The other world!

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I would like to share this story.

It was 10 PM in the night at a private bus stand in Ahmedabad, one of the biggest cities in India and definitely one of the most prosperous. These are two small children (brothers, actually), lying on the pavement of the bus stand....half naked....barely fed (a small packet of biscuit, half consumed was lying beside)....surrounded by mosquitoes and all other insects you would shiver to even look at!

While I was talking to myself, a big bulky man came looking for these boys and found them sleeping there. Such angry was he with these children that he woke them up at once and beat them up before the little ones could even realize what was happening with them. On observing I understood that these brothers worked in his restaurant and had fled work before the scheduled closing time (apparently because they were too hungry or too tired).

They are not alone.....thousands of such children cross over to Ahmedabad from the neighboring Rajasthan to work and earn. The so-called generous employers give them an employment opportunity and in turn gain maximum profits (as child labour is a lot cheaper than the adult ones). This exploitation goes on every day...uninterrupted....in spite of a ban on child labour!

Not that it's anything new in India; but I was waiting for my bus to come...and thus noticed this and had time to think. I was angry at myself that I was (am) not doing enough; I was (am) not doing my bit. I thought of talking to others through forums like this.

India, today, is one of the fastest growing economies in the world....wealth is being created at the speed of knots. But is everyone included? Is really India shining? Empathy apart, we chose to ignore this reality at our own cost!

Poverty and inequality are the fundamental cause of all the major problems in India today. 'Naxalism' and 'social unrest' (like that of the recent violence in Mumbai against the North Indians) (and more) are the direct result of large scale inequality.

The government, the civil society (read NGOs) and the public at large have to act and not before it is too late! It's a shame if we cannot eradicate poverty from the surface of earth with all this technology and wealth! 

Gandhi was true when he said- "There is enough on the earth for everyone's need, not for everyone's greed"

Naxals cannot be allowed to dictate terms

The recent carnage at Dantewada that saw more than 30 innocent people lose their lives exposes the Naxals. I always sympathized with the Naxals to certain extent for their cause, even though I did never approve of their violence. I thought these are people who have been left out of the India growth story. When India is growing to become one of the most influential nations of the world, both economically and politically, a huge number of these people languish in abject poverty throughout India. Hence I thought their anger against the state is a natural outcome of their desperation. But the latest mayhem has left me asking me two questions:

- Do these Naxals really care for the people they say they are fighting for? If so, how come they can kill the same people!
- Have their political ambitions got bigger than their so-called fight against injustice?

It seems that the Naxals have lost sight of their vision. They need to quit the path of violence and fight for their cause peacefully. There are a lot of people and organizations who support their cause.

Development is a slow process; whatever the Government is doing would take some time to reflect on the field. Besides, 'Development' is a complex process; even with best of endeavours, one finds it difficult to achieve it. The Government is trying to push forward the ‘Development’ agenda in the Naxal affected regions. But the Naxals seem to be non-cooperative and desperate.

The Government must now adopt a two prong strategy: (i) Establish the rule of law in these places; the Naxals can not be allowed to dictate terms to the state. It is one of the primary duties of the state to protect its citizens (ii) Accelerate the development process.The efforts of development must be immediate and on a war footing. Better education, health facilities, public distribution system, employment opportunities, etc will go a long way in solving the problem.