Struggle for Survival

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oing by the crowds in the malls and the multiplexes, the rising inflation, appears to have no effect on the affluent and the neo-rich. There could have been a dent in their investments but their day-today life seems to be least affected.  But it’s a body blow to the majority who struggles to make ends meet on a daily basis.

     This clearly shows the lopsided development of our society.  No wonder that a report states that India, that ranks fourth in the world’s list of dollar billionaires, ranks 126^th in the human development.  The root cause of the problem is the stark disparity in the income levels.

     When Prime Minister Manamohan Singh expressed concern over this alarming trend, there was a large hue and cry. His statement drew flak especially from those whose income is in the upper bracket. Unfortunately, those who ought to have elated were not even aware of his statement.

     As the private sectors do not have a set guideline, the executives at the higher echelon try to extricate as more as possible while the staff at the other end of the spectrum are dolled out as little as possible. The high emolument is to placate and retain the limited talents.  Those who do menial jobs are always left with “fair” wages as in their case the supply outstrips the demand.

     Agriculture, nowadays, has turned out to be nothing but a gamble.  The situation being like this, there is a steady increase in the neo- rich, so is a rapid increase in the number of poor.

     Such lopsided development is, in fact, a dangerous trend. This breeds animosity between the classes. The poor could not afford to lead a decent life as all their needs go out of reach. The needle of blame for the deplorable plight of the poor tends to point at the rich.

     How else one can interpret an incident in Bangalore in the recent past? A group of four techies was attacked but without being looted of their money or valuables. It shows the hatred the  average Bangaloreans harbour against those people who made the city, a home for them for years,  unaffordable.  On the other hand the rich generally are apathetic towards the problems of the thousands of the poor around them.  

     Development has to be inclusive. It should not create a vast wedge between the classes. Difference between economic classes is natural, but it should not be so wide that the one class ending up with all the pleasures of life leaving the people at other end to struggle for survival.

(The article was published in Open Page section of The Hindu)

It's human spirit that always wins

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he Port Town of Mangalore has finally limped backed to normalcy, after witnessing a spate of group clashes for a few days. The peace loving people of the city are divided over the cause behind the triggering of these unfortunate incidents. The escalation of the situation, though, is attributed to some “unforeseen hands”, political parties should be blamed for feeding the communal cauldron all these years.

     When people were gripped with fear and insecurity, political parties, as usual, were playing dirty politics. They were busy tarnishing the image of one another and also the organizations except those with which they were associated. Every party seemed to gain some mileage from the unfortunate incident, while it is well known that community organizations flourish under the patronage of political parties. Their intention is nothing but to build a strong community-based vote bank.  Such organizations are pitted against one another as an attempt to divide common people.

     Despite this, ultimately it is the human spirit that wins.  Amidst torching and damaging of properties, there were incidents such as people irrespective of religion contributing to rebuild a shop that was gutted and people of different communities forming peace committees as well as participating in one another’s worships. These certainly appear as a glimmer of hope in a society that was engulfed in communal fire. Such incidents should be made more visible in order to build solidarity among people. During the two-hour relaxation of the curfew, at a grocery shop owned by a Muslim, I also witnessed Hindu boys attending the customers.

      These instances show that it is not Hindu or Muslim, who is bad, but people are bad. Ultimately, we are human beings first. Haven’t we come across good Samaritans in all religions? Don’t we have good relationship with our neighbours though they belong to a different community? While closely guarding our faith in our hearts, we should respect but not hurt the sentiments of others. Let us live and let live.