الاقتصاد
الثقافة
حقوق الإنسان
قضايا اجتماعية
المهرجانات
الفنون والحرف اليدوية
صعوبات اقتصادية
القضايا الاجتماعية الاقتصادية
By Dr Rajesh Patil
1. Went to Vashi for buying Diwali supplies. The scene was mind numbing and sad. Poor adivasis and craftsmen who had got their wares like diyas, rangoli, handicrafts saw municipal officials come and ransack everything, smashing diyas, and all they had got.
1. Went to Vashi for buying Diwali supplies. The scene was mind numbing and sad. Poor adivasis and craftsmen who had got their wares like diyas, rangoli, handicrafts saw municipal officials come and ransack everything, smashing diyas, and all they had got.
2. Poor women were left crying, their small kids in their hands wondering what struck them.
These poor folks had suffered the most during pandemic and Diwali was their one shot to earn some money to spend their next year with something going in their stomach at least once a day.
These poor folks had suffered the most during pandemic and Diwali was their one shot to earn some money to spend their next year with something going in their stomach at least once a day.
3. They had hoped Diwali would bring something to cheer for them.
Alas, we still have officials who follow orders from superiors blindly like what we saw from Indian troops who took order from Gen Dyer during Jallianwala Bagh.
Alas, we still have officials who follow orders from superiors blindly like what we saw from Indian troops who took order from Gen Dyer during Jallianwala Bagh.
4. They decided it was time to do “Khela Hobey” as made famous by Mamata Banerjee's storm troopers post election on Hindus especially Dalits who decided to exercise their democratic right to vote.
5. In this case the brunt was faced by poor adivasi women who saw their entire year's effort smashed by drunk on power officials. Diwali is a once in year occasion and these tribals come to sell their wares so expecting them to rent fancy shops, sell online is dreaming.
6. They sell on roads as there is no provision given to them to sell on fair grounds etc like we see in Europe during St Nicklaus day or other such days.
7. In India we have people who love to oppress poor people without voice. It gives them feeling of power. For them they know these tribals are not going to fight back or do riots or blow up or start stabbing.
8. After all they are Dharmic folks who will cry when their world unfolds in front of them but won’t ever resort to violence. These people will spend their next few months in total darkness.
9. Me (Dr Patil) and my wife felt so crestfallen that we were helpless to even help them. We offered one of them to just load as many diyas as possible in my bag and take whatever money he quotes but the person was so distressed and confused that he even shoeed us away...
10. ....as he has lost trust on any urban dwellers and he was trying to recover some of his losses by trying to protect his few remaining diyas.
11. One old tribal lady at a distance was able to sell us some diyas and she was extremely apologetic also that she doesn’t have much designs as Municipality guys took her lot of stuff with them. She still asked what is fair price and didn’t plead or begged with us. In
12. In times of extreme distress, she kept her dignity intact. We bought without bargaining obviously but then when she goes home back in night she will still find that this Diwali is far worse for her than the peak of the pandemic.
13. This is what happens when entire state machinery is busy protecting the drug mafia while letting poor people fend for themselves or be victims of vasooli gang or arrogant officials who enjoy destroying the labor of poor people like how mischievous kids love to break anthills.
14. Sadly human dignity and the right to earn a livelihood has no place in a place where the entire ministry seemed to be in service at the counter of EscoBar as bar tenders. It’s tough to be poor and a curse to be poor in place where arrogant haughty men wield power.
Ends
Ends
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