"GREAT INDIAN DIVIDE"
The gaping hole between rich and poor India shows how our politicians are all about fake poll promises.
As cases of malnutrition increase, it is sad that we, who live in a privileged world, are blind to the plight of the under-privileged. I live in Delhi, the capital of this country, and as India’s GDP grows, we can’t ignore the rising poverty which has led to many negative issues. Assuming that the reports are correct, 44 per cent of children under five are underweight and under-nourished. It is pathetic to hear our politicians talk about hunger and malnutrition on national TV and say that the country is better off when compared to neighbours. They, we are told, create more trouble.
It is unfortunate that we compare ourselves to others all the time. And these comparisons come from all sorts of issues, be it terrorism, corruption or even our GDP growth. We are supposed to be the next superpower. The world sees us at par with the US and China. But when one sees the figures that talks of hunger and poverty, most Indians feel ashamed. The danger of the increasing number of malnutrition cases is that is not only leads to infant deaths and anemia in women but also to rise in crime. It has been said over and over again — the rich are becoming richer and poor, poorer. The gaping divide will obviously give rise to anti-social elements.
It is amazing how our political representatives fight tooth and nail for a rise in their salaries and perks. In the last two years, the salaries of MPs and MLAs have gone up three-folds. How can these people forget that a vast population of our country continues to struggle for roti, kapda aur makaan? It is shocking to know the reasons why our leaders do not crack the whip on businessmen who do not pay their taxes. Why is it that these people can’t be taxed when they spend crores on weddings and other such functions.
The banking system in our country is also odd. If one owes them less than a crore, they will make life of the person who has taken the loan hell, but if the debt runs in thousands of crores they lend you more. So everything is “kingsize”. It is difficult for a majority of Indians to lead a healthy and stress-free life.
How can one forget about the various schemes that the Government introduced for the down-trodden? In most cases only a small percentage of it percolates down, the rest is honestly divided among the various people at the top. What we need today is a system which will look after the interest of the poor man. It is sad that people in our country spend crores on a wedding but no one is willing to give a blanket to a poor man shivering at the roadside.
With every election, all political parties — big or small — make tall promises to voters. But then we know that once the elections will get over and a party has won, the promises also disappear only to resurface after five years. For the present, the voter is king and will be pampered. Nothing, however, will work in favour of the common man except how he needs to vote for a particular party to grab power.
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