"Madam, are you from the government? People keep coming and going to the villages but do nothing to reduce our drudgery. Why do you waste our time and your time as well?" said a man when I went to a village in Bihar. This question was not something which I hadn't heard before but still somehow this question shocked me.
My reply was simple. "No. I am not from the government. And don't cry that your village is not developed. Progress will happen slowly. It takes time when there are more than six lakhs villages in this country. How can you expect things to change overnight?"
The man was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe it. He confirmed again and asked "you talking about cities?" I confirmed him "I am just giving you the number of villages and not cities."
This incident made a sudden realization of the perspective of the villager and of every other person in this country. As a social researcher, I go to all types of villages to get statistics which may or may not help. But which do speak the state of the villages. Everywhere villagers think there is no development being done for them.
Why do they expect someone else to do things for them? I don't think that when any villager would like to do something for himself, neither the government nor the private is required to make him do. The villages can survive only a short time on charity done by anyone but can stand only by the virtue of its own commitment and dedication.
It is easy to blame the government or private for not doing anything. But who runs both these entities. It is the general public and nothing else. If the government is not doing anything, it is just because of the fact that no matter what we do, the public will forget and vote for them at the cost of a liquor! Schemes don't fail because they are not implemented. They fail because the people have over the ages accepted that they are salves. They just need alms and not their self respect as a citizen of India.
No nation has been developed because of the virtue of its government. It is developed by virtue of its citizens. They make the government not vice versa. If government could do anything then the social values would have changed. People practice female feticide. Is it because the government says that people do it? If they can do such things, then why depend on improving one's own life on others.
It's a sad state of this country. This country doesn't lack anything. It is not the population, poverty, unemployment which is hindering the progress of the country. But it is just the right attitude lacking in people which makes it difficult for this country to progress. When this changes, everything will automatically take course and lead this country to the state where no one can conquer it. Without that attitude, whatever we do would collapse forever. Hope someday this country rises to a better tomorrow.
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