Duty not over:

May 3/2016 : In a sense, Venezuela, a petroleum producing and exporting country, has shown the way. Its president, Nicolas Maduro, has marked May Day this time with a 30 per cent increase in minimum wages. This was his socialist government’s gesture to ease the problems of the people caught in high inflation and economic stagnation that led to massive social unrest, protests and strikes in recent times. The gesture also comes over and above another hike in minimum wages by 21 per cent which was made effective early March. What is notable is that this pro-poor measure comes at a time when Venezuela’s economy is caught in the global slump in oil prices, oil being the mainstay of the nation’s earnings. The nation that has one of the world’s large oil reserves and is a leading exporter of oil is hard-pressed for cash.But that is not preventing it from tightening its purse when it comes to the welfare of the people.

In our country, the plight of the ordinary man is worsening by the day, but not much of governmental efforts are in sight. Granting that reforms are the way forward to rev up the economy, the first priority for any government worth its salt is to attend to the problems of the common man. It must also be stressed and clearly understood that 'reforms' do not mean giving more power to the corporate sector alone. Reforms must first and foremost be done in ways as would help the larger mass of people manage their lives in better ways. In India, however, economic reforms and other governmental steps are aimed to benefit the well-heeled and the corporate entities. The benefits of the so called reforms do not seem to reach the poor in any manner. When the poor can have a better existence, they are inclined to save a part of their income. Next comes their obvious desire to climb the social ladder with this saved wealth. This gets manifest in acquiring luxuries and services that did not touch their lives till such time, which in turn gives a genuine and sustained boost to economic activities. The true form of 'reforms' is visible only at that juncture.

India when seen in this backdrop seems bizarre. For instance, when every country is bringing down the price of oil in domestic markets, consequent on the fall in international oil prices, we are neither willing to do so nor are capable of rising to the occasion. The government’s silence in this matter is deafening. If fuel prices were brought down, matching with the fall in global prices, it would have helped the ordinary Indian raise his standard of living.  Transport costs would have come down, food would have been cheaper, and the poor who have a hand-to-mouth existence could breathe easy and have had a better life. It is only in such climes that business and industry thrive and grow. Reforms, intended for the rich, will never succeed when the populace is economically stressed. Today, contrary to global conditions, in India prices of essential commodities are constantly rising, health bills are going sky-high, and even water seems is no more within reach of the common man.

In fact, reducing the domestic oil prices would have helped as high as 80 per cent of the population. In this country, the segment of the population that is poor is much larger than that of the rich or the middle class.  The middle class is hard-pressed too; they are mostly formed of those who are slightly above the poverty level and have difficulty to make both ends meet. Ignoring the interests of the people can happen only at the peril of those who run the affairs of the country. That is against the spirit of democracy too. A government is granted a five-year term in office, but that is no insurance that it can ignore the interests of the people and enjoy. No government can have the luxury of a free lane for five years.

As the Venezuelan example shows, when we vote, our duty is not over. It is also our duty to make sure that the government listens to our problems in the interim period, between elections. Struggle on the streets, if need be. We as a people have to be pro-active if only to protect our collective and individual interests. Venezuela as a petrol exporting nation is facing a serious crisis, but people’s interests are still at the centre of its scheme of things. Repeated raise in minimum wages is proof of that. What is to be noted is also that a referendum on President Maduro’s continuation in power is set to take place by year-end. He has no choice but to care for the people. Here, in our country, we are not able to give basic existential things to the people at affordable costs, even as that’s the minimum that is expected of governments. Our people too are to blame for bringing upon themselves this kind of a set of people to govern. Forget the big-ticket reforms. Forget GST. Forget land law amendment. All that can wait.

First things, first. 

People first.