The Poverty Line Posted by Anand Ranganathan : If only 21% of Indians are poor, why does the government, then, want to feed 67% of us through the Food Security Bill? What is poverty? Who is poor? According to the Planning Commission only 22% of Indians are now Below the Poverty Line. This means that 78% of Indians are blessed. To define a line that stands at Rs 27 a day is to say that anyone earning Rs 28 a day is not poor. What debases a man so much that he begins to look at fellow humans as a commodity, as a statistic? There are millions in this country who earn 50 paise more than Rs 27 a day. Their struggles are so horrific, their lives so wretched, that for you to tell them they are no longer eligible for a BPL card is to stab them 27.5 times each day every day for the rest of their lives and yet not let them die. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but wake up at five every morning to fetch the day’s supply of water. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but live seven to a shack in a slum sandwiched by two flyovers. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but stand in 45 °C and 80 % humidity for twelve hours directing parking in the level 3 basement of a happening mall. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but haul themselves up the road-side garbage bin to sift waste. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but float into the unreserved compartments of a train through the window. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but pull a cycle rickshaw when they should be treating their tuberculosis. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but send their children to school to eat pesticide. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but work six houses a day and don’t get a day off. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but can never afford a blanket in winter. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but are told where to vote and who to vote for. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but have never read a book or a newspaper. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but have to wait for their turn at the Safdarjung Casualty. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but do not have a bank account or a locker. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but cannot find a private space to shit. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line but cannot afford to take part in a revolution. Blessed are the poor who are above the poverty line and are no longer poor. newslaundry/2013/07/renaming-the-poverty-line/
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:05:36 +0000
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