Kamal Haasan raises 5 questions 're-imagining India' & 'Superpower' in post-COVID world

Kamal Haasan has been vocal with his views, many even critical of government in COVID-19 pandemic. Makkal Needhi Maiam chief has w raised questions that could play a major role in ‘reimagining India’ in phase of ‘ecomic darkness’ during worldwide crisis. actor-politician raised five questions in a form of a letter that he shared on Twitter.

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Haasan started by expressing delight at positive reception of his previous letter to government, and urged citizens to express ir views, calling it a ‘shame’ for t exercising ir rights. He also hoped that state governents working with each or and Centre, was a ‘precedent’ that becomes a rm and helps tide over or challenges like water crisis, pollution, migrants woes, women’s safety, communal violence and more.

first point veteran raised was healthcare. He rued how India allocated only 1 per cent of GDP towards healthcare, while giving 2 per cent for defence allocation, something he felt was a factor for 1.6 million deaths every year. Giving example of USA that spends 8 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively, he wrote that it was a ‘pity’ that India continues to see defence as ‘more newsworthy proposition’ than healthcare.

Haasan felt India needs to allocate an epidemic preparedness budget. “As aspiring superpower with a vast human capital as its biggest strength cant afford to be off healthcare target by a big margin,” he wrote. 

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second question Kamal Haasan raised was to ‘make agriculture great again’. He shared that with possibility of re being lesser urban jobs for migrants after COVID-19, it was time for state leaders to create employment for m. He rued about India’s agricultural output being half of China, though India was second-largest exporter of agricultural produce.

He urged for building of a ‘green plus revolution’ that should convert parts of agricultural for allied enterprises like processing, logistics, accelerate productivity and boosting of agro-based MSMEs. He added that with agriculture employing 80 per cent of all active women in India, revolution could turn out to be a shot in arm for m. 

third point he raised was to ‘Bring India’s vast informal sector into formal fold’. He compared section of  India’s informal sector, of 80 per cent, to that of countries of 14-20 per cent in countries of Europe and America, and termed it ‘mind-boggling’ to igre efforts of sector.

“Bringing India informal workers under formal fold must become biggest national exercise that government needs to undertake in near future,” letter read. He stated that it will t just boost morale of workers, but also lead to enhanced tax collection, that can be used to improve infrastructure. Haasan also urged that housewives be given a ‘job status’ and a universal income guarantee will give a boost to ir savings. 

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fourth point was ‘correction in income inequality and poverty alleviation’. actor-politician termed it as a ‘collective failure’ that migrant workers tried to head back home after t being to afford a meal or a roof on ir heds. He termed ‘relief measures’ as ‘mere afterthoughts’ and that empowering ones at bottom was way to reduce inequality of 10 per cent of population owning 77 per cent of country’s wealth. 

last point he raised was of ‘This could be India’s moment’. Kamal Haasan felt that pandemic offered India its ‘ biggest opportunity to emerge out of its shadows and correct many wrongs of past’.

He said that he wished to reimagine his state Tamil Nadu as an ‘enterprising but egalitarian culture with a stric vigil towards health and ecomic needs of every individual’. He added that if every state did its bit and helped or states, ‘ day won’t be far when India leads world into a new era of super health, super equality and super prosperity.’

“It’s time we reinvent word superpower, India’s pipe dream for decades. Let’s be a Universal thought leader, to put into parlance, a Vishwa guru and for all right reasons," he concluded.

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