What’s the foundation of a sustainable, fair and thriving society?
Apparently, the reverse is also true, all of us have been witness to a deteriorating environmental conditions to a place once recognized as garden city, our own Bengaluru. A beautiful landscape that was dotted with gardens, sported clean roads merged with sidewalk on both sides, wells that swelled with water and importantly possessed an efficient rainwater drainage system that seamlessly collected in low lying areas that formed large sections of waterbodies or even extended itself as a lake. Today, we have regressed ourselves in a steep downward spiral wherein water shortage is widespread and sadly created chemical waterbodies that catches fire, is there any further down to fall?
An extension to the narrative also lends itself to nations that possess enormous wealth of resources but where do they find themselves? Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers combine to form the world's largest delta area, creating an enormous range of fertile land that can be used to feed atleast two third of the global population, if not in full. On the west of Himalayas, six rivers flows almost in perpetuity, creating another another large section of fertile landmass. The beneficiaries of such valuable water and land assets paradoxically happen to be crumbling economies of Bangladesh and Pakistan, a pair of resource rich nations in a perpetual state of penury.
On the other hand, let's take the case of a resource constrained landmass that's forced to import food and water supply for the entire nation. It's so small that land purchase is almost out of question and influx of population has restrictions as well. Despite all the limitations, a nation that sports a Merlion mascot, symbolic representation of emerging from a humble fishing village in the mid twentieth century to have subsequently scaled as a lion in the decades to follow. A city state that harbors a record of close to 1.5 lakh shipping vessels a year, known for efficient mass transportation and attracts top talent, does the name Singapore ring a bell? A city state that has transcended adversity and thrives as a advanced community. Now, how about a desert turned into a mindblowing landscape that envisages the expanse of human creativity, no more a city that banks on oil reserves but has acquired scientific acumen to create it's own rainfall, a name that elicits a dream rather than reality, Dubai.
As a congregation of people who make up a nation or a small collective of individuals who make up an apartment community, the difference lies in an answer to a critical question.
Who is in the center of action ?
The state of affairs is determined by the person who is in the center of action, he is the one who makes Singapore out of Bangladesh or vice versa. Amongst scores of bad, mediocre, authoritative and self serving individuals, a good leader is hard to come by. The irony is that when a good leader emerges, the society doesn't even recognize and surprisingly the collective further drives itself to a point of detesting the respective individual.
How do we term such an act? Harakiri ?
No, let's go with a lighter term.
Sad !
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