The uber rich in India are a class apart. The top 1% of the country own approximately 60% of the nation's wealth. They have special unwritten privileges. While hundreds of farmers in distress commit suicide, as they cannot pay back farm loans, the rich default on several thousands of crores of rupees and go scot free. The recent case of the privileged TV moghul getting a 99.7% haircut on his Rs 22,006 cr loan, is in stark contrast to the miserable treatment we mete out to poor farmers who cannot pay their loans. The common man too doesn't get any better treatment. If he defaults on one installment of his loan, he is harassed like a criminal, and if he cannot pay back the loan, they take away even his bed. On the other hand privileged people like Ram Rahim keep getting parole virtually every other month. The poor do not have the money or clout to get parole and so languish in jail for years. Privileged people even have special access for 'darshan'. It would benefit everyone if the gods are taken to visit the homes of the privileged instead.
ROBERT CASTELLINO, Calangute/Mumbai
