Meager Dole to the Poor won’t Reinstate those Apparent Halcyon Days

(Pic Credit: Google Images)

The marketing slogan ‘India Shining’ used by  the BJP during the 2004 election campaign,  continues to meet with colossal disfiguration as the country is experiencing an economic slump owing to the reckless rampage of the unseen virus. The glaring contrast in the living realities between the poor and the rich in India is a thorn in the flesh of our ‘booming’ economy. The pensive passivity towards the lion share of the population consisting of the poor class and the obsolete economic policies introduced by consecutive governments have widened the gap between these two extreme classes. The present government has been accused of being an instrument in writing off a staggering amount of Rs 68,607 crores due from 50 top wilful defaulters till September 30, 2019. However, this startling revelation includes only the amount due from the super-rich defaulters from India, not those from overseas. These duplicitous defaulters have stolen away the hard-earned money of the poor, while they ironically continue to live in the same luxury they used to have. The government went into a mode of self-defence when enquired about the wilful defaulters who siphoned off the tax payer’s money. When the migrant labourers and the working class sweat it out for their living the ultra-rich of the country were wallowing in luxury.

The advent of Corona has exacerbated the plight of the poor, forcing them to be ferried away from their work places to the feeble walls of safety, fearing the outbreak of the pandemic. An estimated 12.2 crore Indians lost their jobs during the lock-down engendered by Coronavirus, while most of them are sole breadwinners of the family. Kerala has been one of the outliers during these days of the virus- induced pandemonium, interestingly where the first case of infection was diagnosed way back on 30^th of January. With the economic slowdown and the resultant workforce downsizing becoming a global trend, loss of job is going to be an order of the day for the days to come. Today we are paused with a question as who will attend to the plight of the poor class of the society simultaneously keep the exponentially spreading virus at bay? The question remains unanswered.

The callous attitude which several of the governments have maintained towards the ‘guest labourers’; as addressed by the Govt. of Kerala, has forced them to be exiled in huge hordes. At this juncture I am reminded of the Finance Minister’s Utopian visions like taking the country to a whopping 9% (GDP) of economic growth and achieving a $5 trillion economy, Modi’s dream project of rebuilding the Parliament House with a soaring 146 crores and of course the $15 billion Mumbai- Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor.  These projects stand as a sheer mockery on the less privileged citizens of India, who struggles to keep their body and soul together. The rictus of arrogance stretched across Smt. Sitharaman’s face might silence the nagging media personnel, but not the truth. Ironically, the country has seen a deceleration of GDP to 5% in the financial year 2019-20. The government’s demagoguery has been successful to certain extent in throwing dust in the eyes of the ordinary citizens. Consecutive natural and man-made calamities like, natural disasters of 2019 (Karnataka Floods, Cyclone Fani, Kerala Floods, Bihar Floods and Heat waves) and of course the after effects of Demonetization and hasty implementation of GST have strangled the economy badly. The calamities continue to hit the country hard even in 2020 and many more are probably in the offing. The trying times have not vanished from us. The economy is left to gasp for its breath while obnoxious and irresponsible decisions of the government has caused the decline in economic growth to an alarming rate. 

With the advent of the lethal pandemic Covid-19, and its disturbing capability to contract the people with weakened immune system has forced the less-privileged class to keep a watch. Unfortunately, they are not equipped to do so unlike the middle and rich classes of the society who are well informed and protected. Intermittent alteration of the lock-down policies has caused chaos and confusion making the life difficult. People are left to baffle before their volatile future, finding no means to make both ends meet. There is an evident life-and-death situation out there. The callous Government’s occasional brag about their economic achievements is rather fiddling while the Rome burns. The scraps and pittance falling out of government’s pompous table will not really satiate the needy. It is a high time for the government to think about forging new policies to bring in Universal Basic Income (UBI). This is the only way out to bring back the economic growth and to boost citizen’s mental and financial well-being along with decent measures to shore up employment. The scarcity of financial resources can no longer be an alibi for the Govt. to wash the hands of this obligation. Incongruously, hasty implementation of GST and related economic reforms have turned out to be like robbing Peter to pay Paul. The needy and the less-privileged are at the receiving end, enduring through the perilous situations. While the ostentatious life of the elected representatives and some of the bureaucrats coupled with thrasonical attitude tarnish the name of our nation.     

Loss of the jobs have jeopardized the normal life of the daily wagers. The central government is seemingly fussy in pinpointing the lapses of State Governments’ implementation of stringent lock-down to ward off the unseen virus. This has blinded the authorities to bring out unwanted rules out of the blue, not knowing the ground reality of the country. This attitude of the government towards the needy is a clear affront and jolt on the people, who are on the way to a strong resilience against this unprecedented situation. Instead, the government must cash in this opportunity to take the people into confidence and stand by their side as a perpetual succourer. With a strong network of PDS and grassroots level screening of virus, India can certainly bounce back and reinstate her lost glory. For which the country as a whole must be able to keep away the insouciance attitude towards the poor junk of the society, who are the most vulnerable and equally muddled about their future. Covid-19 will sustain as a foreboding reality among the people for a considerable duration of time. The morbidity of the disease can only be curbed by wholeheartedly uniting under a uniformed umbrella of strategic defence.

Let us not remain indifferent to the reality and join the rally of with those fawning retinues to ingratiate the people in power. Stay away from blindly bowing the heads to the unthought and irresponsible decisions of the governments. Of late, bigotry and the political vendetta coupled with reneging have become the face of the governments. Most of them have managed to steal the flames from Prometheus, but unfortunately, they do not know what to do with it. Even if you are gagged by the powerful government, stand by the vulnerable for they have no one to speak on their behalf. If the government goes ahead imposing yet another lock-down, that will turn out to be a collateral damage destroying both the economy as well as the sustenance of the poor in the country. The governments both in the center and the states must understand the reality that a meager dole to the poor won’t reinstate those apparent halcyon days, because that is their right.

You my elected representatives, I beseech you on behalf of the suffering class, do not throw the pittance before the less-privileged class anymore, for it would only add woe to their pain and deprivations.