Opinion: Why I’m not over the moon

In focusing all our attention on one achievement, we are ignoring the pitiable condition of the people at the bottom of the pyramid

By Sushila Tiwari

As of today we Indians, in India or abroad, are celebrating the success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission – the moon landing costing us the taxpayers Rs 615 crore.

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The mood of the nation is “India shining” and “achhe din aagaye”. But why does it not make me happy and proud as much as the others?

I’m very sure this is a credible achievement, but in focusing all our attention on one achievement, are we not ignoring the pitiable condition of the people at the bottom of the pyramid in our country and the real problems associated with healthcare, employability of the common citizen, skilling of the workforce, infrastructure, education, ease of doing business?

India is not the only country sending satellites into space and to the celestial bodies. China has benefitted the most in terms of capitalising on its capabilities with other nations while we as a country keep talking about deals and projects that never get materialised at ground level.

In Bad Health

Malnourishment in children (stunting, wasting and underweight) under 5 years as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21) is still 35.5%, 19.3% and 32.1% respectively. Malnutrition among women aged 15-49 years is 18.7%. Are we not failing the future citizens of our country by giving them such a bad and debilitating start to their lives?

The Covid-19 pandemic has more or less ceased to be a concern. But, have we learned anything from it and taken corrective steps? No. The infrastructure of government hospitals has only deteriorated and any journalist talking about it is subjected to jail term. We are no better prepared now should another pandemic or some other health crisis strike us in a big way compared to when Covid-19 struck.

What are the development works being done at the grassroots level? What new innovations have brought in our technology or education that corroborate development in a country? Unicorns that were once considered the stars of the nation are now diminishing.

The rich are only getting richer. Data corroborate that. All the top industrialists are busy trying to save as much on taxes as possible, that too, on the money lent to them by the public sector banks. Not to forget most companies siphoning off the same loan amounts for personal gains. Thus we have loans written off as non-performing assets (NPAs) by the banks. Whose money is it anyway?

Poor Infrastructure

The government claims that the total length of the national highways in the country increased by about 59% in the last nine years and India now has the second-largest road network, after the US. Be that as it may, is anyone paying attention to the quality of this infrastructure?

How many times we have had news in the last four years about newly built flyovers collapsing, cracks developing in them, and having potholes? Poor infrastructure in no way helps take the nation forward on the path of development. Every year, we are spending Rs 25,000 crore on maintenance and repair work of the same infrastructure.

Soulless Educational System

What about an innovation in our education system? CBSE and international standards based on the British educational model were expected to be a game-changer. But, it remains a system that kills creativity by not encouraging originality in the thinking of the students. It remains merely a rote memorisation model.

So much so that, students across the board, be it in IITs or medical colleges, are resorting to suicide being unable to be in sync with the soulless educational system that does not keep them motivated and interested enough nor addresses their problems through counselling and other measures. Additionally, exchange students are no longer interested in coming to India owing to politics on campuses of late.

According to the World Bank, India ranked 63rd in 2022 in ease of doing business across the world among 190 countries. That is a serious concern because without that ease, the entrepreneurial spirit of Indian citizens is stifled and foreigners, too, will not evince interest in having business dealings with and within India. With this new achievement, if at all we want to capitalise on our skill force, we must consider changing laws and other parameters that help ease of doing business in India. This is no rocket science or magic.

Given a myriad of other lacunae besides the above in the Indian context, I am sorry to say that I cannot and will not rejoice at the soft landing of the Chandrayaan-3. And before anyone raises a finger at me for not being a patriot and asks me to move to Pakistan, sorry, I am not moving anywhere; this is my birth country and I have received patriotism as a legacy, my father being an ex-Army man.