just a thought exercise.
members who were in school in 2014 can also participate.
on the previous forum before 2019 and 2024 elections, some of us were making an argument that lived reality of younger generation would be different from ours. since you are in education phase of your life, may be you could share your reality. leave out borrowed knowledge and borrowed wisdom from internet or elsewhere. just general observations.
highlights of my reality when i was growing up :
- travelled in coal , diesel and electric trains.
- my first AC railway travel was after i completed B.E
- my first air travel too was after getting job on company money
- other than metroes, airports were practically big asbestos sheds in most of the country
- rickshaws, private city bus and RTC bus were primary mode of travel. autos came later.
- luna, moped, bajaj scooter were primary mode for two wheelers. scooty, kinetic and bikes came later.
- owning ambassador, padmini and contessa means one is either rich or well connected. owning a royal enfield bullet was a status symbol.
- closed sewage was a rarity even in cities, open drains were the norm.
- carrying water to homes in pots and drums was routine in towns, before piped water started.
- for telephone landline, scooter etc. there used to be waitlist sometimes for years if one is not connected.
- good roads showing up in mid 90's.
- violence, terrorist attacks, riots, political assassinations(minor and major), bandhs, curfew were a monthly routine.
- earliest cellular phones used to be size of a brick. initially it was 15 to 25 ₹ per call, started dropping over a period of time.
- 12 hour power cuts and sometimes even for one or two days during peak summer was a thing.
- most police stations and govt buildings used to be dilapidated since they were built during british era, some are still are in some places.
- all state highways had a lot of potholes.
- imported goods shops used to be a major thing basically smuggled goods shops, my first pepsi can was from these shops.
Well, Here is what i had seen as i grew. I am from HR.
1. Streets: Most of the streets were laid with bricks very early in my childhood. I have faint memories of "kachhi gali". Most were laid with bricks.
2. Tap Water: Again faint memory of "water wells". I remember we had piped water in 2001 in our village. I was a child. So the tranistion happened when i was in elementary school. I still would see a few houses getting water from well. But i don't know when they just became extinct.
3. Electricity: Excellent improvement on this front. Used to be very long and frequent cuts. Now, The power cuts are too few and too short. I will still prefer it to become even more reliable. But, I think line losses prevent it. Their are still many villages and villagers who do not pay electricity bills. Just too many.
4. Organized Crime: Thankfully i don't remember if HR ever had crime syndicates. Yes petty crime was very common between 2004 to 213-14. Chain snatching was very big. But its now unheard of. But still chori continues.
5. Terrorism: Well, Unfortunately I did my higher education during peak terror time in Delhi. I was always worried about stray bomb in public places. My family will be very anxious during my delhi stay. I was not allowed to go out on public holidays and to very popular public places during peak time. So, I will skip any conversation on them.
6. Transport: I don't see much improvement in passenger trains, one or two new express services on my route. Electrification. I don't have larger frame of reference on railways. So, recency bias. Now, about road transport. Well, When i was child, Jeeps were very popular. State transport buses were few. Later transport buses grew and so did PV ownership. Now, PV and Buses are more popular while jeeps are rare. Local villages now rely on "chotta hathi".
7. Education: Downfall of govt. schools and rise of private schools. It happened in front of my eyes. Almost everyone now goes to private schools. Remote villages too have good sprawling private schools. Almost everyone now have a college degree. Engineering and medical are still very very popular.
8. Communication: Din raat ka antar. We had landline in our village home. They were few in village and people will fix timings. Later we got mobile too. I was told about waiting periods. However when i entered high school, i found myself getting the sim cards very easily on fraud documents. Yes, I had few fake numbers for prank calls. It was fun. I remember paying Rs 300 for a month's validity and around a 100 minutes call time. It was pretty expensive. Than came glut and now again prices are rising.
9. Consumer Goods: ACs were rare even in city, forget about villages. Now, every other home has atleast one window AC in our village.
10. PV Ownership: Saw the change from Cycle to Motor Cycle to now cars. Almost everyhouse have a two wheeler now. It has become essential like TV, Mobile, AC, refrigerator, fan, bulbs. Car ownership is a mix bag. Many families have cars but its penetration is still abysmal. I will prefer even more increase in PV ownership.
11. Open Defecation: It was very very common. I have defected in open in my childhood in my village even though we had toilets. I and my friends will go out together. It was like a play. We will do target drops from tree branches. However, It became rare as i became shy with each passing year and it was no longer as fun. People will still go in open. It was very very prevalent. Thanks Modiji for curbing this menace.
12. Trash: Hmm. What do i say the situation has changed since Swachh Bharat Mission. Earlier every open plot was a trash heap. Now, its collected from door step.
13. Gas Connection and Chullah: We have had gas connection from very old time. But still Chullah was very popular. It still is. However many people have now become comfortable with gas stoves. Noticeable difference on this front too.
14. Aesthetics: Well, uncovered areas between walls and road are now getting covered. High footfall sections are concretized. A recent phenomenon though.
I think Modiji has done a transformative job in increasing accessibility of universal services like clean water, fuel, surrounding, washrooms etc.
No wonder we have low inequality. I still will prefer him to upgrade his basic fundamentals and reassess ownership of PV, AC, refrigerators also as basic necessity for a quality living. Atleast for middle class. So, i will request him to lower taxes on them and stimulate ownership of more cars, acs and consumer durables.
