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"Through
woods and mountain passes
The winds, like anthems,
roll."
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Midnight Mass for the Dying Year, 1839.)
Population in India has been on the increase over the last 50 years and now stands around 1 billion with an overall population density of roughly 290 per square kms. Densely populated areas, however, have population density of more than 700 per square kilometers with some urban pockets displaying a density of 6500 per square kms and more.
Some major areas of concern are -almost half the population is below the poverty line with 40% of the urban population living in slums. Yet, there is hardly any time-bound program to stabilize the population. This is underlined by the haphazard expansion of the settlements by diverting agriculture and forestland for housing development.
The present population projections indicate that we shall have to feed 1.65 billion people by the middle of the next century requiring almost 500 million tons of foodgrains the rate of 300kg/capita/annum.
The floodplains of the great rivers are our food bowls and food production has been able to keep abreast of the increasing population largely because of the first Green Revolution which unfortunately has also been accompanied by high environmental costs-high yielding varieties replacing the numerous locally adapted varieties making crops vulnerable to diseases, deficiency of micronutrients and incidence of salinity in intensively cultivated areas. But, land mass being limited, the requisite increase in foodgrains availability can be brought about only by; at least, a three fold increase in the productivity from the present level, and that too in an environment characterized by climate change and doubling of CO2 concentration etc. This calls for a Second Green Revolution covering whole of the farming community unlike the first one that remained confined just to about 12-15 per cent of the farmers in North-West India. Alternatively, there is no escape from stabilizing the population on top priority. This is equally applicable to the cattle population, which has to be supported on less than four per cent of the over grazed land, classified as pastures.
We also need to reorient the educational system to encourage creativity and imparting of skills to enable our youth to contribute to the national wealth rather than merely facilitate acquisition of degrees. Pursuit of excellence is at a low premium while mediocrity is celebrated thereby threatening to rapidly make the third largest technical manpower into just a third rate one.
While food production has doubled, the population has trebled over the same period. Malnutrition, overcrowding, increased incidence of air and water borne diseases, poverty and unemployment, etc. are causing human misery and turning a large proportion of manpower from an asset to a liability. Unemployed and unskilled youth, with rising expectations, take to crime aggravating law and order situation.
Since, the population profile is becoming even younger, the need for channeling the energy of the Indian youth in a productive and constructive manner has become absolutely essential through a carefully planned merit based system of incentives.
Write to :
PRATIDAN,
A-801, La-place, Shahnazaf Road,
Lucknow-226001 (INDIA)
Phone: 00-91-522-217875
Email:-
[email protected]
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By PRATIDAN
In-house |
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