The recent gruesome
gang rape has again led people to think that one probable reason for such
incidents is the frustration creeping in residents arising out of lack of decent
employment or self-employment opportunities in Mumbai.
Mumbai has always
been India’s perennial cash cow and people from all over try to make their
little fortune here. But no one seems to realize that a cash cow can also
have its limitations. The growth of new jobs and infrastructure cannot
always keep pace with the growth in population. The city continues to burst at
its seams with the never ending influx of migrants from various States. But curbing
migration is a hot potato no political party wants to handle, fearing loss of vote
banks nurtured over the years.
When anyone points
out the problem of tackling the issue of migration, politicians across party
lines and pseudo intellectuals are quick to quote Article 19 (e) of the Constitution
of India, which confers on citizens the fundamental right to to reside and settle in any
part of the territory of India. What they conveniently forget is that Article
19 (g) of the Constitution also confers on citizens the fundamental right to to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. Add to that Article 21A which grants
the fundamental right to education and mandates the State Governments to provide
free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen
years.
Is it not the fundamental duty of State Governments to provide infrastructure for education and opportunities for employment so that citizens are able to exercise all the above fundamental rights in their respective States? No one would want to stay away from his / her home and loved ones, if a choice is available. Relocating for a livelihood is a difficult decision to make, unless a State does not offer proper opportunities for education or to carry on any occupation, trade or business or profession and there is no hope in the near future too. Simply stated, people relocate only in search of greener pastures. Birds too migrate from one location to another in search of better food and nesting locations i.e. from locations with scarcity of resources to areas flourishing with resources. The same applies to human beings too, but while birds eventually return home, humans do not always do so.
While
the common man from these under developed States always finds his way to bigger
cities in search of a life and livelihood which he cannot expect in his village or home
town, most local politicians and powerful people not only stay rooted in those States there but prosper too. How many politicians from under developed States can be classified
in the lower or middle income group? They have amassed wealth at the
cost of the populace they pretend to represent and who continue to live in
poverty and misery.
Who will take the State Governments
to task for doing precious little towards development in their own States and
for ‘ruling’ rather than ‘governing’ the States? Who will pull them up for
their inefficiency or negligence in matters of public interest? Experience of
all these years suggests that one party’s government may get replaced by another
but the inefficiency continues and so does the people’s suffering.
Guess we need a
person at the helm who would ‘rule’ as well as ‘govern’ – both his party and minister
colleagues as well as the citizens - with an iron hand and lead India towards
its goal of being a ‘welfare state’ i.e. where the state plays a key role in protecting
and promoting the citizens’ economic and social well-being. It will also create
conditions for migratory birds to return to their respective homes and lead much
better lives with dignity. In the coming years, if India manages to achieve
even 10% of the attributes of a welfare state, that would be enough reason to
rejoice!
