By,
Ms. Aayushi Malhotra
B.Design (Textile Design-Sem V)
Satyam Fashion Institute, Noida
11 August 2022, read the newspaper. Taking a sip of my morning coffee, I glanced at the beautiful picture of The India Gate, gracefully decorated to celebrate the 75th year of Independence. I felt different today as the newspaper seemed to radiate some positivity. The news on the first page read, “The very first all-women party to win the Lok Sabha elections”. I was surprised as I read the whole article; homemakers, engineers, doctors, and women in all fields came together to build this party. Page no. 3, pictures of happy farmers awestruck me. It read, “Farmer’s meet to celebrate the law of 95% royalty”. As I flipped the page, “More than 30 crores dedicated by the PM for the betterment of the ones on the border”, this filled my heart with compassion. Nonetheless, the law of keeping 25% seats in all schools for the economically weaker sections under education for all made me so happy. I was just about to close the newspaper and get up from my chair when I got a notification on my phone, “Reservations only based on economic background and not caste, creates a sense of relief, might help in the reduction of poverty” and “Crime rate in India decreased by another 25%”. My happiness was boundless, and I was so excited to share all of this with my sister. As soon as I was about to call her, the alarm on my phone rang and I woke up! Sigh, well, it was a dream. I experienced India of my dreams.
It makes me wonder that it has been 75 years since India became Independent but have we progressed entirely to be called a free country? Well, the meaning of freedom has changed, and there is still something that we are looking for, but what? Every time someone asks me how my dream country would be, my first thought is- A thousand times better than what it is now. Firstly, let’s talk about the education system here in the country. Even though I am aware that much has changed since the launch of NEP 2020, I ponder whether education for all is being implemented. Even though we preach against prejudice and promote educational equality, many schools in India continue to turn away kids from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. More than that, we talk about inclusion, yet I can count the number of schools in my area that give children with special needs equal growth chances on one hand. It is disheartening to see that something as universal as education has discrimination. Let’s move on to reservation, and I know it is highly controversial, but let me ask you a question, does being from any caste define your economic status? The answer is No. Reservations should be there based on the financial background to support the economically weaker sections and provide them with education, and the rest must receive an equal chance. The day this happens, with no discrimination based on religion, caste, etc., in education, it would be the first step to building my dream of India. Secondly, it’s high time to bring another green revolution. Agriculture has been the soul of our country for ages, and somewhere down the years, we have forgotten its essence. Providing ample knowledge to the farmers, educating them about various equipment, and technologically advancing the domain can help utilize the richness of the soil of our country and promote the earnings of the farmers as well. Moving on, there has been a saying that the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. We need more socialism to overcome this obstacle. Bridging the gap through education, empowerment, employment, etc. can help in bridging the economic gap between the two sectors of society. The day we can empower the economically weaker, India would be a happier country. Additionally, most of the issues arise from corruption. It’s just like termite, it makes the entire system of the country hollow. The roots of corruption give rise to the fruits of unemployment, discrimination, wars, terrorism, etc. When there are strict rules against the corrupt, the country shall feel freer. Furthermore, women empowerment. We hear this term a lot on social media, ‘Feminism’, but a lot of people don’t know what this means. Some say it’s about empowering women, keeping women on a higher pedestal, respecting women, etc. Is that all? Well, feminism is not so simple to understand. It is about creating the same opportunities as men for women in our society. The day people become receptive to the fact that feminism is not an act it is an emotion, and humans must be respected despite gender, India will thrive as a country.
Lastly, there are a lot of unsaid things. I want the country to be politically sound and unbiased, with a more robust democracy. Taxes should be practically and judicially imposed. More funds should be sanctioned to the healthcare and technology sectors to accelerate the advancement in these sectors for a better quality of life. This dream nation should be the dream of every citizen of India. Equality in thoughts shall help achieve the desired results. It’s high time that all of us work together to make this country a better place for our future generations.
Image Credit:
Fig. 1: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/india-gate-lit-with-tricolor-gm672288354-123125745
Fig 2. :
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-practice-of-urban-agriculture-in-indian-cities/