SAEE CHODANKAR
India: Our nation is adored by the whole world.There is unity in diversity and thus beautiful values in our country. We are also aware that India also suffers from a lot of different problems. One such problem that we have been trying to solve for past many years and it is poverty. Poverty means lack of access to or lack of ability to afford basic personal needs. Poverty is related to economy and society. It is said that India is rich country of poor people.
We know that due to the lack of basic needs and over population, the nation has constantly faced difficulties in fulfilling needs of every citizen. Let us go along with some basic facts. India is the second most populous country in the world with a population of 133.92 crores after china (138.64 crores) according to 2017 population census. Out of these 133.92 crores , about 2/3 rd of our population lives in poverty which is around 89.28 crores of people, if estimated.
These people lack access to basic needs of clothing, shelter and food, sufficient drinking water , electricity, and proper garbage disposal. As a result, they have poor hygiene conditions which cause diseases. Poverty stricken children are at high risk in such situations, and thus, die due to lack of good hygiene and proper healthcare facilities.
Children suffer from malnutrition due to lack of enough food. this is also a reason behind high infant mortality rate in the country. People at times die of hunger. Furthre on, poverty leads parents to push their children into child labour in a bid to make ends meet. Due to this, children lose their childhood at a very early age. Poverty stricken people also lack access to education.
The first step to reduce poverty would thus be to ensure that basic needs of all people are met. The second concern would be providing mode of income. Providing free health care and education is very important. However, due to increase in population, and decrease in employment, the nation is going through tough times. There has been an increase in our needs, coupled with lack of income. There is thus an utmost need to bring population under control.
Our country is a developing country. The entire society needs to be brought to an equal level. There should not be any discrimination. We must work together to make India poverty-free and assure that no one goes to sleep empty stomach. For years, governments as well as the non-government organizations have been working hard to reduce poverty. As a society, it is every citizen’s responsibility to not ignore these social problems and take a call on them immediately!
