http://www.zeenews.com/zeeexclusive/2010-03-27/613536news.htmlMayawati versus Rajwati
Updated on Saturday, March 27, 2010, 12:52 IST
Shobhika Puri
The recent controversy over Mayawati's currency garland worth anywhere
between 21 lakhs to 22.5 crores, makes one wonder whether she lives in
the same India as the common man does? Are these inflationary times?
Has the economy actually slowed down? One look around us once the
television news is switched off, brings us face to face with another
extreme form of reality. On one hand is Mayawati, with crores of
rupees sitting pretty around her neck and on the other is my maid,
Rajwati, with a black thread around hers.
There is no denying the fact that Mayawati must have worked very hard
to reach where she is today, more so because of the underprivileged
background she comes from. However, the premise on which she was
elected by the people of UP was to serve them and 'not to serve
herself'. By no logic can such a blatant display or accumulation of
wealth be justified. Even if for a minute one presumes that the
garland money shall be used for the good of the public, how can Rs 200
crores that were spent on the 25th anniversary celebrations of BSP or
thousands of crores of rupees spent on erecting statues, be justified?
That is sunk cost.
Shifting focus to Rajwati now. She too toils very hard for over 16
hours a day for a measly income of Rs 100. She has 5 kids to look
after with a husband who earns an equal amount daily. She depends on
her masters for her clothes and food. There are no holidays, no
weekends, no festivals, no birthday parties, no anniversaries etc for
her. She has never heard of the concept called 'savings' or
'luxuries', as there is never any disposable income left for her. She
cannot afford education for her children who are just looked upon as a
means of earning additional income the moment they become teenagers.
If both Mayawati and Rajwati work equally hard, then why this stark
contrast? A part of it can be attributed to luck, the rest to
opportunity but, the gap is too huge to fathom. The rich seem to be
becoming richer and the poor poorer.
By no means am I trying to say that people with the means should not
indulge in luxuries. We all do but, there is a limit to everything.
The politicians are public servants. The money that they
unscrupulously spend is not theirs but that of the tax-payers. Mind
you, Mayawati is 'not the only politician' who has done this. She is
just symbolic of this growing tribe of politicians. It would also be
appropriate to mention here that not all politicians take advantage of
their position. Dr Manmohan Singh would be the best example of this.
Some of you may remember that way back in 2004, on one of his
international tours as the PM of our country, Dr Singh asked for some
currency to spend, much to the surprise of the people around. This
just goes to show that there are still many reasons for us to believe
in our political system.
For a moment, let us keep aside all other excesses committed by
Mayawati for the sake of simplicity except the Rs 200 crores spent on
BSP anniversary celebrations. Does she even realise that had she just
donated this money to the poor, how many lives would she have
enriched? Presuming the average daily income of an urban poor is Rs
100, she spent in one day an amount equal to the daily income of two
crore urban poor!
Instead of blowing away this money on a rally, had she given this
money to two crore poor people, they would have got a day's off out of
their 365 days-a-year work schedule. Or, they could have treated
themselves or their families with good food, new clothes or simply
some rest and peace of mind for a day, things that are considered
luxuries for them. But, why would she do this? By no means would this
have been an act of charity. It would be foolish on my part to even
suggest this. She would have instantly won at least two crore votes!
What better way to defeat her opponents? As regards the legitimacy of
such donations, we need not worry. When she can manage to allocate Rs
3,000 crores for the statues in UP or wear another currency garland
right after the first one was publicly criticised, she would find a
way out of this as well.
This issue reminds me of the growing debate on the Women's Reservation
Bill. The proponents of the Bill believe that if women are in power,
they would do good for the womenfolk at least. If this is true, then
Mayawati could have used the afore-mentioned Rs 200 crores for
improving the plight of women, if not poor people in general. She has
not and there is little evidence to believe otherwise. Hope the
pro-Bill people are listening.
To conclude, it may not be incorrect to say that it may be too much to
expect from some politicians to think of the public good, but if they
get some incentives for doing so, they would not hesitate. All that is
required for some politicians or their partymen is to think
out-of-the-box and come up with innovative strategies like the
above-mentioned strategy of winning two crore votes. This shall be a
win-win situation for all. Their constituency would get developed and
nobody shall ever doubt their intentions. The result? Votes, votes and
more votes…
(Shobhika Puri is a freelance writer and an LSR (DU) and IIM Lucknow,
Noida Campus alumna.)
Shobhika Puri
The recent controversy over Mayawati's currency garland worth anywhere
between 21 lakhs to 22.5 crores, makes one wonder whether she lives in
the same India as the common man does? Are these inflationary times?
Has the economy actually slowed down? One look around us once the
television news is switched off, brings us face to face with another
extreme form of reality. On one hand is Mayawati, with crores of
rupees sitting pretty around her neck and on the other is my maid,
Rajwati, with a black thread around hers.
There is no denying the fact that Mayawati must have worked very hard
to reach where she is today, more so because of the underprivileged
background she comes from. However, the premise on which she was
elected by the people of UP was to serve them and 'not to serve
herself'. By no logic can such a blatant display or accumulation of
wealth be justified. Even if for a minute one presumes that the
garland money shall be used for the good of the public, how can Rs 200
crores that were spent on the 25th anniversary celebrations of BSP or
thousands of crores of rupees spent on erecting statues, be justified?
That is sunk cost.
Shifting focus to Rajwati now. She too toils very hard for over 16
hours a day for a measly income of Rs 100. She has 5 kids to look
after with a husband who earns an equal amount daily. She depends on
her masters for her clothes and food. There are no holidays, no
weekends, no festivals, no birthday parties, no anniversaries etc for
her. She has never heard of the concept called 'savings' or
'luxuries', as there is never any disposable income left for her. She
cannot afford education for her children who are just looked upon as a
means of earning additional income the moment they become teenagers.
If both Mayawati and Rajwati work equally hard, then why this stark
contrast? A part of it can be attributed to luck, the rest to
opportunity but, the gap is too huge to fathom. The rich seem to be
becoming richer and the poor poorer.
By no means am I trying to say that people with the means should not
indulge in luxuries. We all do but, there is a limit to everything.
The politicians are public servants. The money that they
unscrupulously spend is not theirs but that of the tax-payers. Mind
you, Mayawati is 'not the only politician' who has done this. She is
just symbolic of this growing tribe of politicians. It would also be
appropriate to mention here that not all politicians take advantage of
their position. Dr Manmohan Singh would be the best example of this.
Some of you may remember that way back in 2004, on one of his
international tours as the PM of our country, Dr Singh asked for some
currency to spend, much to the surprise of the people around. This
just goes to show that there are still many reasons for us to believe
in our political system.
For a moment, let us keep aside all other excesses committed by
Mayawati for the sake of simplicity except the Rs 200 crores spent on
BSP anniversary celebrations. Does she even realise that had she just
donated this money to the poor, how many lives would she have
enriched? Presuming the average daily income of an urban poor is Rs
100, she spent in one day an amount equal to the daily income of two
crore urban poor!
Instead of blowing away this money on a rally, had she given this
money to two crore poor people, they would have got a day's off out of
their 365 days-a-year work schedule. Or, they could have treated
themselves or their families with good food, new clothes or simply
some rest and peace of mind for a day, things that are considered
luxuries for them. But, why would she do this? By no means would this
have been an act of charity. It would be foolish on my part to even
suggest this. She would have instantly won at least two crore votes!
What better way to defeat her opponents? As regards the legitimacy of
such donations, we need not worry. When she can manage to allocate Rs
3,000 crores for the statues in UP or wear another currency garland
right after the first one was publicly criticised, she would find a
way out of this as well.
This issue reminds me of the growing debate on the Women's Reservation
Bill. The proponents of the Bill believe that if women are in power,
they would do good for the womenfolk at least. If this is true, then
Mayawati could have used the afore-mentioned Rs 200 crores for
improving the plight of women, if not poor people in general. She has
not and there is little evidence to believe otherwise. Hope the
pro-Bill people are listening.
To conclude, it may not be incorrect to say that it may be too much to
expect from some politicians to think of the public good, but if they
get some incentives for doing so, they would not hesitate. All that is
required for some politicians or their partymen is to think
out-of-the-box and come up with innovative strategies like the
above-mentioned strategy of winning two crore votes. This shall be a
win-win situation for all. Their constituency would get developed and
nobody shall ever doubt their intentions. The result? Votes, votes and
more votes…
(Shobhika Puri is a freelance writer and an LSR (DU) and IIM Lucknow,
Noida Campus alumna.)
------------------------------------
----
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/
PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/
Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
ZESTCaste-digest@yahoogroups.com
ZESTCaste-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ZESTCaste-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
