"The clearest way
into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
Word
for the day
Synesthesia (n)
A sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to
another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the
visualization of a certain color.
Malice
towards none
Violence, be it in
J&K or in Chhattisgarh, needs to stop. Immediately.
First random
thought this morning
Indian equity market scaled new peak yesterday in a
typical frenzied fashion. The panic amongst investors and traders who were waiting
for a correction to buy is palpable. The common refrain now is "buy
whatever has not gone up".
The junk is therefore on the move at a scorching pace.
In all this, a sane friend reminded, quoting Howard Marks
“When there’s nothing clever to do, it’s a mistake to try to be clever.”
Make growth sustainable and equitable
Last year, the central government
told the Supreme Court that over 330mn Indians are facing acute water shortages
due to drought conditions.
I am not sure what my readers in metro cities having no direct
connection to the affected areas made out of this admission by the
government. But trust me (a) this is much more serious than you could possibly
imagine; and (b) the government was only partially right in its statement.
It is true that over one fourth of Indian population is suffering
from serious water crisis. But it is not completely true that this is some
temporary problem caused by two consecutive drought years and rains this
monsoon season will resolve the problem.
In many parts of the country, including many metro cities like
Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Indore, Madurai etc., water shortages are perennial.
People, mostly female members of the household, have to walk long distances and
wait for hours to fetch few liters of water barely sufficient to meet their
sustenance needs.
Large parts of central and south India, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
Maharashtra are parched since decades now.
The current drought conditions have obstructed industrial
production in affected area, damaged crops, and adversely impacted animal
husbandry. But this is not the worst part.
Last year, our trips to Bundelkhand and Vidharbha regions, taught
us that acute water scarcities is severely damaging (a) the basic fabric of the
society; (b) peoples' faith in the constitutional institutions; (c) the
survival instinct of people; and (d) psyche of the people.
The rate of crime is rising. Even bigger problem is that the
acceptance of crime as a way of life is rising; affording a certain degree of
legitimacy and respect to the criminals. Child traffickers, organ thieves,
pimps and rapists are not amongst the most hated. Police, district
administrators, bureaucrats, and politicians enjoy that distinction. This mistrust of people in the establishment was one major reason for disastrous performance of SP in last UP elections.
On economic side, the country is witnessing humongous productivity
loss. A large number of children and youth are missing school and work to go in
search of water. Mothers are not getting enough time to feed their newborn. The
business of dirty water is growing much bigger than the bottled water and so is
the business of water borne diseases.
The government and policy advisors need to accept that higher and
faster growth is not sufficient. We would need to make the growth much more
sustainable and equitable. I have been writing on this subject consistently for
past many years. For example you could read the following:
In my view, before education and health, the government must have
made clean drinking water delivered at home, a constitutional right of all
citizens.
...to continue
Read with the following
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