Dr. Abdul Kalam’s vision was anchored in freedom, development and strength. He said, ‘Dream, Dream, Dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result into action’. ‘Dreams are not what you see in sleep, but those which do not let you sleep’. The fight to excel should be our top most priority and we should not let any stone unturned.
These ambitions, programmes and hard work they would have entailed fell by the wayside with political parties striving only to preserve and grab power.
NOW – The moment of Truth
It would not entirely be true to say that people, today, do not have dreams or ambitions. It is just that most of the people’s dreams are about bare elemental livelihood. While the others capable of dreaming for more than just two square meals are accustomed to procrastinating on it. There is a pressing need to instil a sense of security in the masses to urge them to dream bigger and provide them with all the resources that help them realise their dreams.
it is irrelevant to it, whether we have more or less of the state or the market or whether we insert ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ into the constitution, so long as large sections of our society are unfree in the sense that they cannot lead the lives the way they want. Overcoming the challenges that the nation faces is the need of the hour. We need to stop whining about the party issues and rise above the politics of personal benefits to focus on larger aspects.
Capabilities are what enable individuals to pursue the lives that they value. But recently, the trends have shifted to monetary interests. While more than half of the population is unemployed, majority of those who have jobs are unsatisfied from them but are pursuing just to make a livelihood thus hindering their dreams to be realized. The violence towards the marginalized and vulnerable section of the society is another shortcoming.
Women, today, are objectified and snatched of their self respect and dignity. Day in and day out, we hear cases of rape being filed in the country. Not that the government is not doing anything to address their grievances. Quick redressal courts, medical attendance and services are provided to the victims. But the question that always arises in my mind is that why do we need such provisions? Why don’t we take actions to remove the problem from its roots? Have we accepted the fact that rape scenario will persist in the society? Women must be given equal opportunities, equal treatment and a sense of security in a society.
In recent years, the atrocities inflicted upon the Dalit and other vulnerable groups have surfaced up in many parts of the country, portraying a grim situation. The incident of four Dalit youth being beaten up in public is alrming. By assaulting them, for skinning a dead cow, not only has their dignity been denied but their livelihood snatched away. Little has been done to develop and channel the human resource.
Educational institutes have been setup but little effort is done to ensure quality education. The cases of TB have been rising at an alarmingly high rate each year. Not only this, the canvas of the nation’s future supposed to be filed with bright colours of our aspirations have already been stained by environmental degradation. Another shortcoming includes that despondent situation of poverty. Though it is reduced to some extent, poverty ratio is still high, making it an issue of top most priority.
Reforms
So what can we do now? For those outside the corridors of power, the task is to shape the discourse on democracy. Our goal must now be redirected to human development while ensuring the security of all the vulnerable groups. A quarter century has been spent focusing on India’s economic architecture in the name of ‘economic reforms’, it will be profitable now to devote time on mounting an assault on human deprivation. The development of the capabilities of India’s women and Dalit should be the first and foremost step. Then we need to focus on other issues such as education, health care and poverty to provide masses with an environment that encourages them to dream. Reforming the reforms is the need of the hour. We need to ensure that these provisions and incentives reach to each and every niche.
Reforms must be there as agreed upon by majority of citizens as these make the growth of nation accelerate at a higher rate. Reforms provide the sense of security and dare people to take that leap of faith. Therefore, a two-pronged approach needs to be followed: growth of economy by introduction and encouragement of reforms, and helping poor and disadvantaged. This goes hand in hand. At the level of a citizen, we must engage with one another, participate wholeheartedly and embrace others the way they are. The government, on the other hand, must focus on good governance, persuasion, consensus building, inclusiveness and accountability.
*Way Forward*
This society is a big satrap with all the lust, greed for power and money and personal benefits serving as a bait. But we need to rise above all these short-lived gains and look at the larger picture. We need to make sure that whatever we do, befits the nation in some way. The DREAMS have already been dreamt of. Now it is our duty to burn the midnight oil and work towards a common goal – INDIA. Grit, determination and perseverance is all what is required and soon success would be knocking at our doors. The crux of the matter is that in the near future we must be able to visualise India as a self sustainable country with all its resources put to an efficient utilization. Realising the capabilities of the people, providing them with the necessary atmosphere would make our dreams come true in no time. The only target to the nation should be to remove a fine line of difference between ‘equality’ and ‘equity’. We have, what is all required we just need to channelize it properly.
(Muhammad Waseem Bhat is a literature student at University of Delhi. He has contributefd to the book titled “Rediscovering Indira Today”.