Unintelligible to policy makers?
You see we as an agri/rural media are enough experienced and also enough foolproof to any sort of scepticism! Agriculture is the most important and high priority sector everyone would jump to endorses it and yet why this sector is one of tears and no joys?
See the number of schemes, unpronounceable at the latest-the latest Prime Minister’s scheme is-PM-Asha, expand it as Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan! Why make these poor men’s schemes so mouthful?
Anyway, if you ask the reasons that can be too many and too complicated too! Politicians might have their own public and private reasons, isn’t it so?
Just recently, we collected some ideas from the agri ministry. There are two ministers, one Radhamohan Singh who often talks of some interesting schemes, the latest we read about is about tapping the milk potential from the desi cows! WE see his deputy, MoS Agriculture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat talking about congress receiving money through hawala sources!
Is this his domain? There are so many other pressing issues in the agriculture ministry itself. Even if he takes one topic a day his time won’t be enough. But we see the ministers these days talk without inviting some feedback about their own performance.
We have the rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar talking about his own ideas. For a question as to what he has been able to achieve the outlined agenda on rural development, the hon’ble minister answers that there is a need for self-employment in rural areas as all want to get a job!
Is this all he has got to say?
There is a crying need to create jobs. It is becoming a scandal and that too as elections are coming up in many states and the TV channels flash day in and day out that for each job, be that is a constable or a peon hundreds are lining up, even PhDs are there for the very mean jobs.
What has happened to this country? The decibel level of the political rhetoric has also deteriorated and all sorts of unprintable words are bandied about and you can call yo0ur political opponents in any way you like?
No, this sort of politics must end and be it Rahul Gandhi or the PM or the FM, they have to show much restraint and people would judge for themselves who is a clown and who is not. The rural development minister promises houses for all by 2022.This is of course a tall order and he and his successors even cant hope to aim for such heights.
There are very many high policy issues, education must change, it is already changing, young men and women are deserting the bogus engineering colleges, as in TN and elsewhere, also the craze for English medium in secondary schools, even in LKG and UKG would wane once the school system expands and the various progressive features of new Acts see to it that everyone, every aspir9ing child or parent gets his or her wishes fulfilled. That is the aim of the government and it must be so.
Unfortunately, the HRD ministry, as the Agriculture Ministry is poorly led by people who are first not suited for their tasks. We have to say this here, right now, for we are a media committed to the lost causes! We don’t have a commercial backing, no CSR nor other media agency, government’s ones are so far from the ground level realities of this country.
We don’t want to be seen as the crying babies! Unfortunately, none so far in the Information ministry has reformed the ministry and there is priority ad support or other subsidies to enable such media like the ones that cater to high priority but low in attention value!
Indian agriculture is so high priority that you need to have panels discussing the several critical aspects of assuring farmers price support, other supports. We talk too much and too much empty talks and exhortations!
The ministers must travel ext5ensively across the states and meet the men and women in action. The ministers must engage themselves with the civil society, NGOs and why not even the Opposition leaders and also must know how the farmers are doing in the respective regions.
There are farmers agitations everywhere, the agitations have been increasing as per one report and there is farmers’ unrest! We want the hon’ble ministers to take our critical comments in good spirit. From our own village we wrote to the PMO at the very beginning of his term in 2014! Only now, after four and half years, there is some response and yet the rural development official at the district level had responded. They say there is enough funds. Fine. But when will the project would be implemented, we all in the village wait in anticipation. May be by the time the next step is taken the government’s very term might have ended!
After all this is India where bureaucracy has its own terms and conditions!
But one thing must be clear to everyone. The people of the country, the voters of the states are all awake. If any government doesn’t perform, if the government is seen as only talk and not much performance the governments are voted out.
May be that is the beauty of democracy. Long live democracy!