Getting out of the 'Cycle of Poverty'

In economics, the cycle of poverty is the "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention.".The cycle of poverty is when a family remains in poverty over many successive generations. For this reason reducing child poverty has been a focus of almost all governments as a way to break this cycle. Improving the quality of education provided to the poor is seen by most as the best way to break this cycle. Improving the environment the child grows up in, ensuring access to health, providing financial incentives (either through benefit schemes or reducing taxes) and promoting family values have all been suggested as ways to break the cycle.

Boys and girls have equal rates of poverty through their childhoods but as women enter their teens and childbearing years the rates of poverty between the genders widens. Globally, women are far more impoverished than men and poor children are more likely to live in female-headed households. Attempts to combat the cycle of poverty, therefore, have often targeted mothers as a way to interrupt the negative patterns of poverty that affect the education, nutrition/health, and psychological/social outcomes for poor children.

To come out of this cycle we have to break this circular flow. We have to empower the younger generations by educating them. Because if we educate them they will be able to earn for themselves. Primary education has to be made compulsory. Schemes such as Mid-day-meal should be encouraged so that more children are enrolled and retained in schools. This is one of the things that we can do and things are being done to make it better

CHILD LABOR : INDIA'S HIDDEN SHAME

"Out of school children comprise the workers and non workers. In our view they together signify a measure of deprivation among children and can be considered as a potential labour pool always being at the risk of entering the labour force" - NCEUS, 2007

India is sadly the home to the largest number of child labourers in the world. The census found an increase in the number of child labourers from 11.28 million in 1991 to 12.59 million in 2001. M.V. Foundation in Andhra Pradesh found nearly 400,000 children, mostly girls between seven and 14 years of age, toiling for 14-16 hours a day in cottonseed production across the country of which 90% are employed in Andhra Pradesh. 40% of the labour in a precious stone cutting sector is children. NGOs have discovered the use of child labourers in mining industry in Bellary District in Karnataka in spite of a harsh ban on the same. In urban areas there is a high employment of children in the zari and embroidery industry.

Poverty and lack of social security are the main causes of child labour. The increasing gap between the rich and the poor, privatization of basic services and the neo-liberal economic policies are causes major sections of the population out of employment and without basic needs. This adversely affects children more than any other group. Entry of multi-national corporations into industry without proper mechanisms to hold them accountable has lead to the use of child labour. Lack of quality universal education has also contributed to children dropping out of school and entering the labour force. A major concern is that the actual number of child labourers goes un-detected. Laws that are meant to protect children from hazardous labour are ineffective and not implemented correctly.

A growing phenomenon is using children as domestic workers in urban areas. The conditions in which children work is completely unregulated and they are often made to work without food, and very low wages, resembling situations of slavery. There are cases of physical, sexual and emotional abuse of child domestic workers. The argument for domestic work is often that families have placed their children in these homes for care and employment. There has been a recent notification by the Ministry of Labour making child domestic work as well as employment of children in dhabas, tea stalls and restaurants "hazardous" occupations.

According to HAQ: Centre for child rights, child labour is highest among schedules tribes, Muslims, schedule castes and OBC children. The persistence of child labour is due to the inefficiency of the law, administrative system and because it benefits employers who can reduce general wage levels. HAQ argues that distinguishing between hazardous and non hazardous employment is counter-productive to the elimination of child labour. Various growing concerns have pushed children out of school and into employment such as forced displacement due to development projects, Special Economic Zones; loss of jobs of parents in a slowdown, farmers' suicide; armed conflict and high costs of health care. Girl children are often used in domestic labour within their own homes. There is a lack of political will to actually see to the complete ban of child labour.

Bonded child labour is a hidden phenomenon as a majority of them are found in the informal sector. Bonded labour means the employment of a person against a loan or debt or social obligation by the family of the child or the family as a whole. It is a form of slavery. Children who are bonded with their family or inherit a debt from their parents are often found in agricultural sector or assisting their families in brick kilns, and stone quarries. Individual pledging of children is a growing occurrence that usually leads to trafficking of children to urban areas for employment and have children working in small production houses versus factories. Bonded labourers in India are mostly migrant workers, which opens them up to more exploitation. Also they mostly come from low caste groups such as dalits or marginalised tribal groups. Bonded child labourers are at very high risk for physical and sexual abuse and neglect sometimes leading to death. They often are psychologically and mentally disturbed and have not learnt many social skills or survival skills.

In 2000 the ILO estimated 5.5 million children had been forced in labour in Asia, while the Bonded Labour Liberation Front placed 10 million bonded children in India alone. In 1998 the government of India labelled bonded child labour as a marginal problem with only 3000 or so cases. A survey in Tamil Nadu in 1995 found 125,000 bonded child labourers in the state alone. Child bonded labour in India is mostly in the agricultural sector but has in recent times been moving into other sectors as well such as beedi-rolling, brick kilns, carpet weaving, commercial sexual exploitation, construction, fireworks and matches factories, hotels, hybrid cottonseed production, leather, mines, quarries, silk, synthetic gems, etc. 

Child labour in India is addressed by the Child Labour Act, 1986 and National Child Labour Project.

Children and HIV/AIDS

The first case of HIV/AIDS was reported in India in Tamil Nadu in 1986. Since then the virus has spread from the high-risk groups to the general population very fast.  Today, there are 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS in India.

Women and Children

Women and children are increasingly becoming vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. The new findings conclude that 38% of the infected persons in India are women. This indicates the increasing feminization of HIV/AIDS in India. This alarming trend is being observed closely as more HIV positive mothers will unknowingly pass the virus on to their children. India has an estimated 220,000 children infected by HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 55,000 to 60,000 children are born every year to mothers who are HIV positive.  Without treatment, these newborns stand an estimated 30% chance of becoming infected during the mother’s pregnancy, labor or through breastfeeding after six months.  There is effective treatment available, but this is not reaching all women and children who need it.

Young People

Over 35% of AIDS cases reported are below 25 years of age and 50% of new infections are between 15 and 24 years old. The current HIV/AIDS programmes are reaching only 15% of young people and 17% of high-risk groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. Less than one quarter of young people have accurate information on how to protect themselves from HIV which, coupled with profound gender inequalities, make change in sexual attitudes and practices very difficult. It is estimated that there are 200 million young people in high prevalence and vulnerable districts who need access to information, skills and services to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection.

Primary prevention among young people is the greatest hope to change the course of the epidemic in India. As a result, the Adolescent Education Programme was conceived by UNICEF, NACO, Ministry of Education, UNESCO and UNFPA. The programme was implemented in all states across the country through the Department of Education (DoE) in collaboration with the State AIDS Control Societies (SACS). The curriculum includes growing up, HIV/AIDS, life skills and extra curricular activities. Already, 110,000 of the 150,000 high schools in India trained teachers and peer educators to pass on life skills and preventive messages. 
On 1st December 2006, 25 best performing teachers were given national awards for imparting knowledge of HIV/AIDS among students.

Children and the Water, Environment and sanitation in India

An estimated 400,000 children under five years of age die each year due to diarrhea. Several million more suffer from multiple episodes of diarrhoea and still others fall ill on account of Hepatitis A, enteric fever, intestinal worms and eye and skin infections caused by poor hygiene and unsafe drinking water.

Despite the Government and UNICEF’s best efforts, diarrhea remains the major cause of death among children, after respiratory- tract infections. Unhygienic practices and unsafe drinking water are some of its main causes. More than 122 million households in the country are without toilets. Even though toilets are built in about 3 million households every year, the annual rate of increase has been a low 1 per cent in the past decade.

A Girl filling dirty water in bottles

Access to protected sources of drinking water has improved dramatically over the years. Most rural water supply systems, especially the hand-pumps generally used by the poor, are using groundwater. But inadequate maintenance and neglect of the environment around water sources has led to increasing levels of groundwater pollution. In many areas, the problem is exacerbated by falling levels of groundwater, mainly caused by increasing extraction for irrigation. In some parts of the country, excessive arsenic and fluoride in drinking water also pose a major health threat.

FOODY BABA: FOOD SECURITY BILL IN INDIA

H

aving cacti with toppings of cheese cannot serve as ambrosia, unless you are a gourmand. Actually the rising prices of food items and rapidly increasing population have led to prognosticate such a dark future, leading to food crises. This burgeoning is at such a rate that a decade ago, the population which was estimated to be 100 crores, whenever we got to hear in television award shows and other sources, has increased to 125 crores. The basic needs of a human- Food, fire, shelter and education are touching the apex of their monetary value. These are now the piece of cake for those who earn at least five digit salary. And those who sleep on footpaths have to struggle for each bite and vagabonds have to burn their feet for a wad of wheat.

The National Food Security Act, 2013, an appeasing step by the government of India aims to provide subsidized food grains to two third of the population of India. Under the act highly subsidized food grains have been provided to citizens as a part of their right. Besides, pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a nutritious "take home ration" of 600 Calories and a maternity benefit of at least Rs. 6,000 for a period of six months. Children from the age of 6 months to 14 years have been offered "take home rations" under this act. Moreover, the shortage of food grains will by covered by funding from the central government. The cost of the implementation has been estimated to be $22 billion (1.25 lac crore), which is approximately 1.5% of GDP. The enactment has definitely assured food to all, but it is just an ‘ink feeding’, no one knows how long will it take for the decision to jump out of papers and feed each home of the country.

No doubt, many of us would be dissident when we got to hear about the act, as there are many other steps like infrastructural growth, matching with developed countries or laws for the flexibility in investments, but for a poor citizen, the first priority is not the implementation of laws and infrastructural growth, but a promising government who stand by its words and hand them grains to survive.

Children in India and their protection

In India, children’s vulnerabilities and exposure to violations of their rights remain spread and multiple in nature.These violations are various, ranging from child labour, child trafficking, to commercial sexual exploitation and many other forms of violence and abuse.

Although poverty is often cited as the cause underlying child labour, other factors such as discrimination, social exclusion, as well as the lack of quality education or existing parents’ attitudes and perceptions about child labour and the role and value of education need also to be considered. In states like Bihar, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, 60 per cent or more girls dropped out before completing their five years primary education.

Trafficking of children also continues to be a serious problem in India. The nature and scope of trafficking range from industrial and domestic labour, to forced early marriages and commercial sexual exploitation. Existing studies show that over 40 per cent of women sex workers enter into prostitution before the age of 18 years. Moreover, due to the challenges and complexity posed in creating systematic redressing mechanisms, as well as due to the discrimination surrounding the issue, for children who have been trafficked and rescued opportunities for rehabilitation remain scarce and reintegration process arduous.

While systematic data and information on child protection issues are still not always available, evidence suggests that children in need of special protection belong to communities suffering disadvantage and social exclusion such as scheduled casts and tribes, and the poor. The lack of available services, as well as the gaps persisting in law enforcement and in rehabilitation schemes also constitute a major cause of concern.

Poverty: A Big Challenge

Poverty implies a condition in which a person finds him unable

to maintain a living standard adequate for his physical and

mental efficiency. He even fails to meet his basic requirements.

Poverty is in fact a relative concept. It is very difficult to draw a

demarcation line between affluence and poverty.

An estimated 29.8% of Indians live below the

country’s national poverty line in 2010 (see point 2 below). Here

are two graphs showing the evolution of the poverty rate –

percentages of poor Indians

The state of Uttar Pradesh alone has 8% of the world’s

population who live in extreme poverty. However, it’s not

India’s poorest state. With a population of 100 million people,

Bihar is poorest. More than half of children under 3 suffer from

malnutrition. One in three malnourished children is Indian, and

rates of malnutrition are higher in India than in sub-Saharan

Africa. Nearly a third of all newborn deaths occur in India.

Indian soil is fertile, so are Indian men and women, these are

families which have five, six, ten even up to twenty children.

With such a potential for huge population India, in the recent or

even in the remote past, has not fully realized the importance

of controlling the population, nor did our country felt the danger

of such population. The ancient Hindu society was completely

oblivious of the significance of population for the following

reasons:

o There was neither any mechanism to count or record of

old Indian Territory, nor was there any effort to know about

the population.

o There was no homogeneous distribution of population – all

scattered in different groups of agricultural and tribal society,

the elites being divided among different kingdoms and

dynasties without any significant social welfare measures.

o The concept of poverty was virtually unknown in

India. Superstition, too much faith on destiny and God and

lack of concerted efforts kept a huge country under the

blanket of poverty for century after century.

 “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked

and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and

uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own

homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” --- Mother Teresa

“Where there is no happiness for all, there cannot be happiness for

any.”

This is a fundamental truth successful nations around the world

have discovered. They have structured their societies in such a

way that though there may be inequalities in incomes and level

of enjoyment of the good things of life, the basics of a modern

life are not denied to anyone.

What are the basics? Answers vary for each country. For India,

these are: education, health care, housing, water, electricity,

cooking fuel, old age support, sanitation and employment did

not see the linkage between a nation’s investments in social

sectors and its prosperity.

As a consequence of attempts made by government, poverty

showed a sharp decline in 1980s. This decline in poverty,

to some extent, is also attributed to agriculture development

of 1970s and 1980s resulting from the Green Revolutions.

However, much more needs to be done, for India is the home

to the largest poor population in the world. Basic necessities

of life such as drinking water, health care facilities, etc. are still

inaccessible to majority of population.

In this regard community participation and awareness

campaign can make a difference. The media and the

NGOs, besides other institutions have crucial role to play.

The machinery involved in poverty alleviation need to be

accountable, sensitised and sincere. New laws have to

be evolved to ensure more accountability. The lack of

transparency and accountability has hampered our economic

development at all levels. A system of incentives and

disincentives can also be of great importance. Thus, the

situation is bound to change and society will be free from

deprivation.

By Aman Agarwal

Child healthcare in India

Despite health improvements over the last thirty years, lives continue to be lost to early childhood diseases, inadequate newborn care and childbirth-related causes. More than two million children die every year from preventable infections.

Infant mortality in India is as high as 63 deaths per 1,000 live births. Most infant deaths occur in the first month of life; up to 47 per cent in the first week itself. While the Infant Mortality Rate showed a rapid decline during the 1980's, the decrease has slowed during the past decade. 

Maternal deaths are similarly high. The reasons for this high mortality are that few women have access to skilled birth attendants and fewer still to quality emergency obstetric care. In addition, only 15 per cent of mothers receive complete antenatal care and only 58 per cent receive iron or folate tablets or syrup.

Children in India continue to lose their life to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, which remains the biggest killer. Tetanus in newborns remains a problem in at least five states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Assam. The number of polio cases in India declined from 1,934 in 1998 to 268 in 2001. There was a setback in 2002 as 1,600 cases were confirmed at the end of the year. But with only 225 cases of polio reported in 2003, India is well on its way to interrupting transmission and eradicating the disease. However, the proportion of children who receive vaccination against measles has dropped considerably, from 72% in 1995 to a low of 50% in 1999. It now stands at 61%.

Government of India Action on Health

• Strengthen existing health systems by increasing the number of health workers

• Prevent newborn deaths through home-based medical visits

• Increase children’s access to immunisation

Summary of RTE Act 2009

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE), is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21a of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010.

The quality of education provided by the government system is not good. While it remains the largest provider of elementary education in the country forming 80% of all recognised schools, it suffers from shortages of teachers, infrastructural gaps and several habitations continue to lack schools altogether. The Act makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. It requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children.

The RTE Act is the first legislation in the world that puts the responsibility of ensuring enrolment, attendance and completion on the Government. It is the parents' responsibility to send the children to schools in India. Though Govt says economically backward children are admitted in to private schools under RTE, but the fact is in the states like Andhra Pradesh, Children are admitted in to private schools based on caste based reservations.

And most Important is : 

The Act provides for admission of children without any certification. However, several states have continued pre-existing procedures insisting that children produce income and caste certificates, BPL cards and birth certificates. Orphan children are often unable to produce such documents, even though they are willing to do so. As a result, schools are not admitting them, as they require the documents as a condition to admission.

POOR and RICH

Poor :-

According to Oxford dictionary, poors are those who lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.

  

Rich :-

According to Oxford dictionary, rich are those who having wealth or great possessions, abundantly supplied with resources, means or funds.

Now comparison between RICH and POOR

Rich people believe: “I create my life.” Poor people believe: “Life happens to me.”

Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.

Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.

Rich people think big. Poor people think small.

Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.

Rich people admire other rich and successful people. Poor people resent rich and successful people.

Rich people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.

Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.

Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.

Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are poor receivers.

Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor people choose to get paid based on time.

Rich people think “both”. Poor people think “either/or”.

Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people focus on their working income.

Rich people manage their money well. Poor people mismanage their money well.

Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor people work hard for their money.

Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them. 

Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people think they already know.

Poverty as a Challenge (Class 9th, Economiics, CBSE)

Poverty:

A general scarcity of basic necessities of life is called poverty. The basic necessities include food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, sanitation, etc.

Relative Poverty:

This is a condition of inequality compared to the general population of the society.
Some of the issues which are related to poverty are; Landlessness, Unemployment, Size of families, Illiteracy, Poor health/malnutrition, Child labour and Helplessness.
Poverty as seen by social scientists: Income and level of consumption are the usual indicators of poverty. But many social scientists view poverty from many other parameters; like illiteracy, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, etc.

Social Exclusion:

Poverty also results in social exclusion of the affected population. A poor person is usually barred from enjoying certain basic pleasures of life which the people in the mainstream society are able to enjoy. Many people are not allowed to participate in various social functions because they are poor. In India, there has been a history of social exclusion on the basis of caste. People from the lower caste and dalit classes were excluded from the mainstream society mainly because they had been poor.

Vulnerability:

Certain communities are more vulnerable to poverty than others. Data suggests that there is a larger percentage of poor among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Minorities are also more vulnerable to poverty. Similarly, women, widow and handicapped are more vulnerable groups. When a person has the least capability of withstanding various challenged towards his economic relevance, he can be termed as vulnerable to poverty.

Poverty Line

Poverty line is usually defined on the basis of income or consumption. Different yardsticks are used in different countries to measure the poverty line.
According to the World Bank, a person living on less than 1$ per day is considered to be living below the poverty line. This figure has been now raised to 1.25 $ per day. According to 2010 report by the World Bank, 32.7% of India’s population was living below the poverty line.
As per 2000 figures; a family of five which is earning less than Rs. 1,640 per month is considered to be living below the poverty line. This figure is Rs. 2,270 per month for the urban area.
The expected calorie intake has been fixed at 2400 calories per person in rural areas and 2100 calories in urban areas. A person consuming less than this amount is considered to be living below the poverty line.
According to Development Goals Report of 2011, India is the only Asian country which is expected to half its number of poor people by 2015. The figure is expected to reach a level of about 22% of the population. This figure is expected to further go down to 20% by 2020.
Although the percentage of poor living below the poverty line has declined, their absolute number has increased. The number of poor remained static at 320 million for a fairly long period. But this figure has also declined to 260 million in recent

Graph: Percentage of poor in different social groups (NSSO Report 2000)

This graph shows the percentage of poor in different social groups in India. While the percentage of poor among average population is 26%; it is much higher among the vulenrable gropus. Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Caste, Urban Casual Labourer and Rural Agricultural Labourer are the most vulnerable groups.
Apart from the vulnerable social groups, different members in a poor family suffer in different ways. For example; women, children and elderly are the worst sufferers because of poverty. fferent members in a poor family suffer in different ways. For example; women, children and elderly are the worst sufferers because of poverty.

Child Labor in India

India has the second largest population in the  world, after China. We have a lot of hands to do work. But lots of hands start working at a young age. When children are used as labor it is known as child labor. This is a simple definition of child labor. The young children do not even get a chance to study. They are straight away put to work in hope for some quick short-term monetary returns. They are sometimes forced into doing labor but sometimes, they might do it by choice.

The number of children doing labor is huge in India. You can see many small children working in dhabas on highways.They will bring you water and the dishes and they don't even ask for a tip.They do back breaking work and aren't even payed properly. They are bullied by the owners and beaten if they commit even the smallest of mistakes. They work longer hours, longer than most of us do. In return they don't get any of the services that we get. These children do it for their families. They see that the condition of their family id not good and they start working so that they can improve the conditions of their homes.

Children are forced to work under uncomfortable conditions. This is not what they should be doing. They should be studying and playing with their friends. They should be in classes being taught by teachers. They should be playing with their friends making fun of them and helping their mothers at home. It is similar to caging a bird. We have to let them free and let them open their wings to fly. We should not let them be trapped and help them take that leap towards their first flight.

THE TALE OF THE KINGDOM HILARIA: EPISODE-6

After a long chase to spy all the members of the regal team, path to victory for poor citizens of Hilaria was still adorned with cacti. Now, they had a tough task to hide inside the state that too in unrestricted areas. They knew that the queen would easily catch them from anywhere so they aimed just to spend six days and a half second anyhow hiding them.

As the day passed, the cunning opponents caught poors, hiding behind the tree, inside the dried wells and under the garbage dumps. It was as easy for the royal team to spy somebody behind a glass pane. And before the end of the sixth day, they caught all the poor people and started celebrating their victory. The queen laughed out loud pointing her sword on the neck of poors and the senapati said “Your game is over and you may leave now before we begin to push you out of the state.”

“My lord, the game is not over yet.” a sound came from the crowd and the hero moves out of the herd. “In the game our pets have also participated as they also belong to the poor families too. And…..” before the man could complete, the queen interrupted “We knew that someone of you will raise definitely come out with a silly excuse on your demise. So, my men aimed to catch all the animals of the state, all the animals including you.” The queen gave a devils laughter and ordered her men to bring the cage in which all the animals were captured.

“Still you missed our two members and you won’t be able to find them I can challenge you.” the hero said confidently. As the queen heard of the word ‘challenge’ she burst out of anger “You dared to challenge me, now see I will search the two also. And you will be guillotined, once they are caught. ” The queen's sudden capsize turned others speechless except the man. The queen lost control over her and blew by her ego into ‘do or die’ state.

“The two of our cattle are hidden into the heaven of almighty. I challenge you to catch them. Once you succeed, we will leave the state before your any word.” the man said. All the people standing there now realized that the task was next to impossible to complete but the lady was burning of ardor to complete the challenge. She ordered her two men to take her and the senapati to the tour of heaven and the senapati had no choice except to acquiesce.

“One, two, three. SCWACH!” and the queen’s head fell down to the feet of poors and the egoistic and idiotic crankiness evaporated by the next moment.

The whole kingdom turned into silence for the time and the citizens also realized that they had conquered over the cruel queen and the belligerent senapati to establish piece and their rights equally. They showed that no one is poor by brain; it’s all about the illusive wealth that gives person opulence. But what makes a person rich is his acuity and benevolence. The hero of Hilaria, the men who freed poor citizens from matriarchy and gave equal rights to all, was voted as the new king of the state. From the same day, everyone was given education and right to lead the state toward prosperity by his skills and ventures with an active support from the government also.

THE TALE OF THE KINGDOM HILARIA: EPISODE-5

As the queen got to know about the trifle, she called for an urgent meeting in which all the wise men were seated to pour paraffin to exasperated queen. After a long period of conversation and chit-chat, the queen reached to a conclusion which was not condign to the minors. All the members of communion assented except the senapati. He objected that carnage of poor people would ruin the soil of the land by their dirty blood and their souls would wander around the castle. The reason not only appeared logical to the queen but also ominous to others. He also said that these people if began to protest, their man power would dominate to that of the militants in the kingdom.

“Better is asking them directly what they want to leave the state. Once they agreed to leave we will invade their new homeland and conquer that area also.” the senapati said. The suggestion was acceded by all the wise men along with the queen.

Next day, the queen announced for a gathering in which all the citizens of Hilaria came. The queen put her words which were decided in the last meet, in front of all the citizens. But, none of them accepted her titillating offers of precious jewels or uncountable gems. There was a broad chasm among both parties and finally by the grace of almighty so called ‘conciliation’ took place.

"We would like to have a game of 'Hide n Seek'; the loser will have to leave the state." The senapati declared boasting of his acumen and the queen approved as it was one of her favorite games from the childhood. On the other hand poor citizens also agreed to it as they had no more options left.

Both the sides were given a week to hide them and at the same time opponents had to seek them. The one who would seek all the members in lesser time had to be declared as winner. The first chance and advantage to get hidden was given to the regal group. Many of them hid inside the kingdom, some got buried under the ground and others left the state. The queen and the senapati hid behind a wall somewhere inside the castle as they knew that entry of poors was prohibited inside. As the opponent got to know about it, they put fire into the castle and in a few minutes both of them came out bawling due to fire burns. As the time passed, the chasers dug out all those who hid under the ground and spied those who flew out of the state by the end of sixth day.

Now it was the queen’s turn to run and catch citizens. But the notorious queen restricted their entries into the castle and blocked their way out of the state. This appeared inequitable to the minors but they had to accept the command of their queen.

The story of the street side children in Kamla Nagar

I went to Delhi in the year 2013 for further studies. There I saw the multitude of people, not only delhites but people from all corners of India and from abroad too. But what i failed to see were the children in my neighborhood. The ones who wear tattered clothes and roam around in the blistering heat of the day and have to go through the night without a blanket on them. Some go around selling things. Things like balloons, others stickers and some begging for some money.

I remember one such incident. I was going back to my PG and two boys came to me and said

"Bhaiya, weight napwaoge kya?" (Brother, need to get your weight checked?)

And I said I couldn't because I didn't have change then, and I didn't have it. What crossed my mind was that I will go to my PG and eat, although not that delicious, food but these kids are our here and they might have had nothing to eat. They sit there in the sun, working on their notebooks doing questions of maths, English, Science etc. They might have the will to study and they might be good at it, but will they be able to do what they dream about. There is another incident that I remember of. My friend showed me a video that he himself had made as a part of his class project. In that video he was interviewing a small kid who sold different things and in came an old man and started slapping them in front of the camera. He ordered the children to leave.

Many things have gone wrong and many continue to. There is what we call a "cost-benefit" analysis in which we compare the costs and the profit of a commodity. The benefits that we reap today, of globalization, privatization and industrialization, will bear a cost, not today but in the future, for which we wont be able to pay. We need to get a hold of our current future, these small children. Our Future.

How can we get the goodness out

I have lived in Delhi for a year now. It is a city full of people caring much about themselves and less about others. I have seen people living under skyscrapers. Nothing to eat and less to wear. The small children lost in the traffic. Small infants in clinging to the breasts of their mothers crying for something. Their mothers giving no heed to them. These small children dream, of bigger things in life than just living by the roadside looking at the sun rise and then go down. They want more from us. Not money, but a little affection from us.

Giving clothes or books, which they might not be able to read, is not the end and we should not stop here. To tell you the truth, giving clothes or toys is just a temporary fix to an everlasting problem. Clothes are materialistic, to show someone your affection is hard and lives and dies with that person. What is better for a child, the warmth of the clothes we give him or the wisdom that he can use for a lifetime? Tricky question though, it is answerable. These small children don’t know what half of the things mean. They sell products that they are told to sell. They take the wrong path and end up either in jail or a correctional center. That is their life and it will remain so until unless we help them. And giving something materialistic is not going to do the job.

What my point is that there are many children who need a helping touch. But more than that, hey need to know that it was not only a touch but a hand that is holding on to them forever, and that hand will never let go of you. More than money we need compassion, we need to find ways to feed the hungry and to help them understand that if they have dreams and they want to achieve them, they have to work hard for them. No one is going to give them a golden platter in this ruthless and cunning world. We are the masters of our own soul and the helper of one selves.

The Bruises and the Chalk

He was beaten. Everyday.
He rebelled, he tried to stop it, he pushed his drunk father away. But he was slapped one more time, he was pushed across the table one more time, he was punched one more time.
And then came the time of just letting it all go. He faced the punches, he faced the slaps. He just sat there, doing nothing. He stopped fighting it, and he let the pain hurt him. The pain damaged him emotionally more than it did physically.

This was his story every night. The lantern was switched off and it was dark. At 2 in the night, he would be woken up by a slap. His father picked him up from the shoulders and beat him. His mother never came inside the room, too scared or a part of his father's plan.

But every morning, he got up. He got up and cleaned himself as best he could, and he went to work. He was a ten year old working boy with bruises all over his body. All day, he would look forward to those ten minutes. The ten minutes when the forty year old woman would come and buy icecreams for around fifteen children his age.

That day, she noticed. She saw all those bruises and scratches and she pulled him aside. She enquired as to what happened. He kept shut, he never told about his alchoholic father and his ignorant mother to anyone. She asked him a few more times, but he kept mum. There was a look on his face that pulled the woman towards him. That look portrayed his resentment, his dejection, his vulnerability, his bravery.

And so she got him pulled out of the measly construction site and brought him to the park with her. The next day, she got him a blackboard and a chalk - the best things he would ever come across. And she gave him alphabets, then words, then sentences. She gave him knowledge with not only words, but also with crafts, and with music and dance.

Till the age of seventeen, he would hurl through the torture at night, wake up every morning, and go to the park. And he would smile. The woman started getting a first aid kit since he was eleven. She wanted to report his father a lot of times, but he never allowed it. He wanted to do this on his own.

Now, at the age of forty three, he is a teacher, he is a provider of education. And he went to her funeral just yesterday and thanked her for the blackboard and the chalk.

Mid Day Meal Scheme

In 1925, a Mid Day Meal Program was introduced for disadvantaged children in Madras Municipal Corporation. By the mid 1980s three States viz. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the UT of Pondicherry had universalized a cooked Mid Day Meal Program with their own resources for children studying at the primary stage By 1990-91 the number of States implementing the mid day meal program with their own resources on a universal or a large scale had increased to twelve states. That was mid day meal in the past, now mid day meal is the largest school feeding program feeding up to 12 crore children in 12 lakh schools across the country.This is an achievement itself for us and the Indian Govt and for India.
Many children who did not go to schools before and now enrolling in these schools where free mid day meal is provided. This shows us the extent to which poverty in India ha gone up. The worst hit are children as they are not able to live a normal lifestyle. Schooling is an important part of every bodies life. This same education is a dream for the underprivileged  children. But, thanks to Mid day meal scheme, the enrollment, retention and attendance of children in these school has gone up. Kids who were malnourished before are now eating healthy food. Earlier children who came to school came hungry as there was not enough to eat in their homes. Now they go back home from school with a full tummy. This has encouraged children to go to school and learn and educate themselves with the help of the teachers. It has also helped children to improve socialization amongst different castes.
I remember when i was in school, my friends used to eat their tiff-ins in the class only when the lecture was going on. They never went hungry because they had their tiff-in and could eat from it anytime they wanted to. But some kids don't have this kind of luxury as they don't have much to eat.

Poverty: A curse to India

India is one of the poorest countries in the world. It isn't just psychological

poverty or emotional poverty. It isn't just social poverty or religious and

cultural poverty. It is an absolute poverty. It involves poverty in every

aspect of life.

It is known how people continue to die from absolute poverty and hunger

in India despite numerous efforts to help fight poverty in the world. . Since

1991, India has undergone a great deal of liberalisation internally and

externally, but its benefits have mostly gone to the middle and upper

classes.

India like any other developing country is crippled by so many problems.

For example, India's population growth rate is increasing by the day putting

pressure on the limited resources and leaving many Indians in absolute

poverty. India is very poor in terms of education, in terms of economic

improvement, infrastructure, health care, etc.

But the question still remains the same. We never notice people around us.

We don’t know under what conditions the poor are living.

They lack adequate housing and sanitary facilities along with other issues

put our poor families at great risk for disease and disability. Prescription

drugs and hospitalization is expensive. Many must choose between food for

their children and medicine for themselves.

It is very common for a poor family to have no more than a hole in the

ground surrounded by plastic sheeting for a toilet. There may be a well on

the property but it cannot be used for drinking - only for washing. Drinking

water must be fetched from the nearest municipal water spigot which may

mean a long walk for a family.

Standing water and open drainage and sewer ditches breed disease

bearing mosquitoes. Diseases such as malaria, felagia, degue and others

are a constant with the poor. Closer to home, most of the poor use palm

fronds or wood scraps for the cooking stoves. The smoke is thick in the air

in the villages and can be choking in the small, unventilated huts. Many of

our poor, especially the children, suffer from asthma and other respiratory

conditions.

 Depression, anxiety and other nervous conditions are not uncommon

problems among the poor. The sense of hopelessness and abandonment

weigh heavily upon the poor. It is especially difficult if the children suffer

from the debilitation of depression as it adversely affects their schoolwork.

support their children and see them grow.

Children are taken out of school at a very young age (and that’s if they ever

went to school) and forced to work to support their families. You will see

the tiniest of children picking through huge rubbish piles extracting plastic

bottles, dragging out rags, flies buzzing, horrendous working conditions for

any mortal .

Girls barely in their teens are forced into prostitution, some are sewing

from day break to night fall, others beg having had eyes blinded or limbs

removed to add to their pathos .. and it is not just the children .. their

parents, and their parents, are also begging, anything for the odd coin. The

poverty India can be shocking to say the least and it’s a harsh reminder how

unfair life is.

Poverty is passed from one generation to the next.. So, we need to give

children, families and communities the tools they need to break the cycle of

poverty. These tools include:

1. With a quality education, children will get the knowledge and life skills

they need to realize their full potential. Education is essential in creating

change in a child’s life.

2. Access to health care is essential.

3. Water and sanitation are essential for every child’s survival.

4. Plan works to overcome poverty by helping communities around the

world gain the economic security they need to thrive.

5. By making children learn their rights and take active roles within their

community. Child participation helps children engage in citizenship,

express their views and make decisions that will shape their future and

influence the people around them.