5 Problems in India that you can help to solve

India is a beautiful country with a multitude of culture. India boasts diversity like no other country on Earth does. Due to which India faces several inherent problems which are difficult to solve. However, there are several fundamental problems in India that can be solved with little efforts by the general public.

After my article was published by Quartz, An Indian expat in Germany explains why he won’t be coming back. I received considerable backlash and was questioned what have I done to change the situation in the country? instead run away to someplace better.

In hindsight, I did try to change a few things. Maybe my efforts were futile and short-lived. Whatever the reason, it is true that I have no contribution towards solving the problem that India faces today. Trying to correct on this I will do the best I can do now. Write. I would like to point out seven problems that India faces which can be solved by changing our attitude.

Wear a Seat Belt and Helmet

Only 25% of car occupants wear the seat belt regularly, according to the latest research survey conducted across 17 Indian cities, commissioned by MSIL in November of 2017. When asked about why they do not prefer to wear a seat belt here are the reasons:

Strong law enforcement should not be the reason why you wear a seat belt. The love for your own life should be the reason why you should wear the seat belt. Irrespective of where you are sitting in the car, wear a seat belt. The seat belt is not a piece of accessory in your car that you can ignore. It is an important safety feature. You might be confident that you are a better driver than Micheal Schumacher. But when things go wrong, they will go wrong, irrespective of whose mistake it was. Moreover, even Micheal Schumacher always wore a seat belt while driving.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seat belts are the primary restraint system that can reduce the risk of fatality by 45-60%. 

Follow Traffic Rules and Stop Honking

Red means stop. Yellow means slow. Green means go.

It is that simple. It is no rocket science. You are saving 40-70 seconds of your life by running a red light. Is it worth endangering someone’s life for saving those 40-70 seconds? If not endangering you are delaying others by causing chaos and traffic jams.

And for God’s sake stop honking. Ten years back when someone honked, people would move out of the way. When I recently visited India, I realized honking has no effect at all on people anymore. It has become a way to release your frustration. In most cases it doesn’t caution anyone, just annoy others.

I have seen worse traffic jams in the town where I live in Germany than I have seen in India. Streets are very narrow in the town in Germany hence any construction work would mean that there is only one lane for to and fro side of traffic. Which meant with about 80 cars on each side the traffic stretched about 2-3 km. Yet everyone waited patiently to pass instead of cutting lanes or honking.

Why do I give this example? From what I have seen in India most of the traffic jams are the result of reckless driving. Yes, the bad state of roads and narrow lanes also cause the problem of traffic jams. But I am here to talk about what you can do to solve the problem.

India’s biggest cities may be losing up to $22 billion annually to traffic congestion, and its commuters are bearing the burden. On average, travelers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata spend 1.5 hours more on their daily commutes than their counterparts in other Asian cities during peak traffic times, according to an April 18 report released by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and commissioned by Uber.

Think before you share on Social Media

A vehicle in which two men were traveling in Assam, northeastern India, was damaged when they were attacked by a mob.

More than a dozen people — all accused of child abduction based on rumors spread on WhatsApp — have been killed in a series of lynchings across the country over the past two months.

– CNN Tech

Let us admit it. Most of us do not even care to verify the source and authenticity of the message/ video/ picture shared over social media before forwarding it to our peers. The innocent forward out of emotions and compassion towards victims in the video sets a chain reaction. In a time where everyone has a mobile phone and the internet is almost free. The fake news travel at speed of light. In the process, some innocent person’s life is ruined while someone has been lynched and killed. Just because your emotions took better of you.

Do yourself a favor. Next time you get a forward and it seems remotely fake. Delete it. You might fail to create a little awareness among people, but you sure would help from someone’s life being ruined.

Discrimination

Guilty as charged, I did it too back in days. I remember calling the North-Eastern friends by names behind their back. I remember having biased views about certain community and hating them for their culture and the kind of food they eat. Yes, I did it. Now after living in a foreign country, having lived and spent time with them. I have become broad-minded. My attitude has changed.

To give you a short note. Before coming to Germany. I used to dislike Pakistani people. From what I had heard and seen on mainstream media, I assumed that they hate us like we hate them.

However, after befriending a few of them and getting into the conversation. I realized how wrong I was. They are warm and courteous. Most of them admire Bollywood movies. But most importantly they hate what is happening on our border more than they do. We talk on lengths about how political ambitions of select few on both sides of the border has caused so much chaos and hatred among two countries.

We are a country that takes pride in diversity. Yet we discriminate our very own based on religion, creed, and caste. How is that doing any good for the country or our image in the world?

Discrimination kills 230,000 girls under five in India each year, study shows [The Guardian]. How is that we call India our Motherland and yet suppress women? Denying them education, decision making, and freedom?

Stop the Rat’s Race!

To all the elderly readers out there. Stop controlling your children till heaven and back. We know you care, but do not make your children your possession. Give them the freedom to pave their own future. It is completely okay if your child is not topping the class. It is okay if your child is not acing Math and Science. It is okay if your child can’t make it into IIT. It is okay to be an average person. It is not a rats race that if you come first you lose. Life is much more than that. Let your children make mistakes and learn from their failures. Be a friend, not a jailor.

To all young readers out there. First up, you may succeed in life without being an Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer or Finance expert, but you will never succeed if you do not have knowledge. You may have a passion to become a musician, an artist or an entrepreneur. But, you should know that most musicians do not get record deals. Most artists struggle to make ends meet and most entrepreneurs toil to keep their business alive. No matter what you do in life it is going to be difficult. You need dedication, hard work and most importantly knowledge and wit to do what you love. If you know the sacrifices, it will become tad bit easier to overcome the failures. In the end, do not give up. Do not give in.

I hope I have been able to add some value. My apologies if any of my words have offended someone. Please do let me know what do you think about this post? Do you have any more issues that can be solved easily in India? If so please feel free to comment below. I will include them in my upcoming posts.

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