Why India lags behind

Aryabhatta, an Indian gave this world zero, without which Mathematics of today is unimaginable. Sushrutha, a surgeon performed surgeries a millennium before Hippocrates, father of medicine, and two millennia before European stalwarts like Celcius and Galen could. He is regarded as Father of Plastic Surgery all over the world. He is an Indian too! Martial arts which are now famous in South-East Asia were taught to this world by Bodhidharma, an Indian. The world's most ancient civilisation, the Indus valley civilisation originated in India. Achievements like these exemplify the Indian Intellectual potential. India of today is completely different. The most powerful woman of India, Sonia Gandhi had to visit the U.S to get treated for cancer. A rape victim had to be sent to Singapore, a small nation that doesn't measure more than our state, for better medical facilities. Our movie producers hire Germans or Chinese to choreograph martial art sequences in their movies. Finally our youth blindly follow western culture thinking it to be superior. What explains the fall of a nation that is gifted with a huge intellectual potential? Does 'India have enough workforce?'No' in fact, India is one of the youngest nations in this world with immense workforce. The average age of its nationals is just 25! Then what explains its inferior position? Before giving reasons, let me give the reader's two pertinent examples. Plants synthesise their own food availing of cell organelles called chloroplasts. If someday in future humans were to be implanted with chloroplasts or chloroplast-like organelles enabling humans to synthesise their own food, how many of us would work hard as we work today? I think, there is no need to ponder over the question for too long, as the obvious answer would be 'no one' or' a very few people. Now consider the second example. A bunch of people are trying to cross a busy road. Few traffic police personnel are assisting the bunch of people, who are blind to cross it. After assisting half of the people, the personnel decline to assist the rest citing the rules in their work manual which debate them from assisting these hapless people. Now what do these blind people do? They either look for a Good Samaritan's help or else move to another crossing point with less vehicular flow. The same is the case in India. - N Ratan Prasad Reddy, College of Veterinary Science, Hyderabad.