By Mia Miriam Sojan
One morning, as I sat on the bus, on my way to school, drowsy and at the verge of dozing off from the lack of sleep the previous night, a mother and child lying on a muddy road caught my attention. The mother was sound asleep, wrinkles of exhaustion lining her forehead. She slept, oblivious to the scorching heat, unaware of the noises caused by the blaring horns of vehicles as they passed by. People walked back and forth, lost in their own world, some laughing as they conversed with their friends and, others preoccupied by their own thoughts. Fleeting glances were spared in the direction of the mother and child, but as if there was nothing unusual in what they saw, everyone walked away. This made me wonder, when did we as a society become desensitized towards the hardships of the poor?
India, the land of steeped culture, a land where diversity in all forms prevail, a country where freedom is not just an idea but a reality, my beloved country, is under great scrutiny due to the ongoing issues of poverty and unemployment. Like every other citizen of my country, I too have an idealistic vision for the future of India. I too want a country devoid of all the problems it battles against on a daily basis. A country free from the shackles of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, one where human peace and harmony is done no harm, a beautiful land soaring in prosperity and development. As much as I’d like to believe this is what the future holds, as each day passes by, reality becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. With pressing issues like climate change- which demands immediate attention on a global scale- on the rise, it will soon be too late to resolve the problems faced by India as a developing nation.
Well, what is poverty? Is it just the lack of money to satisfy basic needs? Or is it something beyond that? Poverty is the helplessness felt by a mother looking at her sick child knowing there is nothing she can do to help him, it is the sympathy yearned by the old man sitting with his arm outstretched begging for money, helplessness is the hungry stomachs of the little children as they watch others around them eat, and sorrow is the kindling desire to read, write and learn. Poverty is ultimately the fear of a future you are unsure of whether you will be alive to see.
Although the government has introduced various initiatives and policies to help eradicate poverty in our country, it still remains a matter of great concern. The lack of economic equality, lack of access to basic amenities, mass displacement, unemployment, marginalization and the caste system that remains inextinguishable all contribute to the prevalence of poverty in the country. A child born into a poor family, struggles with malnutrition, grows up to limited education and most often ends up performing menial jobs earning barely any money. This continuous cycle has caused each new generation to be entrapped in this vicious cycle of poverty and debt, left behind by the former generations. Even though it is possible to break the seemingly impossible cycle, it requires patience, time and cooperation from people.
As India develops and moves forward on a global scale, there is an increase in the desensitisation exhibited by the elite towards the poorer sections of society. Poverty has become an unusually common phenomenon and this has led people to repeatedly elicit a common response of ignorance whenever they see someone poor. It is beyond heartbreaking to see India rank 105th out of the total of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) of 2024.
Food is a basic necessity for life. As reported by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 2024, an approximated 200.3 million people in India are undernourished and poverty is said to be the leading cause of rising hunger. It is not due to the lack of food production, but due to the lack of proper distribution of the produce that hunger still persists. It is paradoxical to see that it is the people who produce food that suffer the dire consequences of hunger and poverty. Over 20% of farmers in India live below the poverty line. It is important that nutritious food is available and affordable to the poor. Addressing factors such as availability and accessibility of food simultaneously can help ensure that no one goes to bed with an empty stomach.
According to the data submitted to the UNICEF in the annual report of 2024, the population of India has risen from an approximated 400 million people in 1950 to around 1.5 billion people in 2024, out of which children alone constitute around 460 million. The burgeoning population poses a challenge to Indian society as it increases the rate of unemployment which is accompanied by an increased rate of poverty which results in lack of suitable living conditions for its citizens. Since population control cannot be achieved momentarily, it is important to plan ahead so as to prevent excessive population growth in the future. Proper family planning, sex education, encouragement of adoptions and increasing the age of marriage for women and men from 18 and 21 respectively to 25 years of age are a few prolonging measures to control the population explosion in our country.
With a growing rise in population comes another major issue, unemployment. The rate of unemployment in India is at an all-time high after the COVID pandemic of 2020. Sources from CMIE indicate a 9.2% increase in the rate of unemployment as of June 2024. One of the contributing factors that hinder employment in India is the lack of economic growth which is caused by the stagnation of the manufacturing sector. The high dependency on the growth of the manufacturing sector poses a problem to the overall development of the country. With artificial intelligence revolutionizing the job market for a technologically advanced future, it is predicted that the rate of unemployment will skyrocket in the years to come. The lack of availability of jobs impact people severely in terms of their social, emotional, mental and financial well-being. Unemployment has led to many youngsters finding solace in drugs and this has in turn led to a significant increase in the consumption of drugs by the youth of the country.
Although not in its entirety, it is possible to reduce the rate of poverty by creating employment opportunities for the citizens of the country. The first step to creating more employment is to realise that entrepreneurs are assets to the nation. In order for jobs to be created, ideas need to be proposed. The ideas proposed by entrepreneurs can help generate jobs and income for many. In order to motivate entrepreneurs, the government should initiate sandbox startup projects that provide training and mentorship to nurture startup ideas, with reasonable taxation. These ideas are what will aid development and generate income for the unemployed in the future. The education system should accommodate the inclusion of technical and entrepreneurship classes alongside the school curriculum to help students adapt to work environment in the future.
It is the dream of all citizens to see their country devoid of poverty and slums. The Resettlement Bill of 2007 claims to provide benefits and compensation to those displaced from their land and to reduce the overall displacement of people. However, when slum regions are demolished for infrastructural requirements, proper compensations are not made for the residents of these regions. The bill in itself has become an irony as it has resulted in an increase in the facilitation of displacement of the poor by the upper class. The compensation that it claims to provide has not only not been made mandatory but there is also no assigned time frame for the same. Besides providing accommodation facilities, it is also important to ensure that all citizens regardless of their economic status have proper quality of life. Microfinance is an emerging field that could potentially contribute on a large scale in rural areas to improve the economic status of the poor.
That evening, on my way home, I looked out to where the mother and child had been sleeping. This time to my surprise, I saw a crowd of people gathered around the sidewalk. Some had their phones out, while others stood unsure of what to do. I leaned over, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was happening. The mother was still asleep, now calm and serene, a small smile perching on the edge of her lifeless lips. But the child, now awake, cried and cried, hungry, lost and afraid, furious at the unjust and cruel world. The sky painted a hue of pink over its melancholy blue, as the gentle breeze enveloped the child. In the presence of the purple sky, the wind embraced the child as if to say don’t worry my dear as long as we are here it’ll be okay.
By Mia Miriam Sojan
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