I am looking at the headlines
1.CEO in U.S killed
2.CEO in India killed
3.Tata plant in West Bengal dropped.
4.Naxalite activity on the increase.
5.Call center employees killed/robbed.
Is there a pattern to the above news items. I can see something, I sincerely hope I am imagining it. This seems to a results of growing gap between the rich and poor.
In olden days money was not flaunted as it is today. When a poor person walks on the street he can see money flowing as clothes,mobiles,cars. Think of a poor middle class man walking through a mall with his family and can't spend anything but see people around just throwing money. There is a frustration building up inside him. My cab driver remarked a few days back "What will I do if all the software people increase prices so much?". There is an anger in the normal society against software or the new age industries (BPO/finance) which give great salaries.
I can see the anger against the raising prices not directed toward the economy but a group of society which is a sense responsible for this meteoric rise in prices.I think the new UPPER MIDDLE CLASS is the main culprit.
Few things happening for a middle/poor class in cities in India
1. They cannot practically live in the city. They have to travel at least 2 hours daily. Every minute of their travel they are getting angrier. Gosh I shudder to think how angry they will get with every passing day.
2.They cannot give their children basic education as all education costs have gone through the roof. Schools ask for both educated parents ( read parent willing to spend money freely ). The children grow up with anger.
There is so much anger brewing under the surface. I really worry how the society will be 10 years in future. Think of some form of Russian/French revolution where the poor raise as their basic existence itself comes under threat.
I think the middle class needs to become more aware of this situation and behave responsibly. I am not asking all to donate their wealth to the needy and become philanthropists.
A few things that come to my mind.
1.Don't throw money just because you have it.
2.Treat others especially poor with utmost RESPECT and CARE.
3.Try to lead a subdued life.
4.Avoid flaunting money. ( Imagine a wedding in an airplane, when poor cant even afford marriages in a temple).
5.Try to find ways to give employment. Don't haggle with you the labour class too much , just treat it as an opportunity to share your wealth.
6.Spend time talking to them understand that the wealth gotten is not easy money but hard earned. We feel why should I explain to some labour/domestic help about how I earned my money. I feel this to take upon a social responsibility of educating the poor that money is made not by luck but hard work.
Bottom line.
GIVE RESPECT FOR THE FOLLOWING
1.People around you.
2.Money that you earn and spend.
3.Feelings expressed by people working for you. Please note whether these feelings are right or wrong is irrelevant. They have to respected.
WE SHOULD LEARN TO RESPECT EVERYTHING AROUND US.
As a last the one aspect we respect least today is environment. I am sure it is going to hit us back. I had a wild thought that Tsunami was of nature expressing its anger.
7 comments:
Good one Kumaran. The rich/poor divide is widening. As you say, we should watch out for it and not let it become a cause for a major violent revolution.
Well written and socially relevant in present times. I liked this point in particular - "Don't haggle with you the labour class too much , just treat it as an opportunity to share your wealth."
A very good analysis kumaran.. business is done for human survival. but today, that very basic purpose has been forgotten..
Next, when some becomes rich, he moves out of his present community and joins the rich club..
This kind of exclusivity is one of the reasons for such clashes..
If we consider our history, there was always right mix of rich and poor.. most of the chettiyars were extremely rich, but they lived one among the society and not separate sections.. and more importantly they contributed a lot for the society they live, and thus more than money, there were other relationships existed..
Today such kind of non-monetory relations are very less or weak..
We need to change that.. government has to devise economic model, where IT and other high prof has to live among normal people.. particularly rural people..
Senthil - Thanks for the comments.
I am tired of govt. To me govt does not exist. I think what I can do and do it ( it might be small ). If I can't I shut up. complaining about govt exhausts me and make me feel helpless.
I confine my thinking to what we can do as individuals. So we can action on it. Things dont just end as a blog post only.
Lovely post, Kumaran. You've made many insightful points. I especially liked the part about not haggling with the laborers. And explaining to them that money can be made thru hardwork.
I think many segments of our society have a poor attitude about money. They think the only way to make it is by resorting to evil ways. As long as they are steeped in such poor logic, they'll remain poor.
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Seeing this post in April of 2020, in the midst of Coronavirus, the last sentence makes in the post appears all the more relevant. "As a last the one aspect we respect least today is environment. I am sure it is going to hit us back. I had a wild thought that Tsunami was of nature expressing its anger."
I see COronavirus as a way of nature striking back
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