The Government's royal celebrations ,......................... callous indifference.

           The Government’s royal celebrations,…………… callous indifference.

As the jackals howled a visibly disturbed king summoned his court and asked the courtiers to go into the cause of such howling. The courtiers having investigated the matter came back to the court the following day and unanimously reported to him that the wintery nights were taking toll on the jackals and the howling was an attempt to draw the notice of the most benevolent king. The king was moved, he asked his ministers to buy quilts for the jackals and ensure supply of firewood so that the jackals are secured from cold.  Withdrawals were made from the king’s treasury for purchase of quilts in large numbers and stocks of wood. The howling never stopped and each night the king was given to understand that the situation was improving and jackals were being protected from cold. As days passed the king got worried because the howling of the jackals did not show any ebbing so he summoned his court again and asked his ministers to explain the cause. The ministers rose up in chorus , “ Oh Noble king the jackals do continue to howl but not on account of the cold but in praise of  you Sir for having taken note of their plight and mobilizing your resources  to secure them “.

The king wanted to ensure the dignity of the poor so he ordered that toilets be made for them so that they are not forced to defecate in the open. On the king’s orders, toilets were now being built across the kingdom.  One fine morning the king, travelled incognito to the countryside to take stock of the situation. He was surprised to see a man defecating in the open right next to the newly built toilet while a crowd of malnourished men watched him intently . The king who was unrecognizable got into the crowd to find the reason of such curiosity on part of the onlookers. He sensed the anger in the crowd as one of them pointing his finger at the man defecating in the open said, “This rich man is trying to show his richness in the midst of the draught that keeps us hungry, and he defecates in the open as a measure of demonstration of his richness “. When the king enquired why the folks were not using the toilets that had been built for them , the villagers replied in one voice ,  “ We have hardly been eating anything in these severe drought conditions “ , “ what then can take us to these toilets ”.

The government over the last few days has been celebrating its achievements of the last two years. As per estimates advertisement of the so called achievements alone have a cost the nation more than a thousand crore, add to this other expenses incurred in the celebrations and it turns out to be an astronomical figure. These celebrations come in the backdrop of the acute drought conditions prevailing in the country with water scarcity affecting half of the nation miserably. A village panchayat comprising between twelve and eighteen villages gets between Rupees  thirty and seventy lakhs for the development of villages. Severe drought conditions a second successive year resulting in deaths and suicide of villagers and their flight to city slums can hardly be a cause of celebration and could have been avoided. The extravagant indulgence of the government should have shown prudence of priority. The money so spent to highlight questionable achievements could have been used in seriously affected drought areas to wipe the misery that exists hidden in such fanfare.