Flights Of Fantasy
[ M Panging Pao ]
A few days back India celebrated the 77th Independence Day. Since 1947, India has transformed and progressed tremendously during the last 76 years. India’s population has increased from 34 crore to 140 crore, and its literacy rate has gone up from a miniscule 18.33% to 74.04% in 2011.
India’s life expectancy has gone up from 37.2 years to 68.2 years. Today, the Indian economy is the fifth largest in the world, and India’s GDP has gone up from $30.6 billion in 1950 to $2.54 trillion in 2017.
Despite all these, a few challenges remain. True independence implies self-reliance in food and housing for all citizens. Self-reliance means non-dependence on other nations for basic requirements, and availability of essential services like stabilised electricity, water supply, etc. It may not be too idealistic to include fundamental rights like free speech, secularism, pluralism, etc.
India still has a large population below the poverty line. At 74%, India’s literacy rate is below that of China and Myanmar. Life expectancy in India is 69.6 years below those of Bangladesh and Nepal. On the Corruption Index, India ranks 85th place out of 180 countries. India is the second most unequal country in the world with the top one per cent of the population owning nearly 60% of the country’s total wealth. India also imports most military weapons like aircraft, ships, tanks, submarines and weapons, and thus is dependent on other nations.
Arunachal has also developed tremendously since becoming a state in 1987. Literacy rate has gone up from 7.13% to 65.38% in 2011. From only one college, Arunachal presently has many colleges, universities, engineering/medical college and good schools like VKV and RK Mission. There has been massive improvement in infrastructure like roads, railways, airports, bridges, etc. Today we can fly from Arunachal to many places. Similarly, travelling time to many places has been cut down.
However, there are challenges for Arunachal also. The poverty rate is still high; the literacy rate is third from bottom; the unemployment rates are high and Arunachal depends on central funding.
These figures combined with lack of stabilised electricity and poor infrastructure like roads, water supply, etc, make the life of an average Arunachalee harder. There are minimal industries in Arunachal and tourism is still lagging. Except for a few items, Arunachal depends on others for most of its requirements in terms of food, clothes, groceries, pen, paper, etc. Even human resource like labourers, masons, mechanics and shopkeepers are from outside the state.
Though India and Arunachal have progressed a lot, we are still lagging behind other nations, and Arunachal is lagging behind other states in many fields. Many innovative initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat/Arunachal, StartUp India, Vocal for Local, etc, have been launched. But many challenges remain for India to emerge as a world power and for Arunachal to become an atmanirbhar state. All citizens must contribute to transform India as a world power and Arunachal into an atmanirbhar state. Progress, development and stability in society are the fundamentals of a strong state and country.
Do you want to be truly independent? (The contributor is retired Group Captain, Indian Air Force)
