The Tiger, the Nano and the Common Man: Will all three thrive in India circa 2050?

How will it be like in India in 2050?

With the Tiger; the endangered animal of 2010, the Nano; world’s cheapest car made by an Indian company and the ever growing population of people already crossing the 2 billion mark in 2010 itself, how will these three strive to live in harmony? Can they ever be in harmony; that’s the question being asked.

The Tiger, our national animal their number has already tumbled down to around 1400 only. With the ongoing level of mass hunting of the animal, their survival in the years to come is a big question mark. A lot of governmental departments, NGOs and various organizations have step up in full swing to protect our National Animal but their number is outnumbered by the number of poachers who illegally hunt the animal for their commercial benefits.

A strict and stringent law has to be made if we wish that our future generations see the animal alive and in good numbers than just in pictures in books, magazines or on television shows.

The Nano, a revolutionary break-through invention by Tata Motors which has enabled and maximized the reach of a car amongst the common people by making available a car in a lakh rupees. Thereby increasing the number of car owners in the country by a humungous amount. In one direction the Nano will provide the common man a sense of comfort and pride of owning a brand new car but the repercussions of such a revolutionary idea has by far been ignored.

By enabling a car at such a low price, the majority will be able to afford the Nano thereby multiplying the volume of traffic. With the add on problems of parking space, road traffic, pollution levels and many more- who will be held responsible for the amount of environmental degradation that will take place because of the Nano? Certainly not the Tatas because of them the country has been able to make a mark in the international markets for manufacturing one of a kind car.

The Common Man, their population has already made the country the second most populous country of the world. And if the population growth level continues at the present rate then the most populous country China will be left behind by 2030. The provision of supporting the basic necessities- food, clothing and shelter of such a large population at present doesn’t look so promising.

By 2050 we will be the world’s most populous country the proper and healthy survival of such a population base is a big question mark.

Now if the government focuses on nurturing the country’s population besides the developmental activities that have to be undertaken socially, will they be able to focus on the growing environmental issues besides the already neglected wildlife strata including the dwindling number of tigers.

Therefore, to have an optimum combination of all three in 2050 the work has to be kick started in 2010 itself. For next 40 years, a proper plan chalked out in a strategized way has to be religiously implemented.

Who will survive around 2050? That will depend upon the level of importance that is given to these three right now.

-NEHA PRADHAN

(Executive Member, GTWS)