I came across a contest on HarperCollins India for Ten ideas for the next twenty years of India and was tickled enough to bring out my own list, but after completion I realised that mine were not ‘ideas’ but what I thought were catalysts for change. So instead of submitting the list to the contest, I have posted it here. Feel free to comment, debate and share your ideas.
1. Pass the Lokpal Bill
Self-explanatory. The biggest problem our country filled with potential is facing is graft and political anarchy. I take the liberty of calling it anarchy because a nation run by money-laundering rascals, misogynists and religious criminals with no vision or desire to serve the people is fit to be called anarchy (and I do not single out any political party here. One is worse than the other).
2. Treat eve-teasing as a criminal offence awarded with heavy fine or imprisonment
This includes self-appointed moralists who take it upon themselves to beat up women because they do not fit their bill of ‘Indian culture’. It’s high time someone taught these bastards some culture. A heavy fine and imprisonment might go a long way in curbing the animalistic, sex-deprived street behaviour of Indian men and give women the courage to lodge complaints.
3. Make rape and marital rape non-bailable offences awarded with life imprisonment and revealing a rape victim’s identity a criminal offence
Rape laws in India are chauvinistic at best and so moderate a hardened rapist could easily slip through their grasp. A tough sentence could act as a deterring force.
4. Make sex-education compulsory in all schools
I cannot stress this enough. The moral police could go fly a kite in the filth of their own ignorance and patriarchal tribal values.
5. Make it impossible for a candidate with criminal records to contest elections and set a minimum educational bar of a graduate degree to contest state and national assemblies
Education does not mean knowledge but it does go a long way in opening up the mind to the world and better representation of an emerging India.
6. Introduce a benefit scheme for small-time farmers and BPL families providing them a (realistic) monthly package of money/ration and free education for the children
This might have been thought of and implemented ‘on paper’ but it’s time India tagged along the poorest of the poor and the farmers who feed us on the path of progress and of course their children have a birth-right to education. Considering the amount of tax payer’s money being hoarded in Swiss banks, we can afford this.
7. Implement a ‘One child only’ rule
Controversial, yes; against individual rights, yes but it’s the need of the hour if India has any hope of limiting the population explosion.
8. Build world-class training facilities for rural, athletic and national sports (basically all other sports side-lined by cricket) in every district
Refer to my post India at the London Olympics
9. Build enough public toilets or provide portable loos and make public-urination and littering an offence that will be heavily fined
Self-explanatory. It’s time we stopped ignoring the mess around us and got working.
10. Metro links in all Tier 1 cities, High speed rails connecting the country with on-board loos that do not open on to the tracks
Yes, Indian Railways is a profit-making entity and operates a huge fleet but if you think about the population Vs transport infrastructure ratio we are way behind optimal facilities. And the loos well, haven’t we all pinched our noses shut within a kilometre radius of railway tracks?
Now I am well aware that this list does not cover everything that can be done for a better India. I have not mentioned the dire need for us to stop being IT service slaves of the West and the need for entrepreneurship (but you can read my thought on the topic here) or Caste and Religious issues or environmental concerns. I would also like to write in length on gender inequality and women’s issues in our country in another post, another day, till then I think this will do. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
The Color Purple 
Hmmm well I dont think lok pal bill will od any good.. it will be the same people again .. you have given very valid points but they are too many it will take years to get that done .. what is required is to get all the politicians khadi wearing people.. and shoot them dead ..
that will make a lot of changes in our great nation and make it compulsory for every able person to serve in the army for at least 3 -4 years
Well shooting all the politicians dead may seem like a good idea but trust me violence will only be met with violence. Unless you want a gun-toting Maoist troop roaming the streets you don’t want to do that (although its very tempting :D). And am not sure how compulsory military service is going to solve any of our problems other than providing more human power to the military.
How it will help is that people will have some discipline.
and beleive me if we look at other nations , doing just what i have said is the only way.
I dont believe in gandhian principles they have not done any good to our nation, no matter what people say ..
As bhagat singh said it takes a loud noise to make the deaf hear..
I beg to differ again. 😀 No developed country in the world has shot all its politicians in the path to progress. Though I am not comfortable with all the Gandhian principles and am a great admirer of Shahid Bhagat Singh, I should say non-violence and well thought out plans are more effective in the long run.
hmm they proved so wrong in our long struggle for independance.
I am not asking you to agree to me at all .. but when will we wake up .. or will we jsut talk like this for another decade 🙂
i was not talking of developed countries I was talking of the recent changes going around in the world
No Sir still don’t buy it. No country that has taken the path of violence has progressed. Proof positive- countries in the African sub-Saharan region who did exactly that. Violence is not what needs at the moment. To close in the gap from ‘developing’ to ‘developed’ all that our country needs is tighter laws and some reforms, the rest will follow. We sure as hell don’t want to progress backwards by taking up violence.
okay, well we aint doing anything good now too.. since 1947 tell me what good have me done , in context to what is happening in our country now ..
so maybe a Change will be good .
and dont SIR me please BIkram is a good name 🙂
hehhehe well true that we haven’t achieved half of what we could have achieved since independence but one thing am proud of is that we have never resorted to violence. That’s India’s USP and hope for salvation. 🙂 Just think if we had taken up arms and violence what difference would have been left between India & Pak or one of those African countries I mentioned earlier? We would have achieved even less with violence than we have achieved with non violence. Sure we need to get off our lazy asses and do something but surely not at gunpoint.
it was nice to read your points …will come back again .sorry . curse my hectic schedule
You certainly made sense with your ten points.
I don’t Agree with the passing of the lokpal bill. It seems like a good idea at first but then you realize that the worst offenders are not politicians but the bureaucrats, and they will be the ones administrating this.
I also don’t agree with the one child rule. If you look at most middle class or upper class families in India you will realise that they usually only have one or two children. We should make contraceptives more available to poor village women who are likely to have the most children. I would remind you that India has a birth rate of about 2.6, which really isn’t that high.
About the Lokpal Bill, yes that’s a risk one would have to face but its at least doing something as opposed to what we have right now. On the one child rule, yes its debatable (although effective) and you are absolutely right about making contraceptives available for rural men and women (time men took responsibility) but India’s birth rate is not 2.6. Its 20.6, which should be enough to send alarm bells ringing.