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This
year many big cities of India were flooded. Many
people lost their lives and the loss of property
was massive. On the other hand, Australia is
experiencing a big dry which has spanned six
years and is the worst in over a century.
Farmers have been hardest hit, forced to make a
living sometimes in dustbowl conditions, raising
emaciated cattle. With no prospect of
significant rainfall before the New Year, the
situation has reached crisis point and hope is
as scarce as rainfall. One farmer takes his life
every four days. The suicide rate among farmers
is already twice the national average. Many
farmers are being forced to sell up, leaving
land which often their families have worked on
for generations. US has also seen nature frown
on it last year with a series of tornados.
Why are all these unusual things happening? We
are ruining nature and nature is returning the
favor. Where does it all end? Is there a method
in this madness? Has our so-called development
brought happiness to the people of the
industrialized world who are supposed to be the
beneficiaries? Here are some statistics of the
developed and fast developing economies
collected from the web:
In the US suicide took the lives of 30,622
people in 2001. In 2002, 132,353 individuals
were hospitalized following suicide attempts. In
Japan some 33,048 people killed themselves in
1999. The most notable trend was the sharp
increase in suicides related to financial
problems. In China, which has become highly
industrialized, suicide is the fifth leading
cause of death. The national rate is 23 per
100,000. In India the rate is 11.21 per 100,000.
This greed crazed world is generating pollution,
vast economic divides, miserable rich people
with health problems, family breakdowns,
loneliness, drug abuse, alcohol abuse etc and
miserable poor at the other end of the divide in
most communities. Yet we feel we are
“developing”. What is development? Owning
luxuries at the cost of living deep in debt?
Exploiting others to amass great wealth? Owning
a nuclear arsenal? Owning large armies?
Is the direction of our development fine-tuned
to creating a happy world?
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Comments: |
Mr Rajesh has raised a very valid
point here. I am sure most of us
feel that even though there have
been lots of scientific/economic
development, the "human" element is
taking the back seat. People are
getting more and more self-centered.
That's the "tax" we pay for all of
these "developments".
Earlier, people were more "in tune"
with nature and as a result were far
more happier. Now, as we disturb the
natural balance, nature is bound to
react. After all, every action has
equal and opposite reaction.
Just like in Diwali the "kidas" die
trying to go near the flame of deeya,
all this economic/scientific
progress is eventually going to
destroy us. However we, as mankind
in general, keep doing the mistake
over and over again. In short we
have been programmed in a "self-destruct mode". - Subrata
Sannigrahi - Oct. 21, 2006 |
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