The Migraine of Migration...

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!