04-23-2004, 08:19 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->One thing that I have always dreamed-of (pie in the sky maybe) is a different form of taxation where the tax payer actually decides which project their tax gets used. Different projects then vie for the tax payer money in order to survive. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I did not wish to give the impression that one should not dream and have big dreams and a vision for the future. By all means go ahead and have a dream (as P.kalam says), but then one should follow up the dream with a plan for execution and to make the dream a reality. To analyze a problem is not enough , one must take it to the next step and design a solution. A solution involves creativity and synthesis, and is in general a more difficult activity than analyzing a problem.
It is pie in the sky only if one does nothing about the dream. One of the things we can learn from the Americans is the extent of activism there is on various issues. If a person feels passionately about something then one must go after it with gusto and vigor with a lot of voluntary effort. Merely to wait for a great personality like Adi Sankara to amble along once every millenium, is not very productive and encourages the notion that I cannot do anything until Adi Sankara comes, so that takes the monkey of my back. Adi Sankaras may come and go (who know when)but we are already here and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The fact of the matter is that the divine spirit and the potential to be an Adi Sankara exists in every human being, it is just that it is covered up by a myriad issues until we forget who we really are.
My point is that when highlighting what ails the country one must be prepared to offer a solution and that solution must be something that can be initiated by an individual. Let me give an instance, which is something that happened when i was in india for the last few months.
Vizag like most medium and smaller sized cities does not have regular garbage collection . As a general rule i have observed that when there is no garbage collection the whole city becomes a garbage dump. Our domestic help used to throw the garbage from our house in the drainage channel that runs outside the house by the street which in turn used to get clogged with refuse. We wonder why Indian cities are dirty when compared to other cities of the world. Well this is one reason why.
So I started picking up the garbage from the drain and carrying it to the nearest garbage container. The domestic help saw me do it for a couple of days and then she started doing it too. Furthermore she promised me she would never throw it in the street drain again.The next time i go i plan to ask the city why there is no regular garbage removal from the container and to offer garbage removal service to each household for a fee. Initially there may not be takers (why spend money on garbage ask the indian einsteins ) but as they see the effect on beautification of the city more and more people will be convinced to open their wallets and shell out money for garbage removal. This is not earthshaking like sending a rocket into space but goes a long way to make the cities of india more livable.
So the next time we think of what ails India , lets think of a solution simultaneously, not a solution that puts the monkey on the back of a PM sitting in Delhi, but, a doable solution in which preferably each of us has a part to play.
This does not mean that one should not think of schemes like highway projects , modern airport projects and joining of rivers etc. But even in those instances, there is a role to play for the average (RK)Laxman. One of his roles is to work to get the right people elected.
I did not wish to give the impression that one should not dream and have big dreams and a vision for the future. By all means go ahead and have a dream (as P.kalam says), but then one should follow up the dream with a plan for execution and to make the dream a reality. To analyze a problem is not enough , one must take it to the next step and design a solution. A solution involves creativity and synthesis, and is in general a more difficult activity than analyzing a problem.
It is pie in the sky only if one does nothing about the dream. One of the things we can learn from the Americans is the extent of activism there is on various issues. If a person feels passionately about something then one must go after it with gusto and vigor with a lot of voluntary effort. Merely to wait for a great personality like Adi Sankara to amble along once every millenium, is not very productive and encourages the notion that I cannot do anything until Adi Sankara comes, so that takes the monkey of my back. Adi Sankaras may come and go (who know when)but we are already here and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The fact of the matter is that the divine spirit and the potential to be an Adi Sankara exists in every human being, it is just that it is covered up by a myriad issues until we forget who we really are.
My point is that when highlighting what ails the country one must be prepared to offer a solution and that solution must be something that can be initiated by an individual. Let me give an instance, which is something that happened when i was in india for the last few months.
Vizag like most medium and smaller sized cities does not have regular garbage collection . As a general rule i have observed that when there is no garbage collection the whole city becomes a garbage dump. Our domestic help used to throw the garbage from our house in the drainage channel that runs outside the house by the street which in turn used to get clogged with refuse. We wonder why Indian cities are dirty when compared to other cities of the world. Well this is one reason why.
So I started picking up the garbage from the drain and carrying it to the nearest garbage container. The domestic help saw me do it for a couple of days and then she started doing it too. Furthermore she promised me she would never throw it in the street drain again.The next time i go i plan to ask the city why there is no regular garbage removal from the container and to offer garbage removal service to each household for a fee. Initially there may not be takers (why spend money on garbage ask the indian einsteins ) but as they see the effect on beautification of the city more and more people will be convinced to open their wallets and shell out money for garbage removal. This is not earthshaking like sending a rocket into space but goes a long way to make the cities of india more livable.
So the next time we think of what ails India , lets think of a solution simultaneously, not a solution that puts the monkey on the back of a PM sitting in Delhi, but, a doable solution in which preferably each of us has a part to play.
This does not mean that one should not think of schemes like highway projects , modern airport projects and joining of rivers etc. But even in those instances, there is a role to play for the average (RK)Laxman. One of his roles is to work to get the right people elected.