ALTERNATIVES

For every ailment under the sun, there is a remedy or there is none.
If there is one, find it… If there is none, never mind it!

The above verse reflected my attitudes and approaches in life as a teenager. It was sure-fire way to escape stress by just running away from the problem, if it could not be solved. It also involved being slave to a singular dimension of problem solving.

However travelling and interacting with people, especially in the villages, brought me face to face with the reality that single answers often mask the appropriate alternatives. Our major problem is we do not get to the root of the problem. Worse we get stuck to the same static solutions.

Consider “development” for instance. Destruction of existing resources in scarce regard to the stakeholders’ needs cannot be termed development. It is necessary to identify the priority issues confronting the nation and devise effective and appropriate alternatives to solve them. The emphasis has to be to promote sustainable national development and disseminating the means for creating sustainable livelihoods on a large scale, and regenerate the environment. It involves the innovative creation of appropriate technologies, responsive institutional systems and environmental and resource management methods.

Hence the last line of the verse of influence needs to be unlearnt and revised as follows:
If there is one, never mind it; if there is none, go ahead and find it

Progress cannot be exclusive to the elite segments of society. It should be done keeping in mind the immediate needs of our people and the larger vision for a better future for all. Hence it is pertinent to explore the multiple dimensions of appropriate alternatives to create the right development that will be people friendly, people relevant and people urgent. The smokescreen of lip service won’t do! The true alternatives have to be chosen over fallacious concepts.

The same static approach needs to digress
‘Develop new dimensions’ for real progress!

Regards
Pravin