Urbanisation in South Asia

An article entitled 'Balancing growth and social tension' (The Straits Times, Feb 9) was recently written by Shreekant Gupta, containing his personal views on urbanisation in South Asia and its challenges. In his article, Mr. Gupta wrote about the need for South Asia to 'make its towns and cities liveable' for its people and commented on the three problems South Asia currently face in the quest for urbanisation; governments are not accountable to their people, public servants are largely inefficient and inadequate funds are being obtained from the wrong sources.

In essence, the article's key idea can be exemplified by the situation India is in. India is widely regarded as a rising power in the modern world, but her push for urbanisation and growth is restricted because of problems such as corruption and insufficient finances. The alarming number of poor people living in urban areas (100 million or more) is a testament to the predicament India currently faces.

The future looks bleak for the urban poor, but is there really nothing they can do about it? I beg to differ. Although I do recognise that governments, by virtue of their authority, play an important role in determining the fate of their people, I feel that there are ways in which the urban poor can attempt to break out of the poverty cycle. Conscious efforts made by the urban poor to improve their standard of living will greatly increase the effectiveness of the changes introduced by their governments.

The urban poor must empower themselves in order to strive for a better future. Empowerment comes in two forms; upgrading of self and education of future generations. In the short term, the current generation of people living in poverty can attend various courses organized by their companies to equip themselves with skills which are useful for progress in their working life. This will pave the way for stronger financial security and ensure that their careers do not remain in a state of stagnation.

In the long run, education is essential in allowing the urban poor to break away from their current situation. Future generations of people will have a fair chance of doing well in life if they are educated from an early age. Acceptance of the education system by the urban poor will facilitate their escape from the poverty cycle, as they will not be incapacitated when they enter the workforce. Education also benefits the economy as there is a strong human resource base to rely on.

A prominent example of the above can be found in Singapore, where heavy emphasis is placed on education. During the days of colonial rule, many locals were uneducated and took up laborious jobs which payed very little (many became coolies). However, education has allowed future generations of Singaporeans to escape from the situation their forefathers found themselves trapped in. Singapore is currently regarded as a wealthy nation, and the percentage of poor people in the population is relatively low compared to the past.

I sincerely feel that attempts made by the urban poor to empower themselves, when complemented by well-informed policy making and efficient governance, will result in the overall improvement of living standards for the poor in a rapidly urbanizing South Asia. While it might be difficult to thrive in a modernizing and increasingly competitive society, it is not an impossible task and effort must be put in on an individual level for positive change to occur.

Progress is always welcome, but progress is for everyone. Let us work towards that goal.


Online version of article can be accessed at: http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=02&year=2008&date=09&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2008_8072205