Why are we so indifferent towards our poor?
By: Subhadeep Bhattacharjee
The reactions to the Union Budget 2009-10 has once again proved how indifferent we are towards our poor. Isn't it a shame that the budget that Pranab Mukherjee presented targeting the development of the rural India has been out rightly been rejected by the industry leaders. Pranab Mukherjee's crime well he did not present a budget which could make our millionaires into billionaires and in turn ensure one third of the country still sleeps with a hungry stomach.
Who rejected the budget? Well those people who enter their six cylinder cars as soon as they are out of their plush air-conditioned offices. The budget has been rejected by people who have never boarded a Indian Railways train. People whose dying relatives were never carried for kilometers on bed to a pathetic government hospital. People who want a power back up in their homes so that they can enjoy their laptops and microwaves when there are regular power cuts.
The people who are screaming the most are those whose day starts in Delhi and ends in Mumbai, whose sun rises in Bangalore and sets in Hyderabad. These are the same people who dream of making India a superpower. These people haven't seen what 'Bharat' is, at least our politicians visit the rural areas once in five years but our so called 'India Inc' for them nothing exists outside the perimeters of the six metros and a few state capitals. They are not only indifferent but take pride in being indifferent.
The LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation) era might have brought in development to our cities but sadly our villages remained aloof from the change. This ensured that naxals and the maoists took over the most underdeveloped states like Orissa, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand under their control. This budget tries to address the needs of these people. Was it criminal for the Finance Minister to do that? These rural people have no voices in the corridors of power to present a memorandum to the government. The have two choices either accept the apathy of the government or support the underground ultras.
The budget that Pranab Mukherjee has presented targets the rural healthcare, elementary education, access to all weather roads, electricity and safe drinking water. Is it a crime for the 71% of the population to have access to these basics of life or is it more important to have the tax on an imported car slashed? Some of our industry leaders envision to take computers and internet to the rural masses. Lets first ensure them two morsels a day, safe drinking water, basic healthcare and elementary education. We can make them technology freaks later.
The reactions to the Union Budget 2009-10 has once again proved how indifferent we are towards our poor. Isn't it a shame that the budget that Pranab Mukherjee presented targeting the development of the rural India has been out rightly been rejected by the industry leaders. Pranab Mukherjee's crime well he did not present a budget which could make our millionaires into billionaires and in turn ensure one third of the country still sleeps with a hungry stomach.
Who rejected the budget? Well those people who enter their six cylinder cars as soon as they are out of their plush air-conditioned offices. The budget has been rejected by people who have never boarded a Indian Railways train. People whose dying relatives were never carried for kilometers on bed to a pathetic government hospital. People who want a power back up in their homes so that they can enjoy their laptops and microwaves when there are regular power cuts.
The people who are screaming the most are those whose day starts in Delhi and ends in Mumbai, whose sun rises in Bangalore and sets in Hyderabad. These are the same people who dream of making India a superpower. These people haven't seen what 'Bharat' is, at least our politicians visit the rural areas once in five years but our so called 'India Inc' for them nothing exists outside the perimeters of the six metros and a few state capitals. They are not only indifferent but take pride in being indifferent.
The LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation) era might have brought in development to our cities but sadly our villages remained aloof from the change. This ensured that naxals and the maoists took over the most underdeveloped states like Orissa, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand under their control. This budget tries to address the needs of these people. Was it criminal for the Finance Minister to do that? These rural people have no voices in the corridors of power to present a memorandum to the government. The have two choices either accept the apathy of the government or support the underground ultras.
The budget that Pranab Mukherjee has presented targets the rural healthcare, elementary education, access to all weather roads, electricity and safe drinking water. Is it a crime for the 71% of the population to have access to these basics of life or is it more important to have the tax on an imported car slashed? Some of our industry leaders envision to take computers and internet to the rural masses. Lets first ensure them two morsels a day, safe drinking water, basic healthcare and elementary education. We can make them technology freaks later.
2 comments:
Good issues raised Deep. The budget for this parliamentary year is indeed nothing more than another of those unfulfilled promises which our politicians so easily make when they beg for votes. Yet after elections, they only see those who surround them at the plush victory parties and cater to their needs, it's time that the opposition needs to voice out the opinions of the public rather than sit and crib about mundane issues which they are so adept at doing!
Its always been played with a kick from the yores...
What abt da media??? I'm tired of seeing wishlists of Industry Barons being publicized,debated upon and inculcated into mainstream views....Azim Premji,Mukesh Ambani,Ajit Ranade(Chief Economist,Aditya Birla group) et al were all rundown by media houses to present their redoubtable opinions on the budget and its haves and have-nots.....so ain't it like,the poor din have a say before or after it.Not even a economist like Amartya Sen or some one like C.K.Prahlad asked for a say ,people who have always orchestrated the need of the poor thru industrious ways.
And Indian billionaires suck.....they totally are scaremongers with a apetite of a mammoth. Unlike billionaires of any other ethnic origin or nationality,our Indian bros love a Forbes listing more than humanity.....ONLY IFFFFF..I cud blame it all on forbes and not Indians.
The surreal is now real dude...and thats Dalal Street....man's always been a dalal,and the onez with cash coffers and power,the biggest dalals...so gotta live with it.
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