The following are excerpts from a conversation between two friends in a bus. Lets just make the two friends A and B.
A: Hey do you know how the world will be like in 2050?
B: Hey, did you watch some futuristic movie? The aliens are coming to take over the earth. ha.
A: No yaar, i am not talking about some Hollywood movie where the school kids are flying in their skate boards or a dystopia future where robots are ruling the Earth. I am talking about the economy.
B: Not getting a single thing what you are talking about?
A: Are yaar, as per the recently released estimates of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India will become the 3rd largest economy of the world by 2050.Is not it cool?
B: Wow great. but so what?
A: Are kya bol raha hey. Its a matter of pride for our entire nation. We will be a developed nation. are not you feeling proud about this?
B: Yeah, its a great time for our country which builds on the principles of democracy, secularism and justice, liberty equality for all. I can clearly remember what the preamble of this great country talks about, WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. Hahaha. what a joke.....
A: Are you nuts? you are laughing on the Indian constitution.
B: yeah, these things look good for a fiction novel, not for a country like India. Lets just face the facts. We are the 11th largest economy in the world and still 40% of our population is living below the poverty line. We are talking about equal opportunities for all but cant even provide primary education for most children.
A: But i am sure that all these things will change with the passage of the time.
B: But i am of the view that, it will be worse in the future.Inequality will rise, urban rural divide will broaden and the future will not be a Utopian one but a dark future awaits for us.
A: Dont be so negative yaar?
B: Cant you see the reality? a quarter of all Indians are living below $1 a day, but there are people who are living in a billion dollar home. Some kids are studying in schools which resembles luxury hotels and at the same time we got millions of children who dont know what a school is? Lets just face it, even if we as a country become the largest economy in the world, there will be millions who will be unaffected by it. May be we will be one of the powerful country in the international sphere, but what the use of that power, when majority of your citizens are powerless.
This is what some of the people in this country feels about their future. For them India is not like a candy floss Bollywood romance but its like the story of Bandit queen, Slumdog millionaires. What you feel about your country. Please feel free to post. Thank you
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