I have stopped sympathizing with the ‘poor’ – the city ‘poor’ at least. Over the past few months I have been to places and interacted with their lots. Firstly I fail to understand how these people can leave the wide open space of their village to come and live in such filth. Secondly I wonder how they can be satisfied with living in such condition. You give them opportunities but they will not take it until it’s for free. They are happy where they are.
Till 15 years back, you could find many children and parents who did not believe in education. That definitely has changed….now everybody thinks education is a must which ideally sounds good. But given the quality of education that these students get, I think it was better off remaining un-educated. Literacy without real education is worse…actually I think it’s deadly. Especially in a country like ours where the politicians have ludicrous ideologies and people don’t have the capacity to think logically.
Most families of this ‘class’ still have 4 to 5 children. I have seen families who have 9 to 10 children even now. Imagine the population in the times to come.
Now combine all these 3 factors and all that I can see in the future is utter chaos.
I once read an essay by a boy of 14years from a slum community in Mumbai. The topic was simple…what you want to become when you grow up. This boy started in a sweet but predictable manner of earning more money and getting his family out of poverty. He then went on to say how his ‘desh’ was being taken over by outsiders and “mujhe desh ko azaad karna hain.” Initially I had laughed it off but speaking to others it seemed even the parents thought so. And this is just one instance.
