My Fellow Himachali’s,
Wishing you all a happy and prosperous Diwali.
Last month I had been to India on a four week vacation. The things seems to have changed in these couple of years some for good and some for bad. I was surprised to find out the way prices of goods have gone up. A simple tooth brush which used to be around Rs. 10 a couple of years back is around Rs. 50-60 now. Though I found a dramatic change in the living standards of people.
This change again is for good as well as bad. The good part is that people now have access to the outer world through media and therefore there has been awareness about the things that were lacking a couple of years back. Couple of years back people had to go miles to find out a telephone to make any emergency call and now each house owns at least one cell phone. So the distance has shrunk drastically.
Almost each house owns a television now. At least black and white if not colored. This is my observation of the area I had been to and may differ from area to area. My worst disappointment still was unemployment. Though we have had a cell phone boom in the rural areas which have made life little easier. I was totally shocked to find out that even an unemployed youth owns a cell phone worth Rs. 15000-20000.
Where does this money come from? Of course from parent’s pockets. Here as an incident that I came across. One of my known person owns a small orchard. Most of the produce from Himachal is transported to Delhi for sale and he sent his unemployed son with the produce to sell it in Delhi. The sale was around Rs 20,000. The son got him self a cell phone
worth Rs. 17,000 from Delhi and handed over Rs 3000 to the father. Now thinking of the father who put his 100% all year round to get some money out of the crop and feed his family, was totally devastated.
This is not a single isolated incident I came across several similar stories. Now the question is open to all whether this change had been for good or bad? Though I was happy to find out that almost every village was getting connected through roads. Another issue was water. I had to go personally to the person in charge to request him to look into this matter. Even in the area I live in, they supply water every alternate day and that too you can barely fill a bucket or two. I was told that all the water sources are almost drying. What have done to the ecology that these sources which were there for ages all of a sudden started vanishing? Due to water shortage people have started migrating from villages to cities. Is it too late to do something?
These are couple of things that I observed during my trip. Again, I am talking about the part of Himachal I had been to. I would like to know from the fellow Himachal’s what the situation is in other part of Himachal.
Microbiologist and a Toxicologist, Des was born in Nither, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. At present Dr. Kashyap is working as a Research Faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine in Gary, Indiana, USA.
The situation seems to be the same everywhere. The unemployment has been taking its toll on the families. The unemployed youth have been using such pressure tactics to get the luxurious gadgets from their parents, which probably their parents cannot afford. Similar cases are prevalent probably in all the areas of himachal. To mention, one can easily see that the number of bikes, cars and mobiles has drastically gone up. This has also led to an increase in the accidents because most of the time, these youth (particularly on bikes) drive very rashly.
Although such things are happening at a rapid pace, it seems very difficult to even advice them for their betterment in terms of career, employment and future scope.
Well problem is how do we create or show role models to them. Its just that what they see, thats what they want. The point we need to discuss is how do we reach to them, engage them and then show the other side of coin. Unfortunately industrial growth in Himachal is only for labor class and educated youths are just confused and frustrated. Government policy has failed as it only turns school teachers and there are not enough avenues for skilled jobs. Up above that too much politics is spooling everything.
Dear Sir,
Greetings,
The reason being is that as we are carrying in our mind that we were backward & in the same parameter we try to gage things sir yes you are true unemployment is there but its universal phenomina and sapecifically in India its big problam of coming days as we have a lot of employment but lack of professional stuff & regarding that cell phone issue its only rat race and advantage given by parents & so called secular & scientific advanced thinker people who said the our original Education with value added thing back ward & supporting the Agenda of that maha inteligent politician Arjun singh SEX EDUCATION COMPAIGN because we can;t view himachal as a single identities as its part of INDIA a people are trying so many nagitive things hope you have seen if you have close look there is no people friendly regiam now social services is not the motive of political arena its now a days one of the lucrative job………………
But Dr. Sahab can we became the part of soluation not the part of problem by contributing something to society any possible way………….. There is so many thing to discuss if its from true heart discussion otherwise if its for the sake of discussion then I am over & out for ever otherwise its continue one I hear from your valuable advise Look forward to hear from your end as well as other people concerd about Himachal & its coming Genration of this beautiful creation of almighty. AMRIK SINGH THAKUR
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wooooooooow !
heard your song ….. read your post and also the comments to it. To AMRIK SINGH THAKUR , i can only say ………. go look for a Gora to take ur sob story ( is that not what all himanchal is doing , anyways) and as far as “being a part of solution and not the problem ” part the only thing that i can say is , that he got no right to talk about it , as he and his kind are the problem….. hink it over . I think there are easy solutions , very easy ones ,all we need is the will….. and some support ( not ur money and not even your moral backing………… but YOU)
so talk to me
regards
rajeev
What I felt visiting himachal is smoking, drinking habits among youth is spreading like fire, i was with my cousin in his shop a little child came there & asked for a GUTKA. I was really shocked by this incidient that what is future of this guy coz he started it in the age which is not meant at all for this kind of work, even no age is meant for this, but a child of age 12-13 asking for gutka really shocking………….