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| At 60, active and kicking | | |
Most Indians who are putting in the hard work to take the country forward at the republic’s mellow age of 60 are well below 30. Seen in any light, this is a sign of great good fortune. Whether, as a people, we seize the opportunity that a young population offers, the energy it brings to every enterprise, and the elemental dynamics of ideas that emanate from youthfulness, will matter for the country and the world. The only reasonable way of economic expansion that is not prejudicial to social cohesion is to remain inclusive in approach. If this is lost, a young population will be a squabbling young population with fratricidal thoughts. It will not be our anticipated source of strength; instead, it will be a pool of negative energy that will encourage centrifugal tendencies. This will be a hindrance to advancement in the new century when we have such high expectations of ourselves and the world thinks of us as a cornerstone of stable thought and action — a society and polity whose efforts help lift people. It goes without saying that if India rises responsibly and without internal frission, it will benefit not only itself but also its neighbours, the region in which it is geographically placed, and the world. For all of this to happen and for a benign dynamic to flow from our actions, it is imperative that our policies should be specifically geared to lift the country’s poor from the abysmal darkness that has been their lot. There is a shaming paradox we deal with here. After growing at approximately eight per cent for a decade, we find that about a third of the country lives below the poverty line, no matter what definition one cares to use, and that more than three-quarters of the population survives on Rs 20 a day, according to an official report. Whether we are able to change this state of affairs within a reasonable time will depend to a considerable extent on the lead given by our political parties, those that are in government at the Centre and in the states and no less those that sit in the Opposition. It is important to forge a working consensus on ways to defeat poverty, the big enemy we have confronted less than convincingly for 60 years. We believe in the strength of our political system and are optimistic about the abilities of our parties and our senior politicians to grapple with new modes of thought. If we show the resolve to drive out poverty, we will find that new education, new science, new production processes, and new forms of international conduct on our part will be forged as a corollary — and all of them will be in the positive mould. These will change the face of India. The path of large-scale transformation has never been smooth. In India, however, apart from coping with the parameters and obstacles that usually attend societal change, the responsibility does lie with the government and the political class as a whole to deal with issues pertaining to extremist religious and political ideologies. Not to put too fine a point on it, coping with extremism — whether born within the system or pushed in from outside by those that do not wish us well — is likely to occupy us for some time to come. This could take the form of terrorism or any other kind of fanaticism that seeks to cleave our common fabric. If our young population finds ways of coping with these, it will be going ahead with seven league boots.
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