One day can become a cosy
03/08/2015
A thing that gives you goose bumps one day can become a cosy, comforting dream a night later. So it is with projections that India is about to become the world's most populous country by 2022. Is this a demographic or demon-graphic fact?
Once upon a time this would have frightened everyone about the attack of Malthusian monsters, but now it's three cheers for the demographic dividend. As other countries start running short of labour, we can pipe up bachche bhagwan ki den hain.
Still, even if it's great that we're beating the world at making babies, nobody's saying it's going to be a cakewalk bringing up all these babies.Just getting them into kindergarten has become a headache you can no longer postpone preparing them for entrance exams until after they have learned to walk and talk.
It's going to be a huge infrastructure challenge. People are already perched on the rooftops of trains and hanging out of bus doors. Our buses now pack more than the population of some small countries.
In Big Bang Theory this is why Raj Koothrappali doesn't want to return to India it's loud, there are so many people, and they're everywhere! On the other hand deshbhakts draw attention to all the attrac tions of living in a crowd. There's no loneliness for lords of chaos, the masses keep you company from birth to party and funeral.
But it's possible that this sentiment is split along gender lines many an Indian woman would give her right arm to have some space around her in the train, market or puja pandal.
It's not yoga but technology that will help India get the balance right on this one. For exam ple, think of crowd control for the next road block. Drivers find it impossible to just drive by without pulling over for a passionate argument all the time blocking ambulance access. A solution could be pepper-spraying drones. Lucknow police has found them very effective in `winds and congested areas'.
Plus, it seems smartphones are slowing down baby-making.A survey has found that more and more Indians now prefer this `sleeping partner' over sex.
However, before getting carried away by the demographic implications of the above survey , let's please factor in the Sunny Leone or Savita Bhabhi syndrome. Few Indians admit to watching porn but statistics show that lots of internet traffic is pornography related and porn is among the most searched keywords, even among women.
So, we will remain destined to living in a crowd for a long time to come. On this score at least we will be unquestioned world beaters by 2022, and watch the rest of the world vanish in our rear window thereafter. China, eat your heart out!
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