INDIA Lives in the Villages

Mahatma Gandhi said “India does not live in its towns but in its villages.” He said this nearly a hundred years ago and it seems to be true even today if you look at the last census data. The residents may also not want their village to become a town because they may not perceive any advantage of this change. They may see towns nearby which are not governed well. This is especially so in many small towns in India where because of poor municipal capacities and lack of money the local government may not provide anything to the citizens in terms of water solid waste management or sanitation services.India has more than Six Hundred Thousand villages. That is India has more villages than more than 50 countries have people. These villages are scattered over very different geographies. From the fertile plains of UP and Bihar to the plateau of South to the desert in the west to really small settlements in Himalayas. It does not make sense to treat rural India has one monolith. This is especially so if you realize that what we call a village in India may be a town in many other countries in the world!