The Ticking Time Bomb that is India’s Population

Absorb these facts:

One out of every 6 people in the world live within the geo-political boundaries of India, which makes this country the second most populous country in the world. Yet, despite having this large number of human minds who can potentially innovate, invent, imagine, achieve, and uncover great value, India remains one of the most impoverished countries in the world–with more than 22% of our population living below the poverty line.

In contrast, some countries having populations far lesser than some Indian states are far more prolific in their outputs in science, technology, arts, design, creativity, achievements, and research.

What’s more, almost half of India’s 1.22 billion people are under the age of 25, which makes India among the (most crowded and) youngest nations in the world.

Close to half of these 25-and-under are males, and this number is set to cross into a surplus of males by 2020.

So, India is fast developing into a country crowded with virile, young, hormonal men–and fewer women–that pass out of an educational system controlled by imbeciles and focused on producing rats that try and outrun each other in an impoverished landscape of sluggish economic growth, diminishing social and civil liberties, and non-existent psychological nourishment.

If we desire to stem this devolution, we must begin with a multi-pronged approach from the top of the institutional pyramid and from the bottom at the grassroots.

From the top, we must quickly loosen the tight grip of politics on the economy across all sectors and unleash the creative and entrepreneurial energies of its people to manifest business opportunities and new productive sectors.

Specifically, the government and its bureaucrats must completely be removed from decision-making in Education–right from setting the curriculum to standardized testing and evaluation. India must not have a Ministry of Education.

From the bottom, we must address the educational needs of the human mind, and focus as much on the arts, letters, and humanities as much as we do on maths and sciences. We must raise the consciousness of men and women to imaginations so varied and foreign to their ancestors–that these imaginations manifest as artistic and entrepreneurial energies that will exploit the opportunities offered by a free and unfettered economy.

Furthermore, a focus on the humanities will nourish the spiritual needs of our society, helping to make it more tolerable and accommodating to the crowds, to women, to diverse minorities, and to differences of all kinds.

Institutionally guaranteed freedoms coupled with an educational system that empowers its people to exercise these freedoms fully, responsibly, and imaginatively can help this country leverage its large population and uncover tremendous value.