The piece was published on July 9, 2019, at the Countercurrents.org

https://countercurrents.org/2019/07/sustainable-development-is-meaningless-for-these-people-in-an-indian-village

Sustainable Development is meaningless for these people in an Indian village

By Pradeep Baisakh — July 9, 2019

The United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) commences from 9th July and will continue till 18th July in the UN headquarters in New York, which will, among other discussions, review the working of the much-touted Agenda 2030, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and suggest course corrections so that we achieve 17 ambitious goals by 2030. The SDGs were adopted in 2015 and this comprehensive review is taking place in the fourth year of its implementation.
Last to last week my friend and I visited a village in Puri district of Odisha to distribute some relief material in which is affected by Super Cyclone Fanithat hit the coastal area of the state on May 3 this year.

Let me mention the condition of one hamlet, BhoiSahiin the Kurujangavillage of Kuanpada Panchayat under Gop block of Puri district in Odisha state in India and link to the sustainable development.

The hamlet has 17 households and all of them belong to the Dalit community, which is discriminated in India based on work and descent (DWD). The houses were made up of mud with a thatched roof, and were completely damaged during the cyclone with a wind speed of 220 kilometers per hour. During the cyclone on May 3, the people stayed in the cyclone shelter in the nearby village that saved their lives.

However, upon return to the home, they faced unimaginable hardship for sustaining their lives. In the last two months since the cyclone, they have got only 50 kg of rice and 3000 rupees (45 USD approx) and a polythene sheet. That’s all. People also have lost their crops and various sources of livelihood. One can well imagine how a family of five would survive with this minuscule support, as almost all the belongings were lost during cyclone barring some, which they would have taken with them to the cyclone shelter. Some relief from NGOs has come but they are grossly insufficient for minimum living. People are living in half stomach and with a pair of clothes.

It’s been full two months; no support has come to build their shelter nor the government has built any house for them. Each family has been given a scant polythene sheet, which the villagers said is too small for the purpose of shelter.

The people have made a makeshift arrangement to stay. Some have purchased polythene sheets or used the one by the government has given.

The family of Ms. Sita Bhoi(In Photo) has built a temporary shed using bamboo, branches of the coconut tree and wrapping it with a polythene sheet. And people like BrajaBhoi has rebuilt a mud-cum-brick house with a thatched roof is comparatively a shorter time owing to the absence of timely intervention by the government. Braja says “Its rainy days. How can we stay under a polythene sheet? There are snakes and other dangerous insects around. I need a pucca house under PradhanMantriAwasYojana (A government scheme proving pucca shelter to the poor people) as soon as possible.”

The question here is why the government has not risen to the occasion to build the houses before the onset of the monsoon. The monsoon (rainy season) in Odisha is full-blown now. What the block level authorities have done till now is to do a survey to assess the damages. And villagers complain that the authorities have marked their houses as partially damaged though they are fully damaged. The list is displayed in the Panchayat office board.

As part of sustainable development, saving the lives of people in the state during the cyclone by the Odisha government was an achievement. The state government has always got accolades from international institutions for its pre-disaster preparedness to evacuate people to safer places and thus saving lives. This time also it has got appreciation from the United Nations. The Chief Minister and his administration deserve kudos for the same.

But, what about the post-cyclone management? A pucca house should have been built by now in war footing for each family and people should have been given adequate food and clothe to cope up to the situation. If skyscrapers could be built in a month’s time in cities, then why not a small house of for the villagers in a shorter time? Why nothing has come yet to rebuild their sources of livelihood? Why daily employment under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Scheme is not being given to them now? Why has electricity not been restored? These define the apathy and insensitivity of the political system and the bureaucracy in the state. And anyway, the elections are over now and Mr. Naveen Patnaik has been re-elected for the fifth time to the office as the Chief Minister in June, so why the hurry! People will forget the government’s apathy by the time another election is in the corner!!

If this is how 17 families in the Kurujanga village has to live after the cyclone, one can well question about the efficacy of having HLPFs meetings in New York to ensure sustainable development. As my friend Ashok Dash – software professional, who accompanied me to the village, puts it “the government has given one thing to the people for sure, and that is ASSURANCE!”

And what have the ministerial declarations from the previous HLPFs given us? ASSURANCES!!

Author is a senior journalist. E mail id: 2006pradeep@gmail.com

The piece was carried in Countercurrents.org on June 15, 2019

https://countercurrents.org/2019/06/negligence-of-the-elderly-in-an-exploitative-economic-system

Negligence of the elderly in an exploitative economic system

 By Pradeep Baisakh — June 15, 2019

The study done by HelpAge India titled, “Elder Abuse in India: Role of family in caregiving – challenges and responses” brings about some glaring facts about the state of care to the elderly in our society. The study, among other things, found out that 35% of the caregivers never felt happy looking after the elderly. Caregivers here mean mainly the son, daughter-in-law, daughter and son-in-law. Such findings raise some basic questions about our responsibilities toward our aging parents.

The study was released in Bhubaneswar on 14th June where I was a speaker among other eminent personalities. Many speakers opined that the rising negligence of the elderly is due to the degeneration of the societal value system. And I agree with this. But let's analyze the deeper causes of the same.

Let's go back to the British era and draw an analogy. Dadabhai Naoroji’ drain of wealth theory discusses various means by which wealth from India was drained to Britain. Famous historian Bipin Chandra analyzed the impact of the extortive economic system then in breaking the joint family system in India.

Britishers imposed an exorbitant tax structure over the land, which made agriculture unviable. In the system, the Britishers would give a large area to big zamindars, who in turn will distribute it to small Zamindars, who will give in patches to the small farmers – the common populace. And this small farmer does the actual tilling. As Britishers took huge taxes from the land, the burden was handed down to the common farmer’s level. Inability to pay a tax led to internal dissension in the family and led to crumbling of the joint family system.

Extortive economic system

Let’s bring this analysis to the current time of changing economic order and implications on the social stricture. The earlier mixed economic system was a self-sufficient where people had less income but also lesser needs and limited ambitions. This system was supplanted by a liberal economic system driven by capitalistic greed. Earlier people would work less and had time for the family including the elderly. The family as an institution was rather intact. But the new economic order has forced consumerism on people and the cost of the economy has exponentially gone up. A 3 BHK flat in a B 2 city like Bhubaneswar costs in the range of 60 lakhs to 1.2 crore rupees. One can well imagine the cost in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Children’s education has gone up exponentially across the country.  No wonder that people’s focus now is to earn more and more to fulfill their basic requirements. Thus the new system has made people too career-centric.

A friend of mine who is top-class software professional in US narrated me his plight. “On working days, my day would start at 7 am and can continue till 1' O clock in the night.” And this is just not his story. It’s the story of any working individual now a day that is employed in the private sector. In the process, where does one get time for family and the elderly parents? And in such a high-cost economy, who has the willingness to take care of their parents, who are considered only as a burden!

But who is benefited of the system? That’s the moot question. One who works day and night to secure a dignified life only ends in struggling and struggling. The capitalist economic order nurtures, what may be termed as a Trickle Up phenomenon, where there is an upward flow of wealth. No wonder the inequality is on the rise in the country, which means the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

Dwindling family values:

Capitalism thrives on breaking the institutions into individuals. Selfishness and self-centeredness supplant sacrifice and empathy. One can well observe this in the lives of the current generation.

In an instance, when an elderly person passed away who was in an old age home, the caretakers informed his son and urged him to come from America for the cremation. The son instead offered money to do the cremation and did not come! This is just one example. One can find many such inhuman instances of abandonment of the elderly by the son, daughter-in-law, daughter and son-in-law.

The new regime also has brought about a positive change i.e. economic empowerment of women. Middle-class women are opting to work and earn instead of becoming only a housewife and discharging their household chores. In the new order what has taken a backseat is the care of the elderly by the daughter-in-law, which is their traditional role.

Most women have to work now, not just part of their aspirations but also due to compulsion. Double hand earning is a necessity to thrive in this competitive world. With the traditional role of the women undergoing a change, the male counterpart is unwilling to share the family responsibilities, which were exclusively in women’s domain earlier. In the new family order both have lesser time for the family, but the woman’s responsibility has gone up.

With so much of compulsions and responsibilities, people have preferred to be selfish. And this is buttressed by the phenomenon of “I, Me and Myself” nurtured by capitalism and consumerism. Elderly are the first group of suffers. And wait for some more years, children will be the next group of sufferers in India as the family as a basic unit of society further disintegrates. This is already witnessed in many of the western countries.

The robust social protection mechanism is a need of the hour

Capitalism does not sustain in the absence of a well-placed welfare mechanism. The society now needs strong social protection mechanism for the elderly. Both the government and the voluntary sector have a role to play. There should be a universal pension scheme with a minimum of 2000 rupees a month for all elderly. Cities need more and more old age homes with basic amenities and healthcare. The voluntary sector can play a role in building institutions for engagement of the elderly in playful activities.

And finally, the family must play its desired role to care for the elderly, not abandon them, as old age is waiting for the current generation youths too!

The author is a senior journalist. Email id: 2006pradeep@gmail.com