Will India ever become a modern, progressive country ?

The topic of this article seems to be a little old-fashioned, perhaps even outdated. After all, recent years have seeen a proliferation of hi-tech industries like software and ITeS, and the country now seems to be embarking on a massive industrialization spree, even as the world reels under economic crisis. Finally , India is seen as the land of something other than the snake charmer.

But , make no mistake- India still remains a overwhelmingly superstitious and orthodox country. Even the mall-hopping Indian middle class , is more comfortable with traditional ways of life ( no matter how self-destructive, even unethical they might be ) than with a truly modern lifestyle. First of all, there is the ubiquotous Indian obsession -astrology. And the biggest irony is that superstition in 21st century India has sought to increase its popularity by using the Internet- a product of technology and science ,something that is so diametrically opposed to blind beliefs of astrology.

Astrology might seem harmless, until you realise than even today , wedding dates are decided by astrologers . There is a " career astrology " section on the job site naukri.com , and nearly all prospective brides and grooms ask for a horoscope from their potential matches. And http://www.moneycontrol.com/ has a stock market astrology section !!! The creators of this finance portal perhaps do not understand how having a astrology section destroys their credibility as providers of reliable , well-researched financial information and projections. Perhaps people who have invested their hard-earned money trust fortune-tellers more than well educated economists and finance experts. ( I still recall how four years back, when I was reeling under severe mental illness , my otherwise intelligent sister justified my misery by attributing it to certain planetary motions )

I am not a pessimist , but I have to concede that such social trends do not appear to be waning , but infact rising in popularity, if media reports are anything to go by.
I have spoken a lot(in previous articles ) about the fact that , even today, India's economy is almost totally based upon earnings from only one-half of the adult population.** Indians , it appears, just pretend to be modern, otherwise they are a little different from their ancestors who used to flock to snake charmers. What other explanation can be there for such a economically harmful and wasteful practise still being widespread , in fact predominant in this country ?

And the tragedy , I feel, is that India's leaders-most of whom are nearing the sunset of their lives-have done little , and perhaps intend to do little about this severe problem. No wonder , India ranks 114 among 120 nations on the Gender Gap index, just above Islamic nations of the Middle East. And little wonder, according to projections ,India's per capita income will still remain much lower than the world average-even by 2030, at a time I will be 45. What "economic superpower status " do we keep talking about ?

Bullock carts might have been replaced by hatchbacks, neighbourhood kirana stores (largely) replaced by glitzy malls and supermarkets in Urban India. But India still remains a superstitious country , where people abjure meat but justify and promote social evils like dowry.

** - here i refer to the fact that the participation of women in workforce is among the lowest in india. Therefore, India's mammoth economy is almost entirely based upon the earnings of only the male adult population, with most women being housewives.