Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Don't flaunt riches - Prime Minister is watching ya.

I was reading a preposterous claim (probably best coupled as a best election stunt) by none other than the premier of India. The discussion purely started as a chance to best relive a few election spots which they once used to win comfortably. He says,”Lavish spending”, “Parties”, “Extravagant wedding” etc are “socially undesirable” and “environmentally unsustainable”. He further says “An area of great concern is the level of ostentatious expenditure on weddings and other family events. Such vulgarity insults the poverty of the less privileged, it is socially wasteful and it plants seeds of resentment in the minds of the have-nots. “

I think differently. I think the premier just forgot what democracy is and perhaps got a bit carried away towards dictatorship. I think firstly, no one has any right what so ever, don’t matter who you are and what you have done thus far, to decide how a person has to live and what is acceptable and what is not. This is one reason why India still remains backward in attitude because of all the “ungiven” right to comment on other person’s life style.

For records, India got 87,000 + crores as Tax returns alone last year. I am not including any other funds that they would have mobilized. Is this money not a small subset for instilling the “have nots” a sense of being part of the country? Should’nt it become the obligation of the ruling government to do something for the “have nots”. I am not against giving it back to the society. That is the only way you can say you care. I do that and every one does that from their best ability. People contribute to old age homes, people do give finances for animal care and what not. But my serious point is since when the government gets the right to say what a person can do and what they should’nt it even when it is legally and ethically bounded action.

The main problem with India at this juncture is – Population, great belief on the concept called “Free Food”, right to question other person’s life. What psyches me off big time is the fact that the so called growing billionaires club in India – 36 of them, they found their success because of sheer hard work. They found ways to proliferate their corporation’s growth through their own methods despite the government’s help. And yet when they hit the peak and they spend time “celebrating” their success, we have the audacity to say “Hey think about the poor”. Would we do that when every other guy celebrate their success around us? It is their god damn money and I am pretty sure they would have had to spend many a sleepless nights, stress and now when they want to hit off, we got a problem. So lame I think this.

The main concept I would like to vent out through this medium is that according to the NSO, there are about 22.15% of people living in poverty. What has the government done to alleviate this living standard? The poverty factor did not show up suddenly. It was very much here for a very long time since the India became sovereign and secular. We have labored through all this since then and the growth has happened between all this. Now my point, it is only here in India, a physically well to do man would take to begging and take to the concept of “free food” as his birth right. I say, “Nothing called free food exists now; it was once in the Dino era when T-Rex got its due”. Beggars just need to ask and they get free food. Stop that option, and then you will see the guy work for his food. The so called “celebrated spenders” worked their way for their food. Then why did we get so concerned they should not live their life.

And obviously let's not talk about the reservations for the castes around. I would end up making a living by writing pages against it !

At the end, I firmly think we should have to right to live and see how you want to live your life. We should give it back to the society, which will happen automatically as you grow up the career ladder. But to have a meter checking whether they “successful” people are living an extravagant life or not is NONE of our business or for that matter no one’s business.

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