From a post a year ago about a visit to Nageshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh:
I asked the driver and the watchman about the government. They said the government made no difference to them. The MPs and MLAs only came to ask for votes and were never seen again. Both voted, and would flip their vote each time because they saw no progress.
Many of the 12-15 year-olds end up going to Mumbai, taken up typically by a family which wants a domestic help or someone to help at the shop. Employment opportunities locally are few and far between – there is no manufacturing happening. NREGA provides some employment once in a while, but it only ends up being at best a few days in a month.
For the most part, little has changed in the lives of this India. As a nation, we have failed them – by not being able to provide a decent education and by not providing adequate employment opportunities. The time has come for India’s politics of votebanks to be replaced by the politics of development. We need to get Zakirbhai and Radheshyam dreaming about a New India for their children.
You must be logged in to post a comment.