3 Reasons Why India Is Poverty Stricken

According to World Bank 2011 Report 32.7% of Indian population still lives in poverty and there daily average income is below the level of income marked as International Poverty Line, which is currently at USD 1.25 per day.

Indian View of Economy & Welfare

Personally I do not think that the definition of economic welfare that is applied globally can also be applied in India without modification. 

India is a country of philosophy and as per its traditional culture money has never been the sole yardstick to measure social status or overall achievements in life. Even today, many Indians still live with this mentality, which is a typical Indian way of life and must be respected.

          Loss of Money is/was No Loss

       Loss of Health, Is/was Some Loss

             Loss of Character is/was,

                                           EVERYTHING LOST

The above directive of Indian Philosophy can also be used to elucidating some reasons which can help us to understand why India is still poverty ridden.

Global Views of Economy & Welfare

In today's scenario, Indian Economy is developing rapidly which according to United Nation's 2010 report is globally ranked at 9th position, IMF ranked India at 11th position in 2011, World Bank 2011 rank was also 11th and CIA World Factbook also ranked it at 11th position. All these reports are based on GDP and most modern economists think that India should increase its GDP further and insure its distribution among Indian citizens in order to succeed in removing poverty from this so called poor nation.

Globally accepted views of economy and welfare do have some role in understanding poverty in India and the way we are using it in our policies, at the ground level in our villages, in education and development without actually looking at or considering the philosophy of India, things that can insure there happiness, its culture and tradition.

Top 3 Reasons Why India is Still Poverty Stricken

1. Indians Need Education, Not Just Qualification

Well most economist suggest that India should pay special attention to its education programs, education is said to be an effective tool to counter mass poverty. Well, today education system in India is globalized, in two fronts:-

1.1 First it is influenced by western thinkers who think education is about developing skills, learning theoretical principles which is also being applied in India and the result is corruption at various fronts, today money seems to be sole criteria of measuring success, path to a happy life, there skills are mechanical in nature without much refinement which is obvious in a human being.

Traditionally education in India was a tool which helped a person to understand how we coexist with nature, society and everyone. A educated person was more humble then uneducated person and was genuinely interested in welfare of the society and the country over and above his personal welfare.

1.2 Second, education is today a product which is available in the market and if you have more money you can purchase a better product and educational institutes keep working on measures which can help them to improve their image in educational market. It simply starts with money and ends in money, there is no feeling or emotion attached.

Traditionally education in India was based on personalized teacher student relationship and a student used to stay away from his family at his teachers residence. There was no criteria of fee except a donation rite at last.

Money wasn't a consideration, all things were managed with donations (cashless) and usually these donations were not even enough to meet every requirement, yet the system used to work satisfactorily for years. Guru or teacher were usually considered poor, but happy and knowledgeable.

2.Must Emphasize On An All Inclusive Development Policies

Development of country or economy doesn't mean development of the nation. Creating demand for products and then supplying them isn't the only sign of a developed economy. Developing human resource, providing infrastructure are good for the country and its business and markets.

India (अखण्ड_भारत) isn't just a political boundary or the number of its citizens (जनसंख्या), there is more to India, which can only be discovered by understanding Indian society and culture.

All plants (flora), animals (fauna), nature (biosphere), knowledge (intellect), philosophy (wisdom), tradition, culture (lifestyle) are a part of India and they are mutually dependent and their mutual dependence cannot be measured in any currency and if we only focus in one area while leaving the others, its likely to be less effective.

Money isn't the only criteria of development, India's economic development isn't the only objective, if there is focus on development and maintenance of other aspects of India life, it'll definitely help in making more Indians happy, living above the poverty.

3. Indian Poverty is A Media Hype

Image of poverty in India or poor Indians is a nothing but a media hype, the matter isn't as worse as it is hyped. Global poverty line is a criteria based on money or wealth, which is drived from production, marketing, sales and bank transactions, anything which takes place without interacting with any of these is hidden. Every corner of India isn't either touched or influenced by modern economy, people still live a happy life, without actually holding any coin in hand.

Yes, the said poverty does exist in modern cities, in villages which are influenced by markets and they cultivate land to market there products with loans without actually considering there own basic necessities and requirements, these farmers loose when they cannot get the expected yield due to any reason or when the market condition changes dramatically. It doesn't apply to remote areas where there basic necessities are the top priority.

India's vast natural resources make it possible to enjoy a healthy life without actually using any modern economic trap, where a person gets in hoping to improve lifestyle and gets trapped as there seems to be no way out.

One more thing which often draws attention is why are Indians known to be poor? Are they really poor or the way they enjoy satisfaction in life without actually running after the modern lifestyle, modern gadgets, products etc are viewed as being poor, an inability to consume products. They are shabbily dressed in their traditional costumes without visiting a shopping mall, wearing branded products.

Well, all this can be true for other surviving global cultures but for a timeless traditional Indian culture, its a way of life (जीवनशैली), a society with a tradition of staying away from money, minimizing material requirements, throwing money in rivers, controlling wants.

How can anyone consider India a poor country, when it is in fact RICH in so many ways, it has a rich tradition, rich culture and a philosophy which helped Indians to discover zero, to realise that there is something which is not visible but exists. So, definitely the projection of poverty in India also seems to be an artwork.

You can read more about Indian economy at World Bank site and learn more about issue of poverty in India as globally projected.