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The homeless are still out in the cold!
It was quite a spectacle watching the Uttar Pradesh administration running helter-skelter to beat the deadline issued by the Election Commission of India. The EC had ordered UP government to cover all the numerous statues of the reigning Chief Minister Mayawatiji and of the elephant, the election symbol of her party. It is reported that the cost of this grand cover up ran into several hundreds of thousands of rupees. The UP government has rubbished those figures. In any case, Mayawati’s fancy led the state to spend tax payers’ money to build her statues at a mammoth cost of several hundred millions. And who pays for the draping of these statues prior to elections? It’s the tax payer again!
Governments at all levels are guilty of wasteful expenditure of public money. Rulers think that they have a divine right to a higher standard of living. Those who run government departments think that everything about their work must be accompanied by pomp and glory. The way in which hundreds of millions of rupees were washed down the drain in the name of national honour is still fresh in our minds. If India were a rich country – free of poverty and injustice – no one would talk about these things. The people of this country are reeling under inflation and unemployment. Child labour, homelessness, prostitution, human trafficking, bonded labour … these are the characteristics of a significant population in India. Wasteful expenditure must be seen in the light of such abject poverty and misery that makes up India.
Although the Indian middle-class and print/visual media that are run by them are eager to show that India is a rising super-power, a walk down the street in any city or village will give us a better picture of what the real India looks like. Take Delhi, for instance. Even as northern India is gripped by a cold wave, there are more than a hundred thousand homeless people who spent their nights on the streets of Delhi. A quarter of these are vulnerable women and children. Rains during winter make their life more miserable. Last year, 300 lives were lost due to exposure. This year, it might get a lot worse.
Delhi boasts of 64 permanent shelters and 86 temporary shelters for the homeless. The homeless do not feel secure in such facilities. People have lost their belongings and even their children while at these night shelters. Besides, drug addicts and criminals make these shelters unfit for others. Permanent shelters are far away from the city. Most street dwellers do not prefer to travel that far every day.
The police is so heartless while dealing with the homeless. A few days ago, a homeless man told a news channel that a policeman threw his jacket into a fire. His ration card and smart card were in his jacket! In the name of eviction, even food cooked by the homeless is destroyed. Since there is no statutory body such the Election Commission to issue a deadline to the State or Union government, no one seems to be in a hurry to rehabilitate the homeless in a sensible way. The homeless are without an address. Therefore, they can hardly think of voting. As long as they don’t country in the “world’s biggest democracy,” the rulers too aren’t very interested in them.
On New Year’s Eve, a 35-year old balloon seller died due to cold as he slept under the open sky. It may be worthwhile if churches or families open their doors at least to women and children on the streets so that they do not die this winter season. If you feel this is going too far, just get ‘dressed’ like a homeless and try spending a night out with the real homeless on Delhi’s streets!
