I have always wanted to talk about the things that I see around me and I have finally felt the compulsions to do so. The system needs to undergo a lot of changes. Changes always happen when the compulsions are great. The learnings of the industrial age changed many things . What was acceptable in agrarian society was no longer seen as working in the industrial age and so things underwent a change. But now that we are moving into another age of information technology, we have to change the way we do things again, in order to suit the times.
The way we travel has changed so dramatically. With advent of automobiles, the way people travelled changed. So, as a result roads were improved from dirt tracks to metalled and tarred roads. Rail travel was further streamlined from slow ponderous trains pulled by steam engines to superfast trains pulled by electricity. Air travel too has changed and with more people being able to travel, the look and needs of airports have changed.
Everything as we know it has changed. But reforms in the social area are the slowest to change. When we were ruled by the Mughals and other muslim rulers, we regressed as a society as these rulers were themselves very conservative and repressive. But with the advent of the British, we were forced to undergo many reforms as these were areas where we were truly backward, e.g. womens' education, sati , widow remarriage, increasing the age of marriage, etc. In Europe, women's liberation happened as a result of the loss of lives of able bodied men as a result of the two world wars.
But there are still many areas where the government needs to step in firmly with laws and incentives to further improve the lives of those who are less privileged and less endowed by life- in the areas of medical care, education, etc. By good education and good preventive health care services, we can actually bring down the costs of health care in the country. This will also reduce the costs of lives lost and loss of mandays at work leading to huge savings to the exchequer.
Also, it is important to look at the way our society treats it criminals. Because of the nature of our economy , people are frustrated in finding legitimate means of livelihood and many resort to crime. This perpetuates a culture among those who are born and brought up in this environment and do not realise anything is wrong with living a life of crime. When such people are caught and sent to jail, they perpetuate a life of crime inside as well. jails therefore, are the worst breeding grounds for really hard -core criminals. hence we need to completely overhaul the jail system as we know it. we have to provide even the hardened criminal with the opportunity of changing through education and work which has to be made mandatory. Psychotic and psychiatric patients need to be treated and returned to normal life.
The way we travel has changed so dramatically. With advent of automobiles, the way people travelled changed. So, as a result roads were improved from dirt tracks to metalled and tarred roads. Rail travel was further streamlined from slow ponderous trains pulled by steam engines to superfast trains pulled by electricity. Air travel too has changed and with more people being able to travel, the look and needs of airports have changed.
Everything as we know it has changed. But reforms in the social area are the slowest to change. When we were ruled by the Mughals and other muslim rulers, we regressed as a society as these rulers were themselves very conservative and repressive. But with the advent of the British, we were forced to undergo many reforms as these were areas where we were truly backward, e.g. womens' education, sati , widow remarriage, increasing the age of marriage, etc. In Europe, women's liberation happened as a result of the loss of lives of able bodied men as a result of the two world wars.
But there are still many areas where the government needs to step in firmly with laws and incentives to further improve the lives of those who are less privileged and less endowed by life- in the areas of medical care, education, etc. By good education and good preventive health care services, we can actually bring down the costs of health care in the country. This will also reduce the costs of lives lost and loss of mandays at work leading to huge savings to the exchequer.
Also, it is important to look at the way our society treats it criminals. Because of the nature of our economy , people are frustrated in finding legitimate means of livelihood and many resort to crime. This perpetuates a culture among those who are born and brought up in this environment and do not realise anything is wrong with living a life of crime. When such people are caught and sent to jail, they perpetuate a life of crime inside as well. jails therefore, are the worst breeding grounds for really hard -core criminals. hence we need to completely overhaul the jail system as we know it. we have to provide even the hardened criminal with the opportunity of changing through education and work which has to be made mandatory. Psychotic and psychiatric patients need to be treated and returned to normal life.
