India has a wealth of poverty. Indeed, where poverty is concerned, it has an embarrassment of riches.
Many agree with that old tag that India is a rich country with a lot of poor people in it. Even those who criticise films like Slumdog Millionaire as prejudicial depictions of India’s poverty by exploitative foreigners – and such critics include the iconic Amitabh Bachchan – will concede that, well, yes, there are poor people in India. The problem is, just how many of them are there?
And this is where our wealth of poverty comes in. For we seem to have more figures and statistics relating to poverty than any other country in the world. And – unlike the actual living conditions of the poor, whether in urban shanty towns or rural boondocks – these figures and statistics keep changing.
For several years the percentage of Indians living below the poverty line (BPL) was pegged at 28.5 per cent. This estimate was made by the Planning Commission on the basis of the findings of the Sample Survey Organisation in 2004-05, which in turn were based on a 1972 benchmark which defined the poverty line by the money required to buy 2,100 calories worth of food in urban areas, and 2,400 calories in rural areas. Food was the only criterion to determine poverty. No mention was made of other essentials, such as shelter, clothing or even the most basic of health care, leave alone ‘luxuries’ like primary education.
In 2007, another commission, this one headed by Arjun Sengupta to look into the unorganised sector, came up with the startling figure that 77 per cent of Indians were poor. With economic reforms underway, the economy growing at a respectable pace and India readying itself to assume the mantle of a regional, if not international, economic superpower, this was like waving a red rag at a bull. If 77 per cent of all Indians were poor, what price the much vaunted, emerging Indian middle class – vanguard of our democracy – which was said to range anywhere between 150 million and 350 million?
Our poverty experts got into a huddle and in June 2009 yet another committee, headed by N C Saxena, agreed to round off poor Indians at exactly 50 per cent of the population. What could be fairer than that? Fifty-fifty. Half the country’s poor, half not poor; half haves, half have-nots.
But this equal distribution of the spoils, so to speak, has once more been challenged by – guess what? – yet another committee, headed by S D Tendulkar, former chairman of the PM’s Economic Advisory Committee, which on the basis of interlocking indicators including health care, education, sanitation and nutrition has calculated India’s poor as comprising 38 per cent of the population.
So is this figure final, and will the powers that be finally stop juggling statistics and get on with the job of actually doing something to at least alleviate poverty, forget eradicating it? No way. Already the new figure of 38 per cent has been questioned by Mihir Shah, member-in-charge of rural development in the Planning Commission. Refusing to accept the 38 per cent figure, the member-in-charge has however admitted that the old figure of 28.5 per cent probably needed upward adjustment.
Meanwhile, the taxi meter for the government’s poverty alleviation schemes has ticked up to a humongous Rs 1,51,460 crore in the past four years under just three of the sarkar’s anti-poverty schemes. An anonymous senior official has been quoted as saying that “The expenditure will further increase with the government envisaging providing basic entitlement of food to all under the National Food Security Act.”
The more poor we have, the more money the government spends on them. And the more money the government spends on them, the more poor we have. Rajiv Gandhi once estimated that of every rupee the sarkar spent on poor relief, only 16 paise reached the targeted individual. Today – when the government of India has asked Swiss banks to divulge details of Indian accounts – that figure has come down to between 5 and 6 paise to the rupee. So where does all the anti-poverty money go? Take a guess.
Yes, India is indeed a rich country with a lot of poor people in it. And it’s these poor people who make rich India rich, give it its wealth of poverty. India cannot afford to give up its lucrative poverty; it must perpetuate it.
The poor? Well, if they can’t afford to eat roti, let them eat a substitute that the sarkar provides in ample measure for them. Let them eat statistics.
Irresponsible is no longer enough to describe the way media handled the Mumbai mayhem. But hold on the madness is not over yet. What I am shocked at is the fact that exactly what is the media is trying to prove by giving an exact count of the number of Muslims and number of Hindus killed in the Mumbai attack?
Although a little late, but I just saw that the most popular section of this blog has been left vacant this time round. Yeah correct – the live streaming cricket links. It’s time to look and share. Most of the links are infact illegal and I do not recommend any of them. If you get into any soup, dont blame me. In very simple terms – TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I hate his Guts!!
Naturally I chuckled at this ingenious bit of advertising as I turned the page and found it was an Champion’s League promotional advertisement.
Well, there certainly about Symonds. I beleive he was not cut out for this gentleman’s game. He defenitely will be more comfortable in his life along the street and picking up frequent bar-room / pub brawls and fishing. Â His latest indiscretion comes just as Symonds had been recalled to the team after being banished from national duty after electing to go fishing in Darwin ahead of a team meeting before a one day international during Bangladesh’s winter tour of Australia.
Former South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock has no desire to play cricket anymore which has left his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians in a tizzy.
A cricketer is showered with praises whenever he hangs up his boots, some are emotional ramblings, some heartfelt appriciations and some mere formalities. I would stay away from most and try and recall all those Kumble moments in my memory. Some are motivating, some intimating, some awkward and some absolutely Heroic. It would be unfair to say that Kumble was the best player to play for India or that he was the best bowler in the world or for that matter the best leg spinner (It was the straight one that did the damage), but one thing he surely was – A true Sportsman, whogave nothing less than 100%.
