Back to Village

Under the spell of urbanisation we falsely assume that it is the cities that drive the engine of development.

The policy makers in most of the third world countries, and also the political establishments, have been over obsessed with creating more cities, or expanding the already established ones.

   

Most of the services and facilities, in this part of the world, are concentrated in cities.

In J&K, we have seen that the two major cities of Srinagar and Jammu are now bursting at seems because of the pressure of population moving in from all directions.

The reason for this is that people in villages find it difficult when it comes to facilities like healthcare, education, basic amenities, and also the means of social mobility.

The result of this is that parents prefer to shift to the city, believing that it would open up career chances for their children.

Those who face frequent health problems try to stay in the city so that doctors and hospitals are easily available. Like wise, people feel that the life in a city is more comfortable.

All this is the result of a lopsided development pattern in which things were accumulated in cities, and villages were left out.

Now the realisation has sunk in that unless villages are not developed, the over all dream of progress will remain unrealised.

It is this realisation that the government is now drawing policies that focus on villages. There is a definite emphasis on villages in terms of governance, development and ease of living.

Given the overall pattern of development, and the formation of lifestyles, it is crucial that villages are developed, and the amenities in an average village match to that of to a city, in degree and kind.

The modern technology has made it possible that while staying in a village on can stay connected with the world.

If our villages are developed in terms of healthcare, education, connectivity, governance, and other government services, it can relieve our cities from much of the pressure that they face currently.

This can be a huge relief to people living in villages and cities.

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