Misplaced Ego

In class IX, we had a story in our Hindi curriculum. It was called Pardah, though I don't remember the author(Hemant, do you?).

It was about Chowdhari Peer Baksh, the main door of who's house always had a beautiful curtain made up of makhmal, while the rest of the neighbourhood had only a tat curtain. Everyone used to be in awe of his prosperity. In the end, as it turned out that makhmali pardah , in reality, was just a facade, while actually, the women and children in his family didn't even have proper clothes to wear.

From fictional Peer Baksh, let's meet the real life one - our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh & his government. The nation, which till now has been reeling under abject poverty, whose all the states, barring smaller ones like Punjab, Haryana, Himchal, Goa, & Gujrat, has people dying of hunger, is now benevolently running relief and rescue mission for it's neighbours, but stubbornly refusing phenomenal foreign aid for it's own countrymen.

Appalling, disgusting, and ridiculously idiotic.

Those who didn't get the reason, and shouldn't be blamed for missing that, this was done to get some international fame, and earn some brownie points on emerging as a statesman nation in the subcontinent. To me, it was perhaps done during a bout of collective lunacy, gross indifference and misplaced ego. Whosever idea it was, it was badly advised for following reason.

We know we have been badly hit by that disaster. Those who have been hit are predominantly lower class fishermen of Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Andhara; middle class, lower class & tribals of Andaman & Nicobar(A & N).

Those in A & N will have to be completely relocated and, then rehabilitated. Affected people in peninsular India will have to be mostly rehabilitated alone. Government, right now, is spending it's money in providing (substandard)food packets, perhaps medicine, arranging temporary shelter, and mostly trying to put in place the basic amenities.

And this is after when Indian public has contributed in such large numbers. The authorities will keep on performing this patched work for say another month. But what happens after that. Those lakhs of people who have lost everything, from house, belongings, valuables, deposits, profession to family members, earning and not earning, how will they begin again on their own ?

Here NGOs can help. But with their limited resources many people will still remain uncatered and even the few lucky ones, who will manage to get some help, it would be too little. Of course, we have to also count mismanagement and corruption. In reality, whatever money which has been arranged till now, only a small part of it will reach the needy, and that too scattered.

Instead of refusing foreign aid, had government accepted the huge aid, it would have reached to more people, and with greater affect. It would not take a life time for people to reach their old prosperous self. NGOs would have sharper teethes to plan and manage. Corrupt would still have their pie, but enough would be left for the needy.

Alas, this is not to be. Government picked wrong occasion to showcase it's statesmanship. It should not have been done at the cost of people's relief. There are other areas of governance where they can work and attain more praises in international circle, and in turn, quality of people's life would have also improved.

Hope better sense prevails.