WHILE Modi government is busy in pursuing bigoted and racist policies, its people are becoming prey to extreme poverty.
In the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, India has slipped to the 101st position from its 2020 position of 94th.
The report prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welthunger life also termed Indian hunger level alarming.
This situation clearly is reflection of Modi’s bad economic policies especially in the wake of Covid-19 as his complete lockdown policy resulted in a tremendous collapse of livelihoods.
According to a study of the People’s Archive of Rural India, fifty percent of the households in rural India were forced to reduce the number of meals ever since the lockdown was imposed as part of an immediate adjustment for food security while sixty eight percent of the households reduced the number of items in their meals.
Even before the pandemic, the situation was not that much encouraging as several reports indicates that about two hundred million Indians sleep empty stomach every day and that about 2.5 million die every year because of hunger.
This happens when policies are not people centric and funds are spent on unnecessary defence deals.
India would not have been facing this situation of extreme poverty had it diverted these resources towards it people rather than purchasing expensive defence equipment.
Issues like poverty, backwardness and illiteracy are plaguing the South Asian region for long despite its immense economic potential. These cannot be addressed without pursuing the course of peaceful relations and resolving the outstanding disputes in the region.
Though nothing good can be expected from Modi, yet being PM of a ‘democracy’ he should rise above his narrow-minded supremacist approach and shun the course of jingoism and belligerence to lead this region to an economic integration. Nurturing enmity will give nothing but death, destruction and hunger.
The people of South Asian region are looking towards their leaders to ensure a better and prosperous future for them. By reviving SAARC a beginning should be made, making it an effective platform for economic collaboration.
