Your Viewpoint:
Educate our Girls ……Uplift Our Community
Societies have demonstrated different ways of achieving growth and prosperity, not only in economic terms
but also in cultural, artistic and essential human development. World organizations such as United Nations
and the World Bank measure and track “Human Development Index” (HDI). This is more than a measure
of a nation’s economic wealth or GDP (gross domestic product). HDI measures such vital human needs as
literacy, health, art, civic and community development.
Many of us know that India ranks among the lowest in the world in GDP per capita, lower than China, you
may be surprised to know, even lower than Pakistan. Thanks go to our able politicians, but that’s a subject
for another day. More alarming statistic to me is India’s very low ranking in the Human Development
Index. Relevant data for select countries are shown here for comparison:
GDP per Capita HDI Adult Literacy
(US $) (Base=100) %
United States 25,860 99 94
China 529 59 80
Canada 23,357 88 92
Singapore 19,572 95 99
Pakistan 440 48 36
India 305 44 50
India has a long way to go to catch up with the developing world, let alone the developed countries like the
U.S and Canada. Notice India’s very low Human Development Index and adult literacy rate. If this trend
continues, the prospects for widespread prosperity of Indian masses are dim indeed.
One sure way to break this trend is to focus on education of the masses. Some years ago, during an election
campaign in the United States, a rallying cry was “thousand points of lights”. It symbolized the importance
of local and grass-root activism to lift neighbors, neighborhoods, communities, localities, villages, cities
and so on. Recall, too, Ms. Hillary Clinton’s “village”. So if we want to help our fellow-men and fellow-
women, let us start to make a difference at our community level.
NSNA, as an association of people with some common interests and aspirations, can indeed channel our
collective effort and do what it can towards this cause: educating and improving the literacy of our kindred.
The developmental histories I referred to earlier are full of valuable lessons. In the last several years of my
readings on economics and human development, one crucial fact applicable to our situation stands out.
This fact brings us to the title of this piece: “Educate our girls… .Uplift our Community”.
Statistical evidence abounds. In any society in its early phase of development, the factor that contributes
the most is the literacy level of its women. Mind you, we are not advocating educating women to the
exclusion of men. Education surely benefits all. Primary education of girls gets the “most bang for the
buck” at early stages of development. Educated women make wiser choices that affect not only themselves
but their entire families. Educated women make wiser choices as to when to marry and how many children
to have. We all know the latter is a problem issue in India. These choices have an enduring and extending
impact on families, communities and, by extension, the entire society.
I don’t have a statistic about how many young girls in our villages in Chettinad go without primary
education due to economic and other reasons. My guess is… .too many. NSNA’s resources available to
provide assistance to our community are not unlimited. We must make a choice among the various ways
we can provide the assistance. I cannot sufficiently emphasize the value of educational assistance.
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