Essays

There was a time when my Motherland, India, was considered a 'Golden Bird'. This was because of its riches, vast natural resoures and the great, bright future it was expected to have in store. Our rich, cultural lieritage, old civilization and vast knowledge in every aspect of life had endeared India and Indians even to the outside world. No wonder, foreigners had been taking keen interest in us right from the dawn of their awakening.

But alas! It is all lost now. Gone are the days of past glory, riches, reverence and attraction. The country has witnessed a sharp decline in its over-all image and we have now become a nation, inviting mockery, neglect and indifference from outsiders.

India of my dream is, naturally, the same ancient land, full of peace prosperity, wealth and immense knowledge. I want to see it free from the problems that are bringing bad name, destroying peace and creating unrest and despair among the masses. In the first place, I sincerely wish the poverty to bo banished. Everyone must get three square meals a day- No one would cry out for food. Beggars would be hard to meet anywhere. Slums and 'Juggi Jhopri' colonies should nowhere be seen. Everyone would have a proper house to live in. Streets would be well-maintained and well-lighted. Care would be taken to keep a high standard of hygiene and sanitation. There would be free and compulsory primary education for all. All men, women and children would be educated and no one would remain illiterate.

With the spread of education, population-control would, naturally, follow. Everyone would have a happy family of one or two children who would be well-fed, clothed and regularly sent to school. Once the cofitrol in population is achieved, unemployment too would be non-existent. Every eligible person would have a job according to his aptitude and ability. Discontentment with job or salary would vanish. Men and women would come back highly satisfied and contented with their respective jobs.

Further, there would also be matchless progress in the field of agriculture and industry. Agriculture would no longer be dependent on favourable weather conditions anywhere in India. There would be adequate alternative means of irrigation so that at least drought would never affect the crops. We would be using the latest high-yielding seeds for bumper crops with the best fertilizers, and would not only be self-sufficient but export food to other countries.

The pollution problem in our country too would be solved forever. Methods would be developed so that toxic fumes and effluents from motor-vehicles and factories are reduced to a minimum. Research would also show the way of rendering these toxic fumes harmless once they are released into the atmosphere. People would then have a clean and healthy environment to live in. Industrial development too would have made further strides and we would not be backward in any area of industrial advancement.

All agree that India is a beautiful land with fascinating tourist-spots. They too would be further developed and maintained well so that the present menace of beggars and unhygienic conditions is a story of the past. Monuments too, would be well-preserved. All those in danger of falling to pieces owing to the hazards of modern development, (such as the soiling of the Taj Mahal by the Mathura refinery) would be maintained by scientific methods.

The streets, gardens and shopping centers in all the tourist- spots would be beautified. Foreigners would wish to return again and again to these places of beauty and this would lead to our earning valuable foreign exchange, besides strengthening the ties with foreign countries.

Social harmony would be preserved at all costs. The present-day evils would be done away with. The dowry-

system and bride burning would be regarded as primitive happenings as also child marriage, caste discrimination and other such age-old customs. Women would be respected and liberated. Today, while they are working shoulder to shoulder with men, they are not always given the same scales of pay. In many areas of work they are discriminated against. All this will be a past history