THAT President Mrs. Droupadi Murmu described the village in India as the basic unit of the country as she gave away National Panchayat Awards, it must be admitted that in the past 75 years since Independence -- and also much before that -- India has been ignoring the rural sector to its own peril. Unfortunately, most leaders in different fields paid rich lip-service to the village as the basic unit, often quoting Mahatma Gandhi, the village has stood terribly neglected in the country for too long. Today, the average Indian village is a neglected entity with only a smattering of development having reached there. Looking at the larger picture, only one conclusion comes out -- that India needs to start paying a very special attention to the rural sector that also includes agriculture-based economy.

Most unfortunately, the Indian planners did not pay appropriate attention to the village where Mahatma Gandhi said ‘India lived’. That is the reason that there is a constant outflux of people from villages to the cities in search of better living conditions supported by employment opportunities. The other end of this spectrum, thus, highlights the absence of jobs in the rural sector. This issue has earned some political tall talk all right, but the rural sector really does not offer enough employment opportunities to the people. If lack of job opportunities is one aspect, the other aspect is lack of development in terms of infrastructure, healthcare, education, sanitation and hygiene and decent living conditions. These also have led to the population outflux from villages for the past 75 years. The alien British rulers ignored the village as the society’s basic unit and the Indian rulers afterwards neglected the sector almost totally.

There is no doubt that the Panchayat Awards the President conferred upon some villages self-Government bodies do indicate that some hope has emerged on the scene that in the years to come the standard Indian village would be an attractive proposition for the common people. Of course, the Panchayat Awards are being given for a long time and many villages do show marked progress because of local leadership. The overall rural scene, however, is rather bleak and barren -- having been ignored by the planners and the successive Governments at the Centre and the States. This sad reality needs to be addressed rather on an urgent basis, failing which the country’s larger segment of rural populace would keep suffering as in the past. Indian villages do not need just funds, but also focused attention by the planners and the Government -- plus, of course, the larger Indian society. The average Indian village requires a special emphasis on rise of local leadership that works in tandem with the higher layers of the governmental pyramid. Despite political tall talk, nothing much has been done and achieved in this area.

Mahatma Gandhi often insisted that the persona of the standard Indian village should be preserved with its unique features such as close-knit human communities, simplicity of manner and method, openness of head and heart of the general public, and willingness to engage in genuine hard work. These are the traits coming from the dominance of agriculture as the basic activity, aided by allied economic activities. Unfortunately, these attributes of rural sector were larger ignored and neglected by the Government in the past 75 years since Independence. Now that President Mrs. Droupadi Murmu has laid much emphasis on the village as the country’s basic unit, hopefully the Government will start paying a greater attention to the rural sector in a comprehensive manner. That will be in larger national interest.