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 PRIMARY
EDUCATION
In India, a child spends up to 15 years to finish his elementary
education, which, besides being a great financial burden on the
family, is of little long-term use to him in vocational terms. So,
it would make perfect sense if education at the primary level were
made available to everyone as a matter of right |
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 HEALTHCARE
Health is wealth. But with a reliable healthcare system still out
of bounds for the unwashed masses, India continues to be a rather
‘sick’ nation. As the world talks of human Genome revelations
and cloning, we are still grappling with diseases like malaria and
leprosy. Free healthcare at all levels is imperative to help us
grow as a nation of the next century |
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 INTERNET
Did you know that 28% of Microsoft's total work force is Indian
and that the guy who gave us is Hotmail too is an Indian? It is
high time that India opened its door to the next generation of communicating
for "the empires of the future would be the empires of the
mind" |
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 ELECTION
We are in the 21st century. But electoral battles are still fought
primarily with muscle and money power and candidates are voted on
caste and community lines. It is not a day too soon, therefore,
for us to overhaul the entire system and free the electoral process
from the control of moneyed goons |
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 SEX
A repressed society gets nowhere. So, let's shed our Victorian inhibitions
and return to our roots, which lie in the Kamasutra and the erotic
Khajuraho sculptures. Surely, an ancient nation has more pressing
things to fret over than the limits of sexual freedom |
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 FOODGRAINS
Thousands of tonnes of grains decay in the mandis of Punjab and
Haryana every year due to lack of proper storage facilities. And
yet people die of starvation in Kalahandi. The surplus foodgrains
can help feed the needy and strengthen the nations work force |
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 THOUGHT
Free thought is the bedrock of a democracy. We preen about the freedom
of the press and the right of the people to express themselves,
as enshrined in the Constitution. But ask the Tehelka journalists
who are being hounded by a system that will brook no criticism:
free thought is only on paper. It's time to fight for it on the
ground as well |
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 SPACES
In our rapidly expanding and congested concrete jungles, free, open,
green spaces are at a premium. Our cities need lungs, but with real
estate prices spiraling each day, every inch of space costs a fortune.
How long can we seek solace in the safety of our inner space? |
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 PUBLIC
TRANSPORT
A penny saved is a penny earned. Public transport is the lifeline
of the Indian middle class. The amount an Indian can save if free
public transportation were provided to him by the government, he
can improve the quality of his life manifold. It would also perhaps
help India conserve fuel. Wishful thinking? |
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