in The Economic Times. "India may become a superpower by 2025", states another. But, it was the front page of the Times of India, dated 15th january 2012, that compelled me to rethink about the validity of such prophecies and the path we are treading to convert these prophecies into realities.

It was very heartening to hear the officials forecasting a GDP growth rate of 7%, even amidst the dark clouds of recession, hovering over the entire globe. Learning that the inflation rate started turning negative, especially, in the food sector, was even more encouraging. The fact that India succeeded in eradicating polio out of its soil, with no victim registered in the previous year, deserves a huge applause. But, there are several areas which still deserve a lot of attention from our policy-makers.

One of them is the primary education sector. Though India can boast about its higher education sector, with the IITs and the IIMs providing a cutting edge to the country's competitiveness in the world, the primary education is still reeling under the curse of the inefficient system. According to a global test conducted by PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), Indian students ranked second last among the 73 countries that participated. The test assessed the students based on Math, Science and reading abilities. What went wrong? Or rather, what is going wrong? I don't find myself capable enough to answer these questions. But one thing is for sure. There is some disorganization that is strangling our growth in this particular sector. May be our techniques of teaching are obsolete. May be we have failed to cope up with the needs of the dynamic world. May be we have focused too less on the liberal education. May be we have relied too much on the definition of literacy in India, which says, "every person above the age of 7 years who can read and write in any language is said to be literate". The causes can be multiple. But the problem demands counter-measures. Ending this issue on a positive note, I would like to quote a statement by Shaheen Mistry, CEO of the Teach For India Programmme: "I am glad that now there is data that lets people know how far we still have to go." 

The second major issue that poses a threat to our dream of becoming a superpower, is malnutrition, which is prevailing in several parts of India. According to the news headlines, 230 million people in India go hungry daily. 44% of the under-5 children are underweight. The under-5 mortality rate is still 7%. Recently, there has been a lot of hue and cry over the food security bills and the food subsidy issues. Do the benefits of subsidy provided by the government reach out to the needy? Or do they just dry up completely, while creeping down through numerous layers of the middlemen? The gap between the rich and the poor is still to be abridged. The Ambanis, the Tatas, the Birlas and other members of the elite Indian class are contributing successfully to the soaring growth of the country. But there have not been any significant changes in the lives of the comman man. Let's not forget that India is a mixed economy, wherein socialism has an equal say as the capitalism has. 

The problems are many. The solutions are few. The need of the hour is to discover solutions that are efficient and flexible. Citizens blaming the government and opposition party blaming the ruling party won't be of any help to anyone. Working out on the issues is a collective responsibility of everyone. Framing prudent policies is the duty of the policy-makers and selecting those policy-makers prudently is the duty of every citizen. The elections in 5 states are round the corner. Go out and vote! Vote smartly!