Ensure Comprehensive Development of Villages
I
ndia is a rurally-dominant nation with 72% of its population living in villages, and most of it depends on agriculture. Hence, when we talk about national growth, the development of villages and agriculture becomes significant. For centuries villages have been the core of India’s life. In fact, they are the soul of a nation. India owes its existence to its millions of villages that nourish its urban population and where distinctive evolutionary features within our eternal culture incessantly flourish by natural process despite epochal disturbances. India’s villages have always been selfdependent units having underlying support from agriculture, animal husbandry, conventional industries, and their inherent community system. They were independent and self-reliant, appropriately utilizing indigenous resources. When Britishers came, they weakened this autonomous, self-sustaining system of villages and dominated control over it. They announced certain directives and rulings harnessing this community system and chose local leaders as their representatives to exercise control on
villages and constrained the conventional community system to depend on the British administration system. After independence, Indian legislation came into force, but development policies remained the same, centered on urbanization instead of rural development. Its consequences are now evident to all. After passing seven decades of postindependence, a profound difference has developed between towns and villages. As a result, villages are squeezing, and towns are overburdened with population. In the post-independence period, large industries were encouraged instead of supporting conventional small sectors. Thus, despite witnessing onward movement under Green Revolution due to massive mechanization and increased use of chemical fertilizers, its benefit too was taken by a specific group. As a result, the gap between the poor and rich widened. Conventional traits like the dignity of labor, self-reliance, and self-esteem prevailing in society gradually diminished. Today’s mentality is so spoiled that none wants to do labororiented jobs. An educated young denigrates work for wages and feels high in serving even as a clerk. Despite the easy, simple, and toiling life of rural regions, he acknowledges cities’ indigent and frustrated life as his destiny. After adherence to prominent industries in the name of development, we witnessed liberalization when multinationals made their way into the country. Their radiance pushed back the skill-oriented conventional sector of rural
Life’s not about expecting, hoping, and wishing; it’s about doing, being, and becoming. – Mike Dooley AKHAND JYOTI
49
JAN.-FEB. 2022
