PARITY PARADOX

India is a  country blessed with a demographic dividend that -as pundits say - will drive India into a high growth trajectory.

A good part of this dividend is found in the sylvan settings of rural India.WHICH IS many a times portrayed as the oppressed, improvised,and left to fend for themselves come what may.
This state of affairs has created a disparity in the quality of life that they enjoy vis a vis their urban counterparts.
I was rudely shocked from this rural stupor when i noticed that the tranquil village setting is a base camp for  large scale  operation" rip off."
I entirely blame myself for being so naive about the "rural rip off"
The rural rip off runs like with a striking regularity.in the way the rip offs  usually go on .
This  starts with Indian festivals cycle of holi- Ganesha chaturti - Diwali & Christmas,and few village fairs & games sponsorship 
thrown in.   
The village folks get around to collect "donations" from all supposedly for celebrations but actually end up in pockets of the village busybodies who has mastered this science of rip offs into an art.
The repercussions of those who are not in the "donation" mode is swift.
 The village folk  is boycotted by fellow villagers under the advice of the village goons,for folks in business in and around have to face retribution by way of blockage of the Business activities .
All this goes on in the sylvan,tranquil  surroundings that village are construed to be.
This sham goes on with knowledge of the politicians in the upper echelons of political hierarchy,
The ethical fabric of village  is sadly, woven with strings of deceit,greed,brinkmanship& hooliganism,all this hides behind a facade of tranquility  which does not augur well for India in the years to come.
the blatant mannerism exhibited espouses that there is no tomorrow
and conveys "Eat ,Drink & merry for tomorrow we die"
The day is not far that the life of rip offs will end & bring these village folks out on the streets for having milked the Cow to point of no return.
I hope i am proved wrong & indian villagers get down working & make a village what it project to be
-- a tranquil settings where the demographic dividend really waits to be reaped for a rich strong resilient & a vibrant India.

MINEFIELD OF POLITICS

The word/s MINE/MINING instantly creates an image of devastation,degradation, deprivation,decimation & will need umpteen more no of adjectives of the English language.

We have today a world looking at the word 'Mining' with a jaundiced eye & tinge of green

This is partly right but to a very very large extent WRONG.

FOR all KNOWLEDGEABLE & Unlettered citizens it is of a primary Importance to know in a life cycle of civilization,that WHAT CANNOT BE GROWN HAS TO BE MINED.

Meaning that i can GROW Wheat on Mother Earth, but i need to MINE iron from mother Earth to make a implements to harvest the wheat into flour to get it onto the table.

We can make cars from the same iron mined but we need the crude oil to make it run.

we make furniture from trees to sit/sleep but we again need to mine iron to make nails to hold the chair together.

As we all see, its Mother Earth,that provides us all the sustenance,the ability to grow & the ability to harvest .

So, one cannot pit ONE INSTEAD OF OTHER, BUT IT'S ONE WITH ANOTHER

With a back ground of the necesacity of .having to have a marriage of convenience of mining & all other activity,we need to look at the recent imbroglio of Orissa bauxite mining project.

This project in orissa was one to mine aluminium.in a remote tribal areas,but was shot down by Environmentalist as a Ecological disaster.

Once the dust settles,its apparent that

- the project was shelved as it would bring in tribal s in mainstream thro rehabilitation from their origin,which means you cant take them for a ride & get them to vote as per your fancies.

- the project will have brought economic development in an non congress ruled state

- The economic uplift would have been credited to the state Government,which is bad for - Congress as it shows opposition party in a good light fr the local populace

- The increased revenue for the state translates into increased development of the state

that too a NON congress state.

- The tribal empowerment would be like taking away the trump card of the Live-in Crown prince,a young 40ish Rahul Gandhi; A baby in politics.

- the project initially OKd was suddenly done away with as it dawned on them that a certian industrial group ie Vedanta will be having a respectable share of the Aluminium ore vis a vis others.

if u look at things we now know- that on Mother Earth besides land to grow wheat,besides ore to use for mankind's benefit there also are species called politicsapiens,who are there to remind us that besides roses in life there are nasty thorns ,who make people life miserable more miserable that what mining purports to do.