And there my heart goes again ... the painful wrench & squeeze feeling . Poverty always knocks hardest at my heart , not mushy novels or movies or Kishoreda songs , not even Manna Dey .
We all avert our eyes at the face of poverty , at traffic signals , bus stands , hotels .
A nuisance and even considered a bad omen. Some grown - ups used to tell me to stop looking at them or making eye contact. It would only leave me more puzzled and curious.
Why shouldn't we spare a few coins or a meal to the forsaken ones?
Isn't it our moral duty to help out , especially when they come knocking at our car windows?
We throw away hundreds on uneaten food , junk toys , unread books, unused clothes . Isn't that where we also avert our eyes ?
We all have our justification for not acknowledging their presence even if we they live amongst us.
Are we truly a civilized , educated society ? Consider this , child sexual abusers get away , murders are left unsolved , the babus and political class loot us right under our nose and big corporates evade tax but make us pay any MRP and also sneak in lead into our food.
India has a 20.6% share of the worlds poorest ( 2011 ) . This class of people earn less than Rs. 32
per day .
We shouldn't just measure our GDP to check progress , we must include all classes of any socio-economic status to measure our progress.
A few changes we should incorporate into our thinking and lifestyles,
1. Have a community fridge - people who have leftovers and excess food can deposit this in a fridge and the needy be allowed to access it. A fridge in every area / road / colony. Imagine having to share food and not wasting it .
2. Citizens could donate in any form and get a tax rebate . Donate every week , month and cash in your tax savings
3. Government enforce a rule to all corporates to donate and in return give tax rebates , give CSR awards
4. Tie-up with NGOs to provide employment to young( 16+) boys and girls .
5. Help Schools to give back to society on weekends , promote free teaching and meals
6. The biggest contribution can come from Temples - God would surely not object to helping . Give free meals , teach slokas , ethical conduct and rehabilitation
Some of these will help us build our compassion and show the world we care . We will have an Inclusive growth and teach our next generation the power of compassion. Then in my opinion, India will be the most powerful country in this world. Just as Chetan Bhagat launches his new book - Making India Awesome , he propagates too that whats needed is a paradigm shift in our thinking.
I hope young Indians will relate to this and start a new revolution .
We all avert our eyes at the face of poverty , at traffic signals , bus stands , hotels .
A nuisance and even considered a bad omen. Some grown - ups used to tell me to stop looking at them or making eye contact. It would only leave me more puzzled and curious.
Why shouldn't we spare a few coins or a meal to the forsaken ones?
Isn't it our moral duty to help out , especially when they come knocking at our car windows?
We throw away hundreds on uneaten food , junk toys , unread books, unused clothes . Isn't that where we also avert our eyes ?
We all have our justification for not acknowledging their presence even if we they live amongst us.
Are we truly a civilized , educated society ? Consider this , child sexual abusers get away , murders are left unsolved , the babus and political class loot us right under our nose and big corporates evade tax but make us pay any MRP and also sneak in lead into our food.
India has a 20.6% share of the worlds poorest ( 2011 ) . This class of people earn less than Rs. 32
per day .
We shouldn't just measure our GDP to check progress , we must include all classes of any socio-economic status to measure our progress.
A few changes we should incorporate into our thinking and lifestyles,
1. Have a community fridge - people who have leftovers and excess food can deposit this in a fridge and the needy be allowed to access it. A fridge in every area / road / colony. Imagine having to share food and not wasting it .
2. Citizens could donate in any form and get a tax rebate . Donate every week , month and cash in your tax savings
3. Government enforce a rule to all corporates to donate and in return give tax rebates , give CSR awards
4. Tie-up with NGOs to provide employment to young( 16+) boys and girls .
5. Help Schools to give back to society on weekends , promote free teaching and meals
6. The biggest contribution can come from Temples - God would surely not object to helping . Give free meals , teach slokas , ethical conduct and rehabilitation
Some of these will help us build our compassion and show the world we care . We will have an Inclusive growth and teach our next generation the power of compassion. Then in my opinion, India will be the most powerful country in this world. Just as Chetan Bhagat launches his new book - Making India Awesome , he propagates too that whats needed is a paradigm shift in our thinking.
I hope young Indians will relate to this and start a new revolution .
