One India holds its head high- does not stop boasting about the booming business and economy, information technology and a vivid advance in all infrastructures like education, transport, communication, health and security, and affirmative alleviation in the status of women, transcending all ancient social obstacles.
And this India wants, wants more.
The other India comprising 72% of the 1.1 billion lags far behind, with all living pillars weak and brittle, and live amidst illiteracy, weak and brittle, and live amidst illiteracy, unemployment, destitution and shrewd shackles of social prejudices and problems.
This India hopes; hopes for a little change in their living conditions.

Today, more than 260 million Indians; almost one-third of the rural population, live in deprivation-below poverty line, making one in every four poor in the world an Indian.

There has been an increase in the slum population - a close relative of rural poverty in the Indian cities, struggling to keep pace with the pace and problems of the well-to-do cities.

"An India free of inequality and exploitation" was the sole aim of freedom fighters committed to the cause of freedom. But with India's independence, we are witness to widening differences and distance between rural and urban India. Perhaps never to meet again!

One India exploits and the other gets exploited.

It's not known when the blind urbanites will turn sympathetic and feel the rural difficulties. In fact, it's debatable, will they ever?

The difference is open and clear. One India still strives for the three fundamental needs in life-cloth, food and shelter, something which the other has never considered a 'need'.

Poverty to the urban affluent is a natural phenomenon, like an earthquake, occurring somewhere, to be captured and beamed over TV sets, to tickle their extinct humane instinct.

60-odd years have passed, several generations, but no significant progress, perhaps no change. The rural journey of life across clouds of suffering and destitution has remained the same.