#indianroots

- A. Philip Randolph

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This year marks the 75th Independence Day for India.

On this occasion, let's celebrate the spirit of freedom and remember the freedom fighters who fought with their blood, sweat and tears to win it for us.

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Happy 75th Independence Day!

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'I think the two biggest issues are world hunger and health, and all the things that stem from bad food.' - Brett Dennen

Food is one of the most basic necessities for all living beings in order to survive. Without food, none will prevail. Food being this important, the related issues are of much significance as well.

In a country like India, where on an average, 189.2 million approx. people go starved and undernourished in a day, poor food security is a grave issue.

According to WHO, food security is "a situation when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life." 

Food security is an amalgamation of four elements: food availability, access to food, food utilisation and stability. 

Where's India on Food Security?

India is self sufficient when it comes to food availability, the messed up part begins when it comes to accessibility. The food production is going strong, but it doesn’t reaches the people in need.

This 15th August, India will celebrate its 74th Independence Day. But the freedom to eat good food and issues circling around food like starvation and food security remain intact.

The government of India has come out with a lot of schemes like Mid Day Meal, in order to ensure that all the school aged children get enough nutrition.

India's food security system, PDS(Public Distribution System) was created for distributing food to the poor and people who are unable to afford it. 

In addition to the existing food problem, Covid-19 outbreak has only made the food security issue critical.

As long as a basic living necessity, like food, is not available easily to people of all clusters, then the claims of an independent India are very much hollow.

Who is suffering?

The situation is difficult specifically for people who cannot afford food on a daily basis and the farmers as well. Being an agrarian society, 60-70% of Indian population is dependent on farming for livelihood. 

The lack of accessibility to food has led to millions of people going starved on a daily basis.