Overview of Important Issues in India - Issues of India

Overview of Important Issues in India | Issues of India
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Issues of India
Does Taj really represent India?
Overview of Important Issues in India
India the biggest democracy in the world is
going through a lot of changes and turmoil, both
from within and due to forces outside. As a
country, it is unparalleled in its diversity cultural,
religious, social, and economical as well as political.
The way India has evolved since departure of
colonial British in 1947 is not at all inspiring.
Despite the celebration of August 15 as
Independence Day and January 26 as Republic Day
for past six decades, it does not appear that India
has really shaken off its colonial past. Contrary to
the expectation that Indians would rule themselves with their own thinking it turned out
that Nehru and his colleagues largely followed the demeanor of the White British and
failed to look at larger issues faced by the newly free state.
Today, India is known for just three things: high population, high poverty, and high
corruption. India has the largest number of poor in the world and is set to become the
most populous country by around 2028 beating China. Doing business honestly in India
is as tough as winning an Olympic medal, may be even harder!
In confusion people generally ask: Is India a Poor Nation or Emerging Superpower. The
answer is beyond my brain capacity! If I say something it would only confuse you more!!
So, please help yourself.
THE LEGACY OF PARTITION
The biggest strength of India has been the respect for democracy which has remained
intact since 1947, except for the brief 2 year period in the mid 1970s when Indira Gandhi
took away peoples freedom after a court verdict went against her. This is in stark
contrast with Pakistan which repeatedly fell for military dictatorships since its creation in
1947. The partition of India was largely a result of personal ambitions of a few Muslim

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Kashmir is a paradise on the earth
leaders, fueled by the colonial powers. By all means it was a ill founded decision as far as
Indians were concerned and yet another manifestation of the usual divide-and-rule
mindset of the British. It only promoted religious divide between Hindus and Muslims
leading to massive blood bath and mass migration of both Hindus and Muslims. If
Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, the faith failed to keep the country intact
beyond 1971 when a dispute over results of a general election precipitated a civil war in
the East Pakistan. Indian military intervention due to refugee pressure resulted in defeat
and surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops and birth of a new nation, Bangladesh. It is
perhaps the most shameful military defeat after the WW-2!
In 2010, India had around 176 million Muslims in India similar to Pakistans
population forming about 14% of the Indian population. Thanks to the amalgamating
influence of 80% Hindus, they enjoy a rare degree of social and political freedom;
especially when compared with Islamic Pakistan which has preference for military
dictatorship, and now radical Islam showing up as various terrorist organizations such as
the Taliban and Al Qaida.
Today what remains as Pakistan was West Pakistan until 1971. It has now emerged as a
terrorist breeding center of the world, despite its decade long fight against terror
alongside American forces! As NATO forces are leaving Afghanistan, the out-of-job well-
trained and well-armed terrorists are reorganizing and focusing their attention towards
Pakistan society and nuclear weapons; of course, their next big enemy is, as usual, India.
It helps to remind that the idea of promoting religious fundamentalism originated when
the US wanted to use them to oppose the soviet occupation of Afghanistan over two
decades ago. (They only turned bad after the 9/11 terror attack on the US soil!) How
long the Pakistan society will endure the sabotaging impact of their home-cultivated
Jehadi groups is a question in the minds of all concerned people of the region and the
world.
The reason for this short historical perspective is that it helps to understand the current
social and political structure and problems created them.
THE UNFINISHED AGENDA OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION
THE KASHMIR ISSUE
When the British left after 190 years of
plunder of the country, the political scene
was that of chaos there were over 550
small and big Rajas and Nawabs having
their own tiny empires inside India. It
was Sardar Patels iron hand that forced
them to get absorbed in the democratic
India. However, a few tactical mistakes
left Kashmir as a disputed issue between
India and Pakistan. After shameful defeat
and division of the country in 1971,
Pakistani leadership sees Kashmir
dispute as a political issue to create
problems through its Jehad factories. The
Corruption in India
Poverty in India
Gender and Climate Change
Nuclear Energy in India
The PESA ACT, 1996
The RTI Act 2005
Most Viewed
Overview of Important Issues in
India
Panchayat (Extension to
Scheduled Areas) Act (or PESA),
1996
Salient Features of the Right to
Education Act, 2009
How Healthy is Indian Judicial
System?
Panchayat Raj System in India
Why Chhota Nagpur Tenancy
(CNT) Act Fails to Protect
Jharkhand Tribals?
Tribal People in India: Scheduled
Tribes, Scheduled Areas and
Tribal Self-Rule
Tribal Displacement in the Name
of Development
Pending Cases and Undertrials
Energy and Nuclear Energy
Scenario in India
Recent Posts
Global Warming and REDD+:
Protect Forests But Ignore the
Root Cause
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: We
Should Also See The Positive Side
of SSA
So Much Poverty in India But the
National Media is Blind
towards it?
Kerala: A Unique Place on
the Planet!
Will Bhutan Inspire The World
To Follow
Sustainable Development?
The Vicious Cycle of Child
Marriages And Poverty
Muhammad Yunus: How 27
Dollars Revolutionized The Anti-
Poverty Movement!
Lessons From The Phailin
Cyclone For India
Climatic Vulnerable of Indias
Coastal Regions
Categories
Amartya Sen
Climate Change
Corruption
Economy and Business
Gender
Global Warming
Human Right To Food
Judiciary
Land Acquisition Laws
Naxal/Maoist in India
Nuclear Energy
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Wonderful tribes of North Eastern India
Maoists want communist rule in India
special status through article 370 appears a major road block in todays changed political
realities. This article has prevented private investment in the valley and hampered its
economic growth as well as integration into the mainstream society. This needs serious
debate and an amicable solution so that all Kashmiris including Kashmiri Pandits begin
to enjoy normal life as rest of the countrymen.
THE NORTH EASTERN STATES
Yet another major unfinished business of national
integration relates to the diversities cultural,
linguistic, and traditional which are integral
parts of Indian social fabric. In diversity India is
more colorful than any other country or even
continent. But it is ironical that a typical north
Indian knows very little about the realities of
south and vice-versa, and most Indian know
precious little about the north eastern states, their
people, culture and tradition. It is a shame that
even in the capital Delhi there are ignorant people
who consider their brothers and sisters from the
North east as foreigners. This is frightening. Economic activities have significantly
bridged the north-south gap but the north-east must be integrated with all the care and
dignity. Perhaps the best way to do it is to hold regular cultural festivals across India so
that people of one state know about others.
You may like to explore: Birth and Spirit of the Sixth Schedule
NAXAL VIOLENCE THE BIGGEST INTERNAL SECURITY THREAT
Indian government is solely responsible
if the left wing extremists (Naxal
movement) are now recognized as the
biggest internal security risk for the
country (as described by Dr Manmohan
Singh). Foolishly the tribal regions,
usually far and remote, were left ignored
and these areas never felt the presence of
protective governance machinery since
1947. Why?
The British left these areas isolated
labeling them excluded from
governance (for their own convenience). The brown rulers after 1947 never bothered to
take care of their fellow countrymen living is isolated conditions in remote hills and
forests, leaving them to the mercy of forest officials who acted as if they were still
employed by the agents of the British East India Company. The vacuum was filled by left-
wing extremists they exploited the isolation and exploitation of the tribals by state
officials and money lenders to strengthen their cadre. Their aim is to destroy the Indian
State and replace it with a communist state following the Maoist ideology. Through all
these decades the Indian government kept pretending that it was mere law-and-order
Panchayat Raj
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Blogroll
8 Reasons Why India is So poor
Curse of Child Marriages &
Poverty
Gross National Happiness of
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Ground reality
If Poverty is Multidimensional,
Why not Development?
Measuring Poverty: Different
Ways to Disagree who is Poor!
Muhammad Yunus: Poor Women
and Microcredit
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What Kerala can Teach India and
China!
Why "Development" should Focus
on People, not Economy
Yes, We can Stop world
population from reaching 9 billion
in 2050
Heavily Armed and Trained Naxals
Victims of Development
problem.
The Red Corridor and Maoist Violence
Over the years, they carved out a vast territory
covering 92,000 sq km area, called Red
Corridor by the media. It has grown
dramatically in last two decades along the East
coast right from Nepal to Tamil Nadu. In the
early 1990s the number of districts affected by
varying degrees of Maoist violence stood at just
15 in four states. This rose to 55 districts in nine
states by the end of 2003 and to 156 districts in
13 states in 2004.
Maoists are currently believed to be operating in around 200 districts (of a total of 604
districts in the country) in 17 states. The worst affected states are Jharkhand, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, and Orissa. The poverty and backwardness of people in these forest covered
areas has provided a fertile ground for the growth of Naxals/Maoists who have been
gaining strength at every neglect of these people on the part of the governments.
Download the full report on Naxal/Maoist Violence: NAXAL_Report
Why the Tribal and Naxal Issue become Important NOW?
The reason Indian government was
forced to pay attention to Naxal Violence
is the corporate interest in the natural
resources, mineral mines, and water
reservoirs located in these areas for
developmental activities under the
economic reforms started in 1991. Over
75 percent natural resources, mineral
mines, water reservoirs are located in the
remote areas populated by the poorest of
poor Adivasis (tribals). After neglecting
these areas for decades and allowing
them to become the den of Naxal
violence, the State and Central
governments suddenly became interested in them in the post-reform era.
However, rather than appreciating the eco-friendly lifestyle of the tribals and rewarding
them for preserving the natural wealth, our rulers are throwing them out so that the rich
and greedy corporations can setup industries and grow the GDP of the country.
[No one wants to think about the scenario after say 20 years when all the resources have
been consumed by the corporates and their bottom-lines fattened? Yes, they will sell-off
their businesses leaving behind the trail of ecological mess in the areas which have been
kept lush green and preserved by the illiterate tribals since ages. Isn't it pathetic?]
Poverty is a human development issue
Deploying security forces ostensibly in the name of fighting Naxals is the usual trick
employed by the governments. The real reason is to secure the resources for the
corporate houses and help evicting the local tribals. But if the government is sincere
about tribal welfare, it should strengthen implementation of the PESA Act of 1996
[Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996]. The Act extends the Panchayat Raj
system to the Fifth Schedule areas and allows the tribal communities grass-root
democracy by activating the Gram Sabhas (village assemblies). The Act empowers the
Gram Sabhas to take authority over local natural resources also.
If the Act is honestly implemented, it will also render the Maoists baseless by allowing
the rule of the law that protects the tribals. Once the tribal people get connected to the
Panchayat system, they will have platforms to raise their issues and develop themselves.
Unfortunately, so far the implementation of the PESA Act has been pathetic because no
one (state government, forest officials, or politicians) wants to allow the poor tribals to
rule themselves through their Gram Sabhas. They are more comfortable nurturing the
interests of rich corporate houses.
You may like to read:
Defeat the Maoist Ideology, Not People
PESA: A Potent Weapon Against the Maoist Violence
Download the Full Report: PESA_ACT_1996
POVERTY IN INDIA
India, the largest democracy of 1.25 billion
people, is also the biggest center of poverty in
the world it is both widespread and intense.
Today India has officially 269 million (or 22
percent) people under the poverty line, as
against 407 million in 2004-05. This is latest
claim of Indias Planning Commission in July
2013. In 2011, it fixed the poverty line at Rs 32
per day in urban areas and Rs 26 in the rural
areas. It was reduced to rupees 26.80 and
rupees 22.40 in March 2012. As a result, only
21.9% people are officially poor. A brilliant
game of counting the poor! And a sick comedy
as well. When the poverty estimate was
severely criticized, the government appointed
yet another committee, the Rangarajan
committee, to look into the poverty-line
philosophy. It sure is a sick joke people of India are quite used to.
The comprehensive Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of UK based Oxford Poverty
and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) gives a better insight into the extent and nature of poverty. The MPI
puts Indian poverty at about 53% (650 million poor).
While no one believes the official poverty data of the Indian government, it is fair to say
Poverty is much more than lack of income.
that about 400 600 million people are poor in India. While there can never be
agreement on poverty numbers, compare these numbers with the European Union and
US populations of 500 million and 310 million, respectively. These are huge numbers,
by any standard.
India holds the distinction of having the most number of poor of the world a super poor
nation! Consequently, South Asia has become the worlds biggest center of extreme
poverty. On the World Banks extreme poverty line of 1.25 dollars a day, there are
roughly 500 million extreme poor in South Asia most of it in India. The only other
comparable pocket of poverty is the sub Saharan Africa, with 400 million people in
extreme poverty.
HOW TO COUNT THE POOR
Counting poor on some arbitrary income
line is an artificial number game. Poverty
must be looked, beyond
income. Research of past few decades has
firmly established that poverty cannot be
properly understood in economic terms
alone divorced of social, cultural and
political perspectives. People are social
beings; processes and activities of the
society affect their state of well-being.
Studies of the problems of poor people
and their communities have led to an
understanding of poverty as a situation of
several simultaneous deprivations,
feeding one another. The new perspective sees poverty as a human condition that reflects
failures in many aspects of human life related to nourishment, employment, shelter,
health, education, social and political participation, etc.
Therefore, the right way to view poverty is to see all its manifestations and its
multidimensional nature. This makes the MPI very attractive and useful tool for policy
planners. Several nations like Brazil and Mexico have adopted variations of the MPI
technique for estimating poverty. The most interesting case is that of Bhutan which
measures its progress by what it called gross national happiness index which is calculated
by the same Alkire-Foster methodology that goes behind the MPI. Bhutans case will be
commented upon later when we talk about sustainable development.
If Poverty is Multidimensional, So should be Development
Learn about 8 Reasons Why India is So Poor.
Removing poverty through microfinance: Turning the Poor into Entrepreneurs!
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH GDP?
The West and Western thinkers have
Money cant measure human well-being
traditionally seen economic growth as
development. Thats the reason why
everyone talks about GDP growth. But
the truth is: the GDP is just an economic
number total market value of all goods
and services produced during a specified
time interval. It cant distinguish
economic activities which are beneficial
to people, society and the environment.
Highly expensive celebrity parties and
expenditure on charitable work among
the poor communities are treated the same way.
Further, consider these oddities of GDP: Polluting activities increase the GDP because of
the expenses involved in the clean up. Crimes boost the GDP due to expenses on police,
security, jails, are legal procedures. Wars and conflicts increase expenditure on weapons.
None of these are healthy expenditure. Moreover, as people tend to become self-reliant,
the GDP goes down. If a community decides to grow fruits and vegetables together and
share or if community members decide to help each other at times of financial crisis, the
GDP decreases.
Ironically, all wasteful or unnecessary or avoidable expenditures boost the GDP. It thus
promotes consumption and consumerism. It doesnt even consider people or focus on
them. Yet, when people see it as the primary indicator of development and peoples well-
being, reality gets blurred and the dialog go in the wrong directions. Today, countries are
obsessed with expansion of GDP year-after-year till eternity! It sound like insanity to
me.
So, what is development?
Development should focus on people, not economy.
Since 1990, the annual Human Development Reports (HDR) of the UNDP have been
promoting the idea of human development (HD) which is a people focused
comprehensive development model. Commonsense also demands that people and their
well-being should be the focus of development, not economy.
The HD perspective put people at the center of development. The idea of human
development revolves around the basic theme: People are the real wealth of a
nation.Thus, the prime objective of development is to create an enabling environment
for people to live long, healthy and creative life. This was stated in the first HDR
published in 1990. This is a remarkable paradigm shift in thinking about the poor; it sees
poverty as lack of development.
Incidentally, the foundation of the HD perspective came from Amartya Sens capability
theory of development. Sen argues that the purpose of development is to enrich human
lives, not richness of economy which is only a part of it.
Why Poverty? Lets Talk Peoples Development
Poverty is Multidimensional, So should be Development
GDP must be replaced.
New face of Modern India
WHY INDIA SHOULD LEARN FROM BHUTAN?
Bhutan is the only country in the world
that does not use GDP as a measure of
progress; instead it uses what it calls the
gross national happiness (GNH). Way
back in the 1970s its king declared that
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is
more important than Gross National
Product (GDP). The GNH is holistic and
gives importance to other dimensions of
human life such as cultural, spiritual and
social as well as health of the
environment. Therefore, the state policies
are not made only from the monetary or economic angle.
While rest of the world is still shying away from taking responsibility of the environment,
despite increasing threats of climatic and ecological disasters, this tiny country of only
750,000 people is drawing global attention. While experts keep talking of environmental
conservation and sustainable development and people agree with them, but this tiny
kingdom is already doing it; it is doing so mandated by its Constitution!
Indian citizens need to question the wisdom of the trickle down economic model
imported by Manmohan Singh in the name of globalization, liberalization and economic
reforms. It is ideal if the country has to be governed by the rich elites and powerful
corporations. India needs a development system that attack poverty and is people and
labor-oriented. The HD model is the right medicine for a poor country with large
population base; Bhutan, whose major source of income is export of hydropower to India,
also gives us the ideal recipe. Will the Indian government show courage and stop
following the West?
FAULTY ECONOMIC REFORMS
MODERNIZATION OR MERELY CORPORATIZATION?
Since 1991, the Indian government is
occupied with economic liberalization,
privatization and globalization, but in the
process it has only deepened the divide
between the rich (hence powerful) and
the poor. By design, the process is geared
towards industrialization and
corporatization of India in line with how
the Western nations developed,
disregarding the ground realities of the
country. Consequently, there has been 6-
8 percent growth in GDP for over a
decade and yet no meaningful impact on poverty.
Why our culture and lifestyle is not respected?
For all practical purposes, the new economic policies remain directed to the 25 percent
population living in the urban areas. Rest of the larger India is expected to benefit only
from the trickle-down effect. Americans are particularly proud of this Reagan- Thatcher
philosophy which wants to hand over everything to the rich elites and run the country.
This is also driving rural to urban migration into cities that are already overcrowded. It is
height of insanity to think that 125 crore Indian can be herded into towns where they will
slave the corporate houses and drive Altos, eat pizzas and buy grocery from air-
conditioned Malls like the Americans do.
In the reform era, natural resources, minerals, water and land are all being given to
corporate houses at throw away prices so that they can setup industries and modern
facilities that will generate employment for ordinary Indians and India will develop.
This approach, though dictated by the IMF and the WB, is not suitable for a populous
and poor country like India. First, this corporate led economic growth can not generate
enough employment India needs around 1 crore new jobs per year mostly for the
unskilled or semi-skilled people. Whats the ground reality: Between 2005 and 2010,
Indian economy only created around 30 lakh jobs!!
Second, promoting urbanization is absurd for a country where cities are already
overcrowded. The core idea behind the current policies is to transfer people from the
agriculture sector to industry or service sector, just as the West has done. Due to their
rather smaller populations and mechanized farming practices they need fewer people in
agriculture to produce food grains; the rest survive catering to the industrial sector,
around which their lifestyle revolves.
Unfortunately, currently India is ruled by US
educated technocrats who know India and its
people through books written by American
authors. Text book understanding is fine for
lecturing; solving real life problems is totally
another thing. Perhaps their only Indian
connections are passports and birth certificates.
Who else but people cut off from reality could
say that rupees 26.80 in urban India
and rupees 22.40 in rural India per day decide
the poverty line. Else, suicides of thousands of
poor farmers would have stirred some corner of
humanity in their hearts.
It is a shame that we are displacing innocent and naive tribals from their ancestral lands
(where they also act as natural custodians of resources) and forcing them to migrate to
cities to become manual labors for the industry. And we are doing it in the name of
development.
How about displacing people from New Delhi and Mumbai and forcing them to repair the
ecological mess of mining activities of Vedantas, Tatas, Essars, JPs, and Ruias and clean
the pollution of mega thermal power plants? I think consumers must pay rule should be
changed to consumers must clean!!
WHAT WOULD BE RIGHT ECONOMY FOR INDIA
Ideally India should only focus on simplifying and reducing the government procedures
that stifle business and enterprise. Corruption is another discouraging reality of peoples
lives in India which goes hand in hand with complicated procedures and formalities. An
ideal development approach for India could be:
Discard GDP as a measure of progress: India should adopt a holistic development
model, learning from Bhutan where aspects of life other than economic are equally
important. To start with, adopting Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) might be a good
idea. It modifies the GDP calculation to focus on the useful expenditures that enhance
peoples well-being. The online investopedia defines GPI as
A metric used to measure the economic growth of a country. It is often considered as a
replacement to the more well known gross domestic product (GDP) economic indicator.
The GPI indicator takes everything the GDP uses into account, but also adds other
figures that represent the cost of the negative effects related to economic activity (such
as the cost of crime, cost of ozone depletion and cost of resource depletion, among
others). The GPI nets the positive and negative results of economic growth to examine
whether or not it has benefited people overall.
Promote micro and small enterprises: Given the need for livelihood opportunities
for the poor, particularly rural poor it makes sense to focus on promoting small and
micro enterprises; only they can generate employment on the scale India needs. India
needs around 1 crore new employment opportunities every year, given its annual
population growth of 1.8 crore. Large and mechanized industries and imports should not
be allowed for goods and services that can be produced in these smaller units.
The microcredit revolution of Bangladeshs Grameen Bank is an ideal concept for Indian
conditions. It is truly remarkable how Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and his
Grameen Bank initiative have revolutionized anti-poverty efforts across the world. Prof.
Yunus idea of promoting social businesses is another wonderful idea Indian
government should consider seriously. It will also strengthen the cooperative movement
particularly in the rural areas.
Replace the Shareholder capitalism with Stakeholder capitalism: The business
world today follows the shareholder capitalism which is too narrowly focused to
maximize profits only for investors. It largely excludes the well-being of all other
stakeholders: employees, society, customers, and environment. This has made people
mere tools to achieve maximum profits for the tiny minority the investors of the
company. This promotes greed which leads to disruptive competition or cartelization.
The alternative is the stakeholder capitalism which is rather broad-based and has bigger
potential to enhance peoples well-being for the same economic growth.
POPULATION STABILIZATION
Why population of India does not stop
growing is a question everyone wants
to ask. It is growing not because people
are having large families, but simply
because there are too many people in the
Is Population a Monster?
reproductive age group population
momentum. The sterilization camps are
no more the right place to tackle the
population issue; the family planning
battle must be now fought on the social
plane. The correct anti-dotes to
population growth due to momentum
are: late marriage, delayed pregnancies
and spacing among children. An important factor contributing to population growth is
unwanted pregnancies (accounting for one-fourth births), it requires making a variety of
contraceptives easily available to people, particularly in rural areas.
There are many popular myths around population of India. At the core of it, lies the issue
of women empowerment, which itself is powerful contraceptive.
Indian family planning officials will do themselves as well as the country favor, it they
educate themselves on the issues of population momentum and also pay attention to
what the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, 1994
laid down on the population question. For an historical perspective, please read
History and Politics of Population Phobia
The British way to control population of India?!: You may also like to know how the
British ignored famines in the colonial India as a weapon (instrument) for population
management. During the shameful British Raj 30 50 million Indians have been
estimated to have died in famines in 200 years of colonial plunder.
The good news is the birthrates are falling all over the world, not only in India. The
Malthusian fear of overpopulation has gone bust already and the global population
should stabilize around 2100, in the range 11 13 billion. Currently, people are
debating how to curtail global population from reaching 9 billion by 2050, as has been
predicted by some experts.
Child marriages have played a big role in propagating poverty through population growth
throughout the world. In India 47% girls are already married before the legal age of 18
and a significant proportion has already given births.
KERALA: POPULATION CONTROL THROUGH PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
The tiny state, Kerala, is a unique
example of the power of people
development; the whole world
acknowledges and admires the wonderful
culture and society of Kerala. It is also
unique in the respect for women; it has
the best female/male ratio in the country
Kerala is Unique in the world!
Colonial Police of Free India!
1084 female for every 1000 male as
per the 2011 census (highest in the
Kunnur District 1136 and the lowest in
Idukki district, 1006). Compare it with
the national average of 940 females. The
next best is way behind; it is Tamil
Nadu, 996 female followed closely by Andhra Pradesh with 993 female per 1000
male. Interestingly, the economically prosperous Haryana has the lowest sex ratio, 879
females. What stops our foreign trained scholars of New Delhi to learn from Kerala? In
fact, Kerala can teach a lot, both to India and China about how to look after its people
and control the population.
GOVERNANCE REFORMS
Every patriotic Indian is feeling the pain
looking at the way politician-corporate-
bureaucrat nexus has taken control over
policy making and distributing countrys
resources among themselves. India is
among the worst governed countries in
the world whose leaders rely on foreign
dictates more than local sane voices. This
slave mentality has not died even 65
years after the colonial British left India;
on the contrary it has only strengthened.
All ills of the nation can be traced only to
one thing: Bad Governance.
In fact, lack of accountability at all levels is at the core of bad governance in India and
every problem emerges from it whether Naxal violence, corruption, poverty, or even
population. On the Global Integrity Index that measures governance and anti-corruption
of nations, India fairs badly. It also points to weak governance due to lack of
accountability of politicians and bureaucrats.
The most important governance reforms relate to the electoral processes, police and
judiciary, bureaucratic and judicial accountability, and also strengthening grass-root
democracy by seriously implementing the PRI and PESA Acts and making caste-based
reservations history.
Political reforms and transparency in political funding is at the root of all corruption and
bad governance. It particularly creates corruption at the top of the State hierarchy.
Simultaneously, two urgent reforms are Police and Judicial Reforms. The police force is
still operating in the colonial mindset and sees itself as a protector of rulers from the
citizens! Poor and ordinary citizens are particularly vulnerable when they have to deal
MNREGA workers
Under nourishment is a serious problem in India
with the police and seek justice. Indian courts are atrociously slow that makes a mockery
of justice. Rich can exploit loopholes in the laws and procedural aspects and can get by
with practically anything.
A Suggested Road-Map to Judicial Reforms
The Corruption Landscape of India
Download the Full Report: Corruption in India
MNREGA AND FOOD SECURITY
Passed in 2005, the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is
the Biggest Anti-poverty Program in the
World! In spirit, the developmental
projects under the NREGA (now
renamed MGNREGA; MG for Mahatma
Gandhi) are supposed to be designed,
planned and implemented by the gram
Panchayats. Thus, this unique Act has the
potential to revitalize the PRIs, giving
impetus to the grass-root democracy, and
also create unskilled jobs in rural India.
This scheme has become the darling of the rural poor who can LEGALLY claim up to 100
days of unskilled work at the prescribed minimum wages. However, The real Potential of
MGNREGA is yet to be Realized. Unfortunately, many states have failed to appreciate the
potentials of this program. If implemented in fairness and in coordination with broader
plans, MGNREGA can become the catalyst for transformation of rural India.
Poverty cannot be eliminated from the country without looking after the small farmers.
Fascinated by text book prescription of eliminating all subsidies by the Western lenders,
the government is bent on eliminating all forms of subsidies given to the farmers. This is
simply disastrous: Western nations indulge in all manners of protections for their
farmers and subsidize basic food items to keep food prices low and affordable. Their
farming sector is not a major livelihood provider unlike in India. Offering ever increasing
minimum support price (MSP) to farmers is an inadequate and inefficient way to help
the farmers or to keep the food prices in control. Indian farmers need Income support,
not just MSP.
THE FOOD SECURITY BILL
The ruling coalition at the Center passed
the Food Security Bill recently in order to
gather votes in 2014 general elections. It
is simply a matter of Center imposing its
arbitrary rules on the states who are the
actual implementers. But for the
immature thinking, the Center should
have only encouraged the states to make
their own rules based on local realities. It
Lets go to School
also failed to appreciate that the country
might be heading towards water scarcity.
Water shortage scenario might also develop from another angle. Chinese water resources
in its industrialized northern region are fast becoming polluted and there appear to be
plans to divert waters from the Tibetan region. The mighty Brahmaputra seems to be on
target of Chinese plans. If and when the Chinese go ahead with such projects, both India
and Bangladesh have reasons to worry. The north-eastern Indian states as well as
Bangladesh are heavily dependent on the Brahmaputra waters. Melting Himalayan
glaciers, due to global warming, are cause of serious concern for the water security of
Himalayan rivers that nourish northern plains.
SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN AND THE RTE ACT, 2009
(Download the full report: Right To Education Act, 2009)
The right to education Act was put into
force in 2010. It gave legal right of
education to all kids in the age group of 6
14. The vehicle for implementation of
the RTE is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA). Since 2010 necessary changes
have been made in the rule of the SSA to
conform to the RTE requirements.
It is certainly a massive undertaking to
cover children even in the remote
habitations. But it must be acknowledged
that a lot of children began to see
schools, they would have never dreamed off otherwise. No doubt, shortage of teachers
and quality of education is poor but shall we not celebrate over 96% average enrollment
across the country. If the government keeps its promise and raise expenditure on
education to the tune of 5-6% of GDP, it will have a long term impact on the future
generations.
No doubt, critics will keep asking the question: Does Right to Education mean Right to
Schooling Only?
However, in stead of cynicism it might be helpful if we also look at the positive side of
elementary education in India.
THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF 2014 LOKSABHA POLLS!
It was the Modi-wave that swept India in the 2014 polls. If the BJP emerged as the
largest political party with a clear majority, India is the biggest gainer as it got rid of the
most incompetent and corrupt government since independence. The 10 years of
Manhoman (remote controlled by his party boss and her son) at the helm has left
practically every Indian feeling badly helpless and powerless. The biggest loser is the
pseudo-secular brigade that has gained menacingly high power in the Indian polity over
the decades. Created by the British and nurtured by the champions of the Indian
National Congress after 1947 very religiously, this deadly virus has come to control the
media almost completely by now. All manners of the vote bank politics can be traced back
to it.
The others biggest losers are the political power brokers (again coming from the pseudo-
secular brigade) such as Mulayam Singh, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mayawati, Sharad Pawar
and their likes. With just handful of MPs they had been dictating the coalition
governments fates for over 2 decades and the common man and his interest has almost
cease to matter, except of the words of party manifestoes.
With hardworking, rational and clear-headed Modi firmly at the driving wheel, now is the
best time to catapult India to new heights, given the superb brain power it has in its fold.
It is the best time for all communities to shun their parochial leaders and create a new
national main-stream totally free of appeasement and vote-bank politicians; their
companions in the all forms of media also must now be sent to their right place in
oblivion!!
Lets all celebrate and hope for freedom from poverty, illusions and ignorance gathered in
six decades mostly by a parochial rule of party controlled by a single family. The privy
of this family should end now forever so that real democracy now begins to germinate.
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63 Responses to Overview of Important Issues in India
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freekicker/Sujith says:
October 28, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Great blog and good thoughts
Reply
Gokulmuthu says:
J anuary 30, 2012 at 2:00 am
Great summary !!! It is good to see that you are updating it with the latest
findings also. The articles linked to are also very informative. Thanks.
Reply
Sudcha says:
February 20, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Thank you for creating this blog and all these posts, detailed reports.
-an Indian.
Reply
Shweta says:
Mind blowing thoughts. May everyone in India would understand
it..
Reply
raj says:
May 1, 2012 at 1:10 pm
very informative and thought provoking.please keep adding new contents.thanks
will be a very small part of my gratitude.
Reply
waytocivilservices says:
May 28, 2012 at 7:49 am
very good initiative drive by admin to focus on social issues..every 1 must follow
dis blog to get aware about such problems..
Reply
Nihar says:
J uly 7, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Great work.
specially the youth will be able to know the the Nasty political mentality of our
policy makers and their activity, and how they are making people fool. Really
such a priceless articles. since quite couple of years i was inquest of such a
website. Now i got it. Than you very much.
It will also help people to know the Issues in details as well as the technical things
of our constitution
I m belongs to Yuva Bharat group and we are raising issues in the Janasabha
time to time.
It will help me a lot to increase my knowledge about issues.
I would like to have a mail in case any new articles updation.
Reply
abhishek says:
J uly 14, 2012 at 9:29 am
good one !
Reply
anna says:
September 8, 2012 at 11:41 am
good one.thanks
Reply
Apoorv - Shrivastav says:
September 11, 2012 at 8:19 pm
I am extremely grateful 4 the everyone (since I dont know exactly who is the one
to maintain this blog) for providing us such a wonderful content ,
this blog is extremely helpful for the I.A.S aspirants and their blossoming future .
Reply
Goodpal says:
Thanks. Do keep visiting and sharing suggestions and ideas.
Reply
dfgfgfgfg says:
J uly 17, 2014 at 9:48 pm
very helpful
Goodpal says:
Thanks Apoorv,
Do share your critical comments too.
Reply
shivu says:
nice report thanks
Reply
Goodpal says:
Thanks for sharing. Please keep visiting.
Reply
G.Saranya says:
Thank u i will gain something.
Reply
Ram says:
March 28, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Your articles and reports are of great value to people preparing for the civil
services examthank you very much
Reply
Pooja Rawal says:
April 1, 2013 at 9:31 pm
eye opening and an.engrossing blogit awakens an Indian the crude ground
realities omnipresent reflect how majority of the nation has been left embittered
by the faulty public policies evident in form of internal disturbances.
Reply
Goodpal says:
April 2, 2013 at 9:26 am
Thank you Ram and Pooja. Please keep visiting and sharing your thoughts and
critiques. Lets work together to make India and the world a better and more
just place. We must not take injustice and suffering for granted. Progress is
not just spread of mobile phones, internet, pizzas or shopping malls, it has to
do with human dignity and freedom from pain and insecurity.
Have a good day!
Goodpal
Reply
satyaveer says:
August 23, 2013 at 1:26 am
its like i found a treasure on various contemporary issues ,keep it up .i
would be a regular reader of your blog ,that shows attraction of this blog
.while i would like to read on indian security related issues like role of
technology,cyber terror, external threats etc..
on more ,like globalization and indian society,,etc.etc..
thanks to you for making my dayplease keep this job at high without
biased way ,So we people also get hope to solve the issues ,otherwise its
like always just to be in frustration with respect to our nation.
While we know that we have to present a lot ,every nation need So
everytime we cant finish merely crticisizing it .
thank you.
Reply
Goodpal says:
August 23, 2013 at 9:41 am
Thank you Satyaveer, for taking time to share. The issues I
pick up here are for constructive debate. The ultimate hope is
that it would be resolved and the public gains the benefit. You
will already know that India has perhaps the worst
bureaucracy in the world; ever ready to stall implementation of
any good policy. Not because there are only bad people in the
bureaucracy but because the work culture is still of the pre-
independence days where their role was to serve the lords and
suppress the people.
I learned that a lot of IAS aspirants read this blog for their
exams. I just hope that they all succeed and then put the
insight gained here for the betterment of general public. They
are suppose execute and implement laws for the good of even
the poorest person. It is possible only if they have insightful
knowledge of peoples problems and the guts to solve them.
Laws exist for the people; not the other way round.
I do my best to offer solutions of every issue raised in the
articles here. Anyone can criticize anything but that serves no
purpose.
Lets all work together so that India becomes the best place to
live on this planet.
Do keep visiting and sharing. Thanks again for reading.
Wish you a good day!
satyaveer says:
August 26, 2013 at 12:36 am
while it may be too much to ask that you add more issues ,But no
doubt you are serving a very big service for our parts .I think you
had added almost all important topics mostly i never found
appropriate things about PESA act, .It was really worthy reading
please keep it .
and ,even i read your other blogs also like solar panel, and two
others also.You write with in depth ,really hats off sir.
please write on all issues whichever you thinks to be worthy for
aware people.Also ,always add some solution like you are a
researcher ,so its not too difficult to be optimistic about our
country ,even we have to that other wise who else.
I think most of the civil aspirants also do read your blog ,so
biased or hypocrite things are which they dont like to be read.
But ,its equally important to know reality behind the curtain ,But
remedies should be under our knowldge So as you said we can do
our best to make our country best planet of the world.
Thanks for replying ,
i will ask more friends to read your blog which make aware us
about real india.
sudhakar says:
May 16, 2013 at 8:15 pm
short and excellent presentation of the passage. Thanks .
Reply
sushant singh says:
J uly 17, 2013 at 10:33 pm
wowreally impressed with the depth , insight and the comprehensive nature of
your articles. has really helped me with my ias preparationsthnx a ton and
please keep up the good work..
Reply
Goodpal says:
J uly 18, 2013 at 9:21 am
Thanks Sushant, for sharing. Wish you good luck in your IAS preparations.
May I suggest another way to learn with longer retention: Whenever you learn
anything new, write a short passage or a short article in your own words
without referring to anything.
Do keep visiting and sharing.
Have a good day!
Reply
satyaveer says:
August 23, 2013 at 1:28 am
wowwhat a advice you had given .thanks sir.!!
i would like to intimidate over it so in curse i would secure indepth
knowledge over various issues .
Reply
Goodpal says:
August 23, 2013 at 9:43 am
I see you keen interest Satyaveer. Please feel free to share your thoughts in
detail how this blog can be improved.
Reply
Siri says:
Great site. I have just visited, will definitely follow the issues. Keep updating it
please:)
Reply
Siri says:
Can you provide RSS feeds to your site please?
Reply
Abhijeet Mohapatra says:
Man u r just awesome. You dont have the idea how is you helping the nation!!!
Hope to have a reply!!! I would be happy if you can can provide me every links
that you have written about issues!!! Thanks

Reply
Goodpal says:
Thanks Abhijeet,
You can scan some of my articles at hubpages. Here is the latest one:
http://goodpal.hubpages.com/hub/Millennium-Development-Goals-How-to-
view-Poverty-after-2015
Do keep visiting and sharing. Have a good day!
Goodpal
Reply
Abhijeet Mohapatra says:
Sir, we are really exploring the possibility of making the best political
website ever. After reading your blogs about political topics there is a
swing in perception. We would be much happy if you would agree to join
our team and become the chief editor of our site. Because your thoughts
are far widened. An early response is highly appreciated & we hope for a
positive one. If you do agree we can discuss about the best possibility.
Sincerely Yours,
Abhijeet
Reply
Goodpal says:
Thank you Abhijeet, for your interest to work with me. It might be a better
idea to send me a mail describing what exactly you have on your mind, at
vj.agra@yahoo.com. I am also connected with some NGOs and help them
document their work and reports, so I would like to understand the situation
before I can commit time.
From your profile at the facebook, you appear to be a young and dynamic
graduate. I always like to associate with people with ideas and desire to
materialize them too. Doing small things is better than debating big ideas and
doing nothing.
Wish you a wonderful day!
Goodpal
Reply
Siri says:
The most Irresistible and addictive articles that I have come across.
Reply
Goodpal says:
Hi, Siri, You might like to get in touch with Abhijeet Mohapatra (see comment
above) and see what positive comes out. If crooks and politicians join hands to
fool people, why not good and intelligent people like you and Abhijeet!! Think
about it and get connected!!!
Keep visiting and sharing.
Have a wonderful day!
Reply
Siri says:
Thanks for the appreciation goodpal. Couldnt comprehend much from the
comment of abhijeet, can you throw some light on the political website or work
he mentioned about?
Reply
Goodpal says:
About Abhijeets project: I have yet to figure out myself!!! So far, I am
impressed by his zeal to do something good for the society. Though he is still
an engineering student, I can sense the desire to make some impact on the
society, which is wonderful.
Good Day!
Reply
Siri says:
December 31, 2013 at 10:38 am
Yes true. Goodpal, can you suggest good non fiction books of the kind Amartya
Sens uncertain glory and the like giving new perspectives on India?
Reply
Siva says:
J anuary 9, 2014 at 5:18 pm
A comprehensive coverage of issues is done in a very impartial and informative
manner so as to make people aware of the ground reality. This helps not only in
exams but actually for real life. keep writing, pen and sword are the only
instruments in this world to reform it.
Reply
subhash pachar says:
J anuary 10, 2014 at 9:15 am
Long time no article sir
Reply
Goodpal says:
J anuary 10, 2014 at 10:07 am
Subhash, I was busy at other sites. These are my latest articles
on poverty:
http://goodpal.hubpages.com/hub/Microcredit-Turning-The-
Poor-into-Entrepreneurs
http://goodpal.hubpages.com/hub/Poverty-Reduction-Using-
Business-Enterprises
Looking forward to your critical comments. Have a very good
day!
Goodpal says:
J anuary 10, 2014 at 10:12 am
Thanks Siva, for your keen interest and thoughtful comment. We
should learn, not for exams alone, but actually for life to grow and
contribute in a meaningful way. You will find more of my articles
below. Please feel absolutely free to comment critically.
http://goodpal.hubpages.com/
Reply
anees says:
Very nice article
Reply
aishwarya says:
really a great effort, focusing almost all possible social problems and situations in
india
Reply
Goodpal says:
Thanks Anees and Aishwarya, for reading and sharing.
We need to go into depth of the problems if we want to solve them. It is just
my humble efforts to try to do so.
Do keep visiting.
Reply
Dr. Monuj says:
March 1, 2014 at 7:48 pm
Its really refreshing me lot about current social political..scenarios of
India..Thanks.
Reply
Goodpal says:
March 6, 2014 at 5:08 am
Thanks Dr Monuj. Do keep visiting and sharing.
Reply
bubu says:
March 7, 2014 at 2:04 pm
lucky to have come across this blog.very informative and thoughts provoking!!!i
especially like the issue on MGNREGA and GDP.keep up:..
Reply
Goodpal says:
March 7, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Thanks Bubu, for reading and sharing. Do keep visiting at your convenience.
Reply
mana says:
March 15, 2014 at 12:37 pm
THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH STRUCTURAL SYSTEM HERE IN THIS
COUNTRY PEOPLE AND POLITICIANS BOTH HAVE LOST THEIR HOPE
WITHIN AND ARE FOLLOWING BLINDLY THE NEOLIBERAL POLICIES
RATHER LOOKING AT THEIR OWN THEY ARE MUCH CONCERNED ABOUT
OTHERS RATHER THAN WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY EVEN THE
WORST THING IS MEDIA THAT IS ALWAYS FAR FROM REALITY AND
HIGHLIGHTS THE FALSE PROPAGANDA;S ONLY RATHER THAN
HIGHLIGHTING ANY SOCIAL POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC ISSUE Although the
effort is good but most of the information is baseless and rather seems idealist
that shows only the one side of the picture
Reply
Goodpal says:
April 18, 2014 at 2:14 pm
Any democracy is only as good as its people and the quality and extent
of their involvement in societal and political processes. So, why
complain; make efforts to improve people and raise their awareness.
Reply
lakhwinder says:
March 26, 2014 at 8:41 am
Thankyou goodpal for visiting this ospicious site of India . I hope you like this.
Reply
dawn5000 says:
April 5, 2014 at 3:43 pm
Sir,you write fantastically over different issues with such in depth details
and in lucid manner. We all are grateful to you. After all, knowledge is all
about to sharing . You are doing it very well. One more suggestion sir if
you get the time write about yourself, do share your journey also.is it all
easy or how you come to write on these issues. And many more. Thank
you.
Reply
Goodpal says:
April 18, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Thanks. Keep visiting and sharing. Lets all grow together, forever!
Reply
Prakash Chaudhary says:
April 26, 2014 at 9:05 am
Thank You Boss, I can feel that this blog will help me a lot in my interview in
UPSC Civils. It was a refreshing, Insightful and fact of the matter understanding.
.
Reply
Goodpal says:
April 26, 2014 at 11:12 am
Thanks for visiting the blog. Do keep visiting and commenting critically; it
helps to share views and know others point of view.
What counts in the interview is the mind and insight you carry with you. Any
one can memorize and spit out to pass written exams. Good luck with your
interview; wish you every success.
Reply
Sheena Kapoor says:
April 26, 2014 at 1:16 pm
awesome read. Great insightful blog. If only the Indian politicos paid some heed
to this page
Reply
Ajay Kumar Mundhra says:
J uly 2, 2014 at 7:40 am
Great work..this is real education..Alas ! all Indian could know and realize
their REAL problem.
Wish to get associated with your team.I feel that if we can ensure a FAST
JUDICIAL system, people will start moving in court for any sort of
injustice/corruption and that will act as a restraint for corrupt Leaders/Public
Servants/Businessmen.Hitherto, people donot dare to take legal recourse as they
are afraid of slow and illogical court process where justice is always denied for
DELAY
Reply
Rakshit Sharma says:
J uly 7, 2014 at 4:53 pm
am following this site for the last two years and today i find myself confident in
the public..
give me a topic and ill go on and on..
credit goes to you, sir..
very well done..!
i sincerely wish you the very best for your future..
Reply
Goodpal says:
J uly 15, 2014 at 11:51 am
Thanks Rakshit, I am glad that this blog is helping you. Why talk about text
book problems and textbook solutions? Real life problems need real
clarification and practical solutions. It is heartening to know that UPSC
aspirants are a majority in following this blog.
Reply
saravana says:
J uly 15, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Grt blog
salute to admin
Reply
Goodpal says:
J uly 16, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Thanks Saravana.
Do share your views and offer critique on topics of your interest.
Reply
avinash raj says:
J uly 27, 2014 at 1:57 pm
it is basic ken(knowledge) of surviving indian and their economy.
Reply
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