Having worked for an international charity for nearly 18 years in India I have had the opportunity of seeing and experiencing poverty in close quarters. I have seen orphaned babies and children, marginalised widows, children rescued from child labour, children malnourished, children dropped out of school, parents unable to pay for their children's medical treatment, children forced to work due to the terminal illness of the father - the bread winner, children addicted to substance abuse, children deserted and lost in the railway station platforms, runaway children, children of life convicts and so on. In a land where we see these evils in a degree much too high, the average Indian has actually become numb to it.
Living in India working for this charity, exposed me to people living in abstract poverty in the cities as well as in remote areas. During my field visits I came across a variety of impoverished people and I realised that poverty actually comes in different shades and shapes. Some of my experiences are very deeply etched in my heart. It saddens as well as enrages me when I think of some of the inhuman and unjust ways these people are (ill)treated just because, "they are poor". And in a land which boasts about over six decades of independence, democracy and development where the moneyed call the shots, the rich and the unjust rule, these are helpless people looking for a saviour who would stand on their behalf and advocate. The following are a few of the experiences that has impacted me. This is just the Tip of the tip of the iceberg, while the issues and underlying causes go much deeper.
Casteism and the colonies
Traveling in some remote and far flung places of India brought to light this horrendous social evil called "Caste System". This is where people are categorised into a caste hierarchy, which divides them and creates a social class disparity, resulting in a certain class of people branded as "Untouchables". In this very same land of the Mahatma and the Buddha prevails this demonic plague called Untouchability. The backward castes(BC) who are mostly landlords, besides all other upper castes, claim superiority over the scheduled caste(SC) who are the labourers and treat them with no human value. The SCs are unacceptable in society and hence they still live in separate living areas called "colonies" in the rural areas.
In one such place I had visited, I found that the tea shops had separate utensils for the BCs and the SCs. The BC's were served in 'ever-silver' utensils while the SCs were served in 'aluminium' utensils. These low castes were expected to live as slaves for the BCs and the other castes. They were forever to be wage labourers and workers in the field of the BCs who claimed to be the masters forever. The SCs had to purchase from the stores run by the BCs. An SC can never become an entrepreneur of his own as any attempt to get self sufficient will be quelled by the BCs. It is left as "fate" for the SC to live in such inhumane conditions until he dies, while the upper castes play "gods" to be always looked up to.
Child & Bonded Labour
When the poor need money they have to depend on the landlords. Once the money is borrowed and the exorbitant interest becomes too much to repay, the poor are left with no other option but to work for the landlords for generations as a repayment in kind. This leads to the children dropping out of school to work with their parents hoping the repayment will be a little faster. However once the child is out of school it becomes nearly impossible for the child to come back to mainstream education. In extreme cases these children work in the beedi(buckshot) industry, match factories, firework industries, garages and small cafeterias under very difficult and unsafe conditions. Illiteracy, ill health, poverty, debt and bonded labour - they are caught in this vicious cycle of poverty.
Rajnats
This is a community I came across in a state where the elite business community of India hails from. This is a community of people whose women were once the concubines and dancers in the kings' court. They stuck on to this tradition and never got mainstreamed into society. They eventually resorted to commercial sex-work which later became the only source of livelihood for this community. They live with absolutely no idea of morality. Fidelity and marital faithfulness are unknown concepts to this community where the men - the fathers, the sons and the brothers - act as pimps to their own wives, mothers and sisters. The birth of a female child is celebrated for the prospective income she would bring through the traditional family flesh trade.
Urban poverty
Drought in the rural areas result in rural unemployment and poverty. These poor are forced to move to cities in search of menial jobs for their survival. With heavy influx of people from the villages, the cities have become over crowded. The state is not adequately geared to handle this ever increasing demand for space resulting in slums mushrooming in the cities. Some of these slums are located on pavements, near sewages, garbage dump yards, etc. and people live in the most pathetic places with no hygiene and sanitation. Children living in these circumstances are exposed to maximum risk starting from poor health to the worst crimes and antisocial engagements. These children have seen the roughest side of life and have gone to the extremes to survive and virtually have had their childhood by-passed due to poverty and gone into a premature adulthood.
HIV / AIDS
A young couple I had met in Kolkata during one of the World AIDS Day programs shared with me their experience. The man used to be a driver in a company. One fine day he met with an accident which critically injured him to the point where he could not go back to work. He tried for other jobs and found no way out. His wife became pregnant and soon gave birth to a baby girl. With the number of mouths to feed increasing and with no income, a neighbour lured his wife
into the flesh trade for some income. There was little relieif financially, however, it was only shortlived. They had a crisis in their health. They began falling sick frequently. When they eventually went for medical treatment it was detected that both of them had contracted HIV. This shattered their lives and took their life on a tailspin to disaster. They found support and help from "+ve Network" a group of HIV +ve people whose vision was to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. The way they narrated their story to the people as part of AIDS awareness moved many to tears. Their story of difficulty, conflict, sorrow, social discrimination and deteriorating health was too painful to hear. As I am writing this, I am not sure if this couple is still alive and I'm wondering what has happened to their little daughter who was innocently playing as their parents narrated their story of misfortune.
The suffering of the poor in India is too difficult to be described but a first hand experience of witnessing it is what will give us an idea of poverty. But to the one who is actually experiencing it, it is an even more difficult ordeal each day. With the economic crisis and inflation compounded by insensitive and corrupt governance, it only adds to the woes of the Indian poor.
...And now, years have gone by and having come here to the UAE and a little out of touch with the once familiar context, I do feel like a fish out of water. In stark contrast, I see this Middle Eastern nation in all it's splendour and glory with all the high rise structures, some of which are displays of their superiority. I see children here growing up with such apathy, arrogance, ignorance and indifference towards poverty. I am not sure if an average NRI would get to really understand the weight of the social issues facing our great Indian nation.It's mostly pursuit of wealth, power and pleasure that I see around me and I wish those who read this blog would soften their hearts and consider reaching out and helping someone out there to find hope and life back in India.
After all don't we take pride in saying "Hamara Bharat Mahan!"
