Rural Uplift
India is an agricultural country. But the condition of Indian villages is not satisfactory. They are very backward. Poor farmers live and pass their time. They live in dirty surroundings.
In free India every effort is being made to improve the condition of the villages. The declared policy of our Government is to have rural uplift. The Zamindari System has been abolished. Village Panchayats have been set up. Fields are being consolidiated. Every facility is now given for irrigation. Cooperative Societies are now giving loans on very cheap rates. Good manures and improved seeds are now being supplied through blocks. The Government is helping the villagers to have cottage industries. Their lot is improving no doubt.
But still much has to be done. There must be a hospital and a primary school in every village. Girls schools must be opened. Education should be made free and compulsory. Night Schools must be opened for illeterate grown-ups. There must be one agricultural college for every hundred villages. Land should be available to every tiller. Villagers should be taught to live neat and clean. They should have moral lessons. The Police and the Lekhpal troubles must go.
Most of the villagers have social evils. There is child marriage still going on. Purdah system and untouchability are still present. Villagers are still superstitious. All these evils must go through education. The Government and the public should join hands to improve village life.
Villages are the souls of our country. Our country will not progress if the condition of our villages does not improve. Gandhiji was right when he said “India lives in her villages. Her prosperity depends on them.
