Shiv Kumar Padha
Unlike other developed nations of world, poverty is considered as fertile land and blessing for politics to grow and flourish and the poor an asset, vote bank and fertilizer for its growth. The victory or defeat of any political party depends upon the fact how best it can manage maximum votes from among the poorest of the poor because it is very easy to exploit the poverty for gaining the political mileage in India. We daily observe how a healthy woman (called mother) on the cross roads use a feeble and skeletal child in her lap as a prop for begging to earn for the family at its cost; two healthy and stout persons beg for a crippled soul being pulled in the trolley on the roads; a healthy person with 6/6 eyesight, escorting a blind person and begging for him in streets. In all these instances we find woman with a feeble and skeletal child, healthy persons with a blind and crippled soul in trolley earned more than if they had used healthy child and normal persons during begging. It is a tragedy that these healthy and stout persons instead of begging for these crippled and feeble souls could prove a succor for them. While poverty and illiteracy are considered curse for the entire humanity, they are taken as blessings for the Indian politicians because poverty and illiteracy are highly politicized in India. An average Indian citizen is hardworking and diligent, but the politicians with whom the power lays act as cancer spreading the venom and ultimately affecting the progress and prosperity of the nation. The Indian politicians, instead of uprooting the poverty and illiteracy from the soil devise the means of minting money and making hay during the sun shine. Hardly there are a few politicians in the country who are not involved in one or the other scam or scandal. Government of India, in order to eliminate the poverty from the Indian soil, adapted three approaches, first entails pursuit of higher economic growth which will improve the level of the living of all groups of people in the society including poor, second involved direct anti-poverty program and the third stressed high priority to governmental expenditure on social sector. After independence government launched several poverty alleviation programs in the country among which some are worth mentioning, here like -Legal elimination of bonded labor- preventing accumulation of wealth by modifying law- Antodaya program-Drought area development program- Small farmers development program(SFDP). Indira Gandhi’s twenty point program- Food for work and minimum needs programs- National rural employment program (NREP)- TRYSEM- Swarn Jayanti Swarozgar Yojna- Indira Awasyojna- MNREGA and Rural Housing yojna etc. In order to woe the poor, religious minorities, Muslims and low caste Hindus the UPA 2 came out with many legislation like right to food security, righ to education and right to employment. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi famously admitted that for every rupee the government spent on anti-poverty program only 20 paisa reached the poor. The central government spends crores of rupees every year on subsidized meals, cheap food, grains and other basic amenities for the people below poverty line. Poverty however could be eradicated from the Indian soil had the various facilities and concessions aimed at uplifting the downtrodden reached them and properly utilized for the targeted group it was meant for. But owing to the lack of political commitment and the political corruption nothing could trickle down to the level of the poor beneficiaries. It is unfortunate that even after 66 years of independence India has more poor than it had in 1947. It does not figure among the top 100 countries in human index. Despite growth rate of 9 percent it is not transforming itself into economic and social development. According to the World Bank report a person getting $ 1.25 per day is considered at the threshold of extreme poverty. Accordingly 2011report of the World Bank 24.6 per cent of the Indian population or about 300 million people earn much below the $ 1.25 per day. ‘Poverty in India has become an historical reality from 19th to 21st century. According to World Bank survey, out of world’s 872.3 million people under poverty India shares 179.6million with 17.5 per cent of the total world’s population. 20.6 per cent share of the world’s poor reside in India. Still 50 per cent of Indians don’t have proper shelter. 70 per cent do not have access to decent toilet, 40 per cent of the villages do not have road connectivity and 35 per cent of the household do not have nearby water facility. India has six doctors for every 10,000 people against 12 in Brazil,14 in China and 43 in Russia. It is a reality that Indian ruling class, irrespective of party in rule, not only love poor but wants them to remain poor for their votes and the money to be made from exploiting them. No political party can ever win the election without the support of the poor. Poor, in India, have become a laughing stock, a class to jeer at by the politicians. Raj Babar turned politician from Bollywood blatantly claim that he can have full meal for Rs 12 in Mumbai, RS MP Rashid Masood can have Rs 5 per Thali in Delhi whereas Dr Farooq Abdullah surpassed all of them claiming one time full stomach meals for Re 1. They perhaps forget that every poor man doesn’t have the access of taking two times sumptuous meals for Rs 28 served to our Parliamentarians in Parliament mess while ignoring crores of poorest of the poor going to bed hungry every night. It is reality that the poverty has become a fertile soil for the politicians and the poor a prop to use at the time of election. The politicians need services of the poor people for getting crowds during the rallies and public meetings. They manage the votes from the poor ilk by alluring them with money, ration, freebies and other necessities. They understand that the poor man is like specie worth preserving, a lactating cow who always stand by the politicians through thick and thin. It is fact that the ruling class poses loving the poor but wants them to remain poor forever.
(The author is a social activist).