it's been quite some time since i last blogged..hope i haven't lost the flair! ;) not that i have something out of the box to write abt today..but just to overcome this saturation of mind which has engulfed me over the past few months i intend to stir up a healthy discussion here..unlike the ones we have in our humanities class! and the topic is not very profound either..it is what we come across daily, a reality that stares at us wide eyed! Poverty..
What makes ppl poor? well i answered a similar question two days back but that was an 'aptitude' test and one had to be technically and politically correct..but when this question popped up in the morning today it made me think (coz this time it wasn't about just belling a cat!)..the discussion began with ppl citing reasons like unemployment, lack of education..blah blah! i say this with such disdain is not because they r wrong but because i don't agree..and i have my reasons to do so..let us begin with the simple narrative..that of a beggar..now all of us have encountered ppl on street lights, outside temples asking for alms..and that it is illegal and unjustifiable for ppl to make such easy money..they don't send their children to school and why wud they when they have an extra pair of hands to earn for them..thus education or the lack of it is not sufficient to guarantee poverty becoz these ppl already r street smart..among the many illustrations of changing definition of poverty was the example of another such small little entrepreneur today..a popcorn seller..and mind u ppl apply all their knowledge of maths when it comes to calculating his monthly wage =60k (yes that's right! 200*10*30) and moreover he doesn't even pay tax! here we are in a state of shock aren't we??..thinking of what consequence is our pay package..but what we forget in this simple arithmetic is that earning a living was never that simple..this 15yr old boy must feed a huge family, a bunch of corrupt officials, and there will be days of bad weather and bouts of ill health too..but who bothers, the guy is no longer poor we say! on the other hand there is this well to do businessman or bureaucrat who has drained the country of resources, sought and received the best possible education and earns ten times more and still professes his income is below that of the popcorn seller..and paying tax is out of question all together..not surprisingly these are the very ppl who r quick to twitch their nose when they encounter poor..they'll complain about the govt policies from reservation to housing schemes..but a midst all this crying foul they forget that it is becoz of such ppl that they r what they r today..they have mistreated and misused these very ppl wherever and whenever they cud..it was never their prerogative to give them an opportunity to rise and shine..and they did everything possible to curb the poor's longing and needs..
i believe it is high time we become more sensitive to this part of the deprived society..affluence shud give way to compassion and altruism..our maid would not become any richer by our discarded clothes but only if we cud even start with that!
What makes ppl poor? well i answered a similar question two days back but that was an 'aptitude' test and one had to be technically and politically correct..but when this question popped up in the morning today it made me think (coz this time it wasn't about just belling a cat!)..the discussion began with ppl citing reasons like unemployment, lack of education..blah blah! i say this with such disdain is not because they r wrong but because i don't agree..and i have my reasons to do so..let us begin with the simple narrative..that of a beggar..now all of us have encountered ppl on street lights, outside temples asking for alms..and that it is illegal and unjustifiable for ppl to make such easy money..they don't send their children to school and why wud they when they have an extra pair of hands to earn for them..thus education or the lack of it is not sufficient to guarantee poverty becoz these ppl already r street smart..among the many illustrations of changing definition of poverty was the example of another such small little entrepreneur today..a popcorn seller..and mind u ppl apply all their knowledge of maths when it comes to calculating his monthly wage =60k (yes that's right! 200*10*30) and moreover he doesn't even pay tax! here we are in a state of shock aren't we??..thinking of what consequence is our pay package..but what we forget in this simple arithmetic is that earning a living was never that simple..this 15yr old boy must feed a huge family, a bunch of corrupt officials, and there will be days of bad weather and bouts of ill health too..but who bothers, the guy is no longer poor we say! on the other hand there is this well to do businessman or bureaucrat who has drained the country of resources, sought and received the best possible education and earns ten times more and still professes his income is below that of the popcorn seller..and paying tax is out of question all together..not surprisingly these are the very ppl who r quick to twitch their nose when they encounter poor..they'll complain about the govt policies from reservation to housing schemes..but a midst all this crying foul they forget that it is becoz of such ppl that they r what they r today..they have mistreated and misused these very ppl wherever and whenever they cud..it was never their prerogative to give them an opportunity to rise and shine..and they did everything possible to curb the poor's longing and needs..
i believe it is high time we become more sensitive to this part of the deprived society..affluence shud give way to compassion and altruism..our maid would not become any richer by our discarded clothes but only if we cud even start with that!
