If you read any book on India, the last minute mad rush finds a place invariably. It is not just students who keep things for the last minute, but everyone in this vast country. Perhaps it is not voluntary, perhaps the mad rush is forced upon them-lack of resources force people to scramble for what little is left-nowhere is it seen more prominently than in the largest railway network of the world. Tickets are sold out minutes after they are open for reservation. All this only provides middle-men and black market ticket agents to prosper hoard tickets which makes it even more scarce and costlier since these resurface few days or few hours before the journey to be bought by the desperate at a huge premium.
I almost feel that the government or whoever is in charge gets a saddistic pleasure watching people frantically try to access the IRCTC site or the conflicts that arise at the ticket counter at 8am each day as it opens for business. I have also seen the mad rush to get normal tickets as people try to not just jump the queue but also obliterate it simply because they cant wait. I saw someone presenting his case to jump the queue from the moment I stood in line and he was fighting even after I got my ticket and I received a mouthful in telugu too!!
Then came the rush to board the train, people hanging on to still unopened doors of the moving train, ladies jumping on board the train as it arrived at the platform. 10mins and the compartment was peaceful with family conversations and earphone conversations. But this was after an immensely chaotic rush to occupy seats and as for me, a healthy 6foot 2inch frame with the fortune of youth had helped me find a place as I watched all this unfold.
Are people good or bad? I can't blame the desperate attempts to jump the queue because they may have got stuck in traffic or perhaps it was just bad scheduling. Can they be called bad or found to be at fault due to what they did, which they might have had to resort to as it was forced on them by circumstance? Should what is right take all of these circumstances and background stories into account or are they to be judged on their actions alone?
What it proves is that when resources are scarce, when the demand for these resources become staggering there is a mad rush that divides people and sparks tensions. I am not sure but it might just be possible that vested interests do not want an equitable distribution of wealth. The recent remarks by real estate developers and also some among the high and mighty that construction costs and food prices are going up since the poor are becoming better betrays their mentality and also the flaws of capitalism. Cheap and exploitable labour is assumed to be their right. The fact that only 50% of NREGA funds are used (out of this another significant portion is siphoned off by false muster names and delayed wage payment) and the centre's attempt to dilute this revolutionary welfare measure by reducing funding show the priorities of our government. Keeping a section poor to be exploited and making resources and facilities inaccessible are perhaps tricks to keep people busy, from what is open to interpretation.
What must be done to make life better for millions is obvious, the money is there since the scams and corruption figures alone are in thousands of crores (if not lakhs, if my MEMORY is correct). Intentionally bankrupting PSUs so that they can make way for private companies or selling them off cheaply for a commision-Air-India will follow this route soon or perhaps after a bailout flushing more taxpayer money down the drain as if looting it wasn't enough.
I hope the government can do atleast something right to reaffirm the public's faith and belief in this nation. It is not just GDP growth numbers that matters, basic goods are going out of reach to a section that is not really benefited by average growth. An inclusive growth is the need of the hour, but we have heard the 'aam admi' slogan too frequently to lose all interest and novelty in it. I would have said that government should do this or do that, but then that would be valid only if they didn't actually know what has to be done, which is not the case. It is merely lack of interest and lack of incentives in doing what is good for the nation that is keeping our country poor
No comments:
Post a Comment