Once Gandhiji told the renowned author Mr. Mulk Raj Anand that we can't build India unless we build villages. Gandhiji wanted to make the villages independent republics, independent in governance and for routine requirements, governed by the people of the villages and self sufficient for financial needs. In India seventy percent of our population live in villages, but the developmental schemes, for the development of rural segment are not given the required priorities.
Our economy is developing fast, Industries and big corporate are going globalised, with liberalization, tremendous changes are being felt in IT, manufacturing, Service sector, but nobody thinks of the rural development to make it as fast as in these sectors. Then what all this progress and development means? Benefitting to 30% in the total population, already developed and above poverty does not mean any development.
Visiting a village we find even today houses made of mud, bamboos and grass have no protection against rains, storms, moisture and fire. Supplying of adequate drinking water is a tedious problem in which housewife and girls are devoting a sizable part of the daily routine, fetching enough water from far flung area or standing in the queue for hours waiting their number at the public tap. Illiteracy and particularly among the girls is main peculiarity of our rural India. A few States tried to enroll and attract children in schools with the incentive of mid day meal scheme, but all the same universalisation of elementary education is still a dream and there is no let up in the number of annual drop outs. Rural poverty and illiteracy has given our country the dubious name where highest number of child laborer in the world are on the job to feed this bellies.
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