♠️THE BATTLE ON THE BRIDGE FOR BREAD ♠️
Written by- pavan5438
We live in a country that has multiple languages, different religions, versatile culture and traditions, various economic sections, but overall, there are, only two sets of people in this society. People above the line and the people below the line. People who sleep under a shelter and people who search for shelter, people who work for livelihood, and the people who don’t have a livelihood. People who luxury to waste food and the people who don’t even have the luxury to have food.
Poverty has crept into the roots and has become a part of society, with the increase in the population, poverty has also been increasing rapidly in our country though there are claims that there has been redundancy in the percentage of poverty. Every major city in our country has these two contradicting sides, elite apartments, shopping complexes, and sky towering buildings, reflecting the image of a developed society. On the other hand, jam-packed huts, stagnant waters, improper sanitation, trodden and rotten life, the side which no one cares about.
Have we ever thought about the people on the other side?
Have we thought about the struggles they face every day?
Do we see the pain of the people below the line?
THE BATTLE
The world runs on this supreme master called economy, which decides the prosperity of a country. India has been ranked 5th among the ten wealthiest countries globally, we should be thankful for our country’s enormous population, if not we wouldn’t have made it into that list. Even though getting ranked in such a position why is an average Indian still poor on a per capita basis?
The employment rate is imbalanced, at least 31 million people are roaming around the streets of our country, unemployed. When an ordinary middle-class person struggles financially without employment, imagine a person below the line, without a day’s work, they face a crisis daily.
There is this situation for a person in case of employment. If one gets employed their economic status will improve, if not they remain at the same neutral status, but for a person below the line there is no such situation, it doesn’t matter if they work 24/7, they would still remain under the poverty threshold because of the minimum wages which they are provided.
They are aware of this situation, though they work so that they wouldn’t starve in the coming days. They don’t have big wishes and great ambitions; they are just battling for a single square of a meal.
THE BRIDGE
“Literacy is the bridge from misery to hope,” says Kofi Annan.
Unfortunately, we walk on a crumbled bridge, with a 77% percentage of literacy rate in India. Even though this could be seen optimistically, still millions are lacking the skill to read and write, which increases the percentage of non-education.
Every educated can be literate but every literate can’t be called educated. This further decreases the reach of education to the people below the line as it has become a “privilege to education” rather than “right to education” The children are mostly sent to schools just for mid-day meal scheme, where they have at least something to eat, and only a few children take this as an advantage to learn, while the rest just take it as an escape from starvation.
THE BREAD
Food. That’s the most basic thing every being strives for, isn’t it? but what if this most basic thing itself is out of reach? Can we imagine ourselves without food for more than a day? then let’s try to be in the shoes of a little girl who dies after starving for two whole days.
Global Hunger Index ranks India at 94th position among the 107 countries and as per the report, 14% of the Indian population are undernourished, with a 3.7% of child mortality rate.
Hunger has created panic and seems like a never-ending pandemic, the people get into various kinds of illegal jobs to get a meal, increasing the crime rate along the line. Children are seen eating their own feces, some are forced into beggary, some are stranded in their misery. Yes, this side of India exists…
MAY THE BATTLE END
When most of the international countries are a hub of advancement, our country is still lacking behind because of the large percentage of poverty. Poverty is a cycle, the previous generations have faced it, the present generation is facing it and coming generations too would face the same consequences if the right measures are not taken to break the chain.
While the government is trying different schemes to estimate the percentage of people below the line, the situation is getting worse and worse. Multidimensional poverty index provides one set of data, The National Statics office reports another set. All these data and statistics don’t matter until there is a proper implementation to make things better.
Of course, there isn’t a question about the schemes which have been introduced but the question is about how effectively the introduced schemes have been executed. For example, the mid-day meal scheme was a win-win scheme where the children learned as well as they had food, but the schools which host them don’t have a proper infrastructure, and clean sanitation. The majority of the schools have weak administration and poor quality of teaching. Improvising such factors could bring a drastic change.
Providing skill development comes as a good strategy for self-employment, the government can hire them based on specific skill requirements. Introducing more government-subsidized canteens, not only in urban but also in rural areas, which can also act as a way to provide employment.
While these are the small changes that could be made to balance the situation momentarily, education is the key factor that could break the poverty threshold and uplift the people, the right education given to the right minds can create wonders. The government, as well as NGOs, should concentrate more on providing free education to the vulnerable sections.
Education is the only permanent solution to eradicate poverty.
Let us walk on the bridge of hope.
May the Battle End.
“Poverty is the worst form of violence” – Mahatma Gandhi
Love and hugs
⚫⚜️⚫⚜️⚫⚜️⚫⚜️⚫⚜️⚫
May 29, 2021 (Saturday)
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