India, as I saw her from inside

Before reading this post, please have to look at my earlier one "India, as I saw her from outside".


I recently visited India after a couple of year's interval and I must admit that my assessment on Indian's growth in various aspects which I wrote in one of my earlier post has reverted substantially. All the points I made and the examples I cited there still hold the truth but do not represent the India's entire situations. All of them apply to the rich people and/or the people with highest academic qualification.


Let us first look at the people with moderate academic degree, for example graduate pass or lower degree holder. What kind of job opportunity do we have for them? Before going into those details, let us first answer the question why such people could not elevate their qualifications. The obvious answer is that we do not have sufficient scope to educate all of us institutionally. I remember during my 10th and 12th standard, the state board simplified the test to increase the passing rate, where the number of seats for its immediate higher educations remained the same. Thus at each step of educational milestone, we are automatically producing the unfinished scholars; no matter how well they do in the corresponding examinations, their achievements get eclipsed under the overall success and thus further admission becomes competitive. The most popular professional lives they can seek are the low level state/central governmental job and small business, where again the former is a constant parameter.


This time in India I was talking to my cousin who is 38-40 years old and graduate pass only. He is into various small businesses for more that 15 years, a real fighter and somewhat wit in his profession(s). He has seen how India has evolved into this current age from the near bottom of it. Expecting an affirmation nod, I asked him whether his life has been eased now compared to it in 10 years ago. But his response surprised me ‘it has rather worsened’. His argument is that in recent past the government has given much attention in improving the technological and industrial part of the economical strength, neglecting the small business which has been a backbone for large middle classes for all the time. He said if the government takes the responsibility to distribute the products of the small business and home makings, it would benefit the process hugely. I fully admit him. One of my relative's families earns their bread by knitting traditional mat and then going to the very far-away market to sell them. They are now old to go the market but strong enough to keep producing, hence their rate of production has slowed down. We are unable to utilize our own labor thoughtfully.


I am from a small town somewhere in West Bengal, where most of my neighbors are into small business. I have seen them to go to their shops regularly for years but now sell hardly one product in a day. With the expansion of the town’s area, everyday the number of shops is increasing largely and now has reached to a state where the number of sellers and buyers become comparative. Some of the reader may find it unbelievable, but I am not exaggerating. When I travel through those old places, through though the narrow dark roads, I wonder why these shops are still open when the civilization has ceased there! This is the current situations in all over India. In cities we have another problem that the escalating Malls are flourishing the life of upper class but demolishing the small business of middle class. Those middle class has nothing else left to do anywhere except sitting in their ancient shops and doing nothing.


I see all my juniors has evacuated their native place and eloped to bigger cities to find jobs which are mostly working as a labor in factories etc and staying in unlivable places. Thus all the cities becoming overcrowded day by day, but the city councils are now trying to get rid of them. We are creating new politicians and leaders in cities who adopt this ideology of evacuating the other state's employers and gaining popularity among localities. The current turmoil can be related to the older street hawker extermination plan. These are issues which need be solved for better purposes but a direct governmental involvement, rather than local leaders would make the path easier. Because now-a-days print, television etc media has became so cheap and easily attainable that it enhances curiosity and interest in young generations mind to explore the world and it would be a failure to bind them in one place like a tree. Improvement in small business in suburb areas and countryside may divert their channel from cities and in the same time enjoying the flavor of migration.