Don't make development a rare delicacy....!

New Delhi got another non-native gem on its crown on Friday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the terminal 3 of IGI airport. A peeping inside it can make any delhiite an inch taller and broader. The terminal is seen as a gesture of India’s aspirations set firmly on the global platform whose entrance portico is designed as the Terminal 3. This terminal is well distinguished in many ways. Firstly it stained India’s reputation of prolonged infrastructure projects running out of time and of course budget (do you still have a doubt about why all politicians’ children are Harvard and oxford educated). Secondly it is dubbed as the 6th largest airport terminal in the world when all we have in lists of greatest and largest are population, slums, poverty and........I think I should halt here or else I may deviate from the track on which I am trying to make my article run.

   I too felt all pompous and conceited at this infrastructural marvel being a Delhi person. But my shoulders stooped at the thought of being an Indian. I know I may sound like a heretic but I just cannot exult at this infrastructural epiphany. This terminal is indeed a sign of India’s growing emergence as a global competitor shying away from its previous identity as a third world country but it is making a rusty parody of its former self which was trying to preen the whole nation and not just few favourite children of contemporary India. Though we have developed ourselves to get a customary seat among the elites of the world but have also reserved that place for few so called vestal virgins of the country. Instead of becoming a national street food accessible to people from every corner, growth and development are becoming rare delicacies served in 5 stars to the sophisticated lot.

   I am at no cost against the string of development taking vicious rounds in the lanes of the cities of India. I am not against becoming the nation endowed with one of the largest airports in the world but we should also should not get over the spell of certitude that we are still the nation housing a quarter of worlds malnutritioned children, we still cannot face the stipulations of our citizens which are guaranteed after every 5 year tenure and are soon buried with shedding leaves of the election season; we are still vying to educate ourselves when the literacy rate is ceased at a mere 62%; we are still put on d no. 84 on the corruption index, way behind countries like Ghana and Bhutan. I can carry on this spree but this will not help. We all are blesses with eyes and ears. so if u are still making merry........I may tag it as pinnacle of optimism.