Economic growth without justice

The recent report in the national dailies of the many shivering in the severe cold under the open sky and two night shelters in Delhi in this harsh winter closed for repairs is a reflection, in a small measure, as to how we care for the poor. The lot of the shelter-less, ill-clad sick, aged and children mercilessly exposed to the cold winter nights in the city should awaken the conscience of this nation.

Right at the gates of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, hundreds are seen sleeping in the open along with their patients they had brought along from far away places in Bihar and UP. Among them are heart patients and victims of chronic illnesses who could not get admission to the hospital.

Not only malnutrition of a vast majority of children but also the conditions in which peopleâ€"men, women and childrenâ€"live in the numerous slums in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai even after more than six decades of independence tell of apathy and gross injustice, besides poor governance.

Misappropriation
Recent disclosures about misappropriation of thousands of crores allotted for the benefit of poor women of UP by the Centre under the National Rural Health Scheme and the murder of three medical officers in the context of the scam is just one example of the callousness of bureaucracy and the political class to the plight of the poor.

It is tragic that while funds and schemes exist for improving the lot of the underprivileged, there is no proper mechanism to ensure that the services are delivered to the intended beneficiaries. Until corruption at all levels are tackled, the fruits of progress will not reach the poor. The recent upheaval by civil society in this nation succeeded in warning the elected representatives and bureaucracy against their continued complacence towards the vital issues of poverty and growing inequality. Unfortunately the campaign against corruption itself got corrupted because of want of integrity in those leading the campaign. However a wake up call has been delivered.

The campaign did cause ripples throughout the nation. Some must have even engendered hopes of the movement dealing a decisive blow to the corrupt of the land while there were others who repeated that mere enactment of legislation (the Lokpal Bill) would make no difference to the situation. What is lacking is a political will to implement the existing laws against corruption without fear or favour.

Bureaucracy
A recent report mentioned that India's bureaucracy is the worst in Asia ranking even lower than their counterparts in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and China. This is a cardinal factor in development. It dampens all efforts at attracting foreign funds for investment here or promoting economic growth, generally speaking. The 'steel frame' consists mostly of people from the middle class and the Indian middle class is notorious for its indifference to the under-privileged and poor.

It looks as though neither the governmental machinery nor the civil society is capable of promoting public good. What about the private initiative as reflected in the growth of the private sector and rise of corporate houses? The corporate houses which gathers their wealth from the community have a moral responsibility to plough back a part of their profits into welfare schemes intended for the poor. In advanced countries great industrialists and businessmen are known for their philanthropy; unfortunately the spirit of charity is not one of the virtues of the rich in this land. The corporate houses, no doubt, speed up growth; but they too are infected by the greed to make more profits and fleece the common man in the bargain.

Then there are the rich religious institutions and religious leaders saddled with huge funds. Social reformers in the past had risen from the ranks of spiritual leaders and they had advocated the cause of the downtrodden. They had also done their bit in rousing the conscience of society towards the poor.

Most hungry
With 21 per cent of its population under nourished, nearly 44 per cent of under-five children underweight and seven per cent of them dying before they reach five years, India is among the world's most hunger ridden countries. It is even worse than Sudan, North Korea, Pakistan or Nepal, according to data released by the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Housing is a basic human need. With a population of one billion India is the second most populous nation in the world. According to UN-Habitat, India is home to 63 per cent of all slum dwellers in South Asia. This amounts to 170 million people, 17 per cent of the world's slum dwellers. India's per capita income, although rising, rank's it 124th in the world. This low per capita income is one factor that marks the sharp divide between India's wealthiest and poorest citizens. Approximately 35 percent of India's 260 million people (a group almost equal to the entire population of the United States) still earns $1 or less a day.

And according to the United Nations, 70 million people earn less than $2 a day. As India continues to grow in economic stature, there's much debate over the country's ability to tackle poverty and urban homelessness. A 2001 census reported that 78 million people across this nation were living without a home, many in overcrowded urban environments.

According to one estimate, there are 314,700 children living on the streets of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kanpur, Bangalore and Hyderabad, and another 100,000 live in New Delhi; however, these numbers may not reflect the true picture, as accurate census information is difficult to collect. In truth, millions of India's children are denied even the most basic rights of survival and protection.

Children living on the streets are especially vulnerable to victimization, exploitation, and the abuse of their civil and economic rights.

In the past the Christian missionaries, though so few in number, had striven their best to redeem the poor and the downtrodden through education and other means. In England particularly the Salvation army had made a significant contribution for improving the lot of the poor and those living in the streets. Its founder William Booth had vowed as follows: "While women weep as they do now, I will fight. While children go hungry as they do now, I'll fight, while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight. I will fight to the very end!"

Such a steely determination on the part of our religious leaders, too numerous to be mentioned here, would have made a difference to poverty here.