Long ago, the great Mahatma Gandhi had said that agriculture is the backbone for any country and true to his words, millions followed his path and our nation became quite strong in few decades. However, the new slogan changed from agriculture to Information Technology and in no time, India changed from an agricultural country to a corporate country and became the hub for some of the most talked about IT companies. Well, the crux for both happen to be the farmers and the software professionals and right now, it looks like both of them are on the same path, that of a tragic end.
With commercialization taking over, agriculture has been suffering badly and at the same time, the unlawful entry of middle men and inflation has struck a death blow on the farmers and they are having no means to continue their ancestral trade, the loans are piling up and to add to the woes, even mother Nature has not been cooperating. The final nail on the head is the corrupt political system that has been ruining the agricultural infrastructure and not planning for any water projects in the right proportions. This has led to several suicides among the farmer community and many have abandoned their professions and have taken to daily labor. While this is one side of the coin, the other side happens to be that of the software engineer who took off with flying colors but the past few years, the glamour and sheen has been losing its essence.
With increasing open market policy, globalization and now the recession taking its full form, even the software industry has taken a hard beating and some of the most talented and finest brains that handled the computers are currently jobless and struggling to make a living. The pain is evident with the recent suicide of a software engineer and many who have taken to vices like drinking, smoking just to escape the pressure. It must be said that there is not much difference left between the fate of a farmer and a formal White collared IT professional as of now.
These are the times that we are living in and only time and destiny will decide the future of the world given the fact that two of its most important organs are currently going witnessing a catastrophic situation.
- Usha Chowdhary ([email protected])
