Since India’s independence, the subject of poverty in India has
remained a major concern. According to the common definition of poverty,
when a person can no longer meet the required levels to maintain
specified standard of living, they are considered poor.
This means that in India alone there are almost 220.1 million people
living below the poverty line that's almost 25% of the population which
you'll agree, is a truly staggering amount.
The poverty in India is not the same everywhere; from the perspective
there is the type of poverty and from another there is the severity of
poverty. India is a large country containing a vast amount of people,
all with different religions, political views and social standings -
this coupled with the fact that the distribution of wealth and resources
is highly unequal it means that different regions, and in some cases
peoples suffer more from others.
This becomes apparent after just
a short amount of time spent in the country. For example, states such
as Goa, Delhi and Punjab have relatively low poverty ratios whereas %38
of the population of Bihar and Orissa live below the poverty line, the
figures are even worse for Calcutta and Maharashtra pushing nearly %50.
The
poverty and situations that people are forced to live in coupled with
the burning desire to survive have resulted in people doing some
unimaginable things to stay alive.
Some sources suggest that now
almost 60% of the worlds poor now call India home. iIt is also the
country with the highest rate of Malnutrition among children under the
age of 36 months: a massive 46%.
Children
are taken out of school at a very young age (and that’s if they ever
went to school) and forced to work to support their families. You will
see the tiniest of children picking through huge rubbish piles
extracting plastic bottles, dragging out rags, flies buzzing, horrendous
working conditions for any mortal. One scene that made me physically
sick when I was in India was a group of 40 young boys, black from head
to toe, picking through coal on a line of freight trains, I don’t know
what for …but I’m sure they couldn’t have been getting more than 30
rupees (about 40 pence) a day. And this is just the tip of the iceberg,
there are so many children forced into labour in India who will live and
die in similar scenarios. Girls barely in their teens are forced into
prostitution, some are sewing from day break to night fall, others beg
having had eyes blinded or limbs removed to add to their pathos .. and
it is not just the children .. their parents, and their parents, are
also begging, anything for the odd coin. The poverty India can be
shocking to say the least and it’s a harsh reminder how unfair life is.
Rural poverty in India
A number of factors are responsible for poverty in the rural areas of
India. Rural populations primarily depend on agriculture as their
livelihoods, which in turn, is highly dependant on rain patterns and
monsoons. Inadequate rain and improper irrigation facilities can
obviously cause low, or in some cases, zero production of crops followed
by the obvious but sometimes catastrophic repercussions that often
follows.
An Indian family unit can be often very large, which can
exacerbate the effects of poverty. Also, the caste system which is still
found a lot in India (although it is getting less) is a major reason
for rural poverty for it keeps people locked in the endless cycle with
less facilities and opportunities for the lower castes. The government
has planned and implemented poverty eradication programs, but the
benefits of all these programs have yet to reach the core of the
country.
Urban poverty in India
The phenomenal increase in the city populations is one of the main
reasons for the urban poverty in India. The massive and relatively
recent increase is a result of major migration of rural families to
cities. This migration is mainly caused by poor employment
opportunities in villages and is exacerbated by the fact that there are
few job opportunities in the cities as well.
The Slums
The poverty in India has its roots entrenched in the culture and the
problems spread just as deep. The mass over crowding and extreme
deprivation have resulted in huge man made slums, the largest of which
is in Mumbai. Miles and miles of rubbish, mangled iron, human excrement
and open sewers form what millions of people call home. The water is
rank, there is no waste disposal, no jobs, no healthcare and little
support. There is little opportunity for education so there is no end to
the poverty cycle. The slums are affected by frequent outbreaks of
cholera, typhoid and malaria and are often ravaged by water shortages
and wild fires.
Dedicated with tears to the hungry people who end their earthly sojourn with parched tongues and empty stomachs
Poverty in India and Travel
Walk into the terminal building, grubby, tired, needing the loo, beware!
The
loo attendant holds out a tray showing the pound coins left by
passengers from the previous plane, so, heh – we all follow suit and add
more pound coins to her pile. Each pound coin is worth so much and even
a skilled craftsman finds it hard to earn that for a long day’s
labour…. Yes, I put my pound in and I am happy for her too.
Out
of the airport terminal you will be besieged by enthusiastic beturbaned
men desperate to carry your luggage to wherever you want to go,
desperate to sell you their wares, desperate to show you the way,
desperate to clean your shoes, desperate …. people missing limbs, women
embracing babies signing that they are hungry, starving, dogs are
everywhere scavenging for the last crumb but enduring kicks and curses
and sometimes beatings to swallow anything palatable. Welcome to the
phenomenon known as.. India!
You may be continuing your journey
via train where the adventure continues. The stations are so full of
people, some are cooking, sleeping, begging, laughing, crying, living
out whatever life has thrown at them – look at the train tracks, the
rats the size of cats who have a totally awesome life thriving on
deitrus, rubbish and shit … look to the right, weary donkeys following
the lines laden with boxes for McDonalds carefully making their way over
the tracks.
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