THE speech of the Prime Minister as reported in Indian Express (May 24, 2007) gives a clear indication of his frustration and guilty conscience for not having stepped further in improving the lot of the poor (aam aadmi) in any sphere of life. So he has reverted to give sermons to the corporate and other wealthy people.
He wants to remind people of the 19th century days where the maxim used to be ?Sada jeewan uchh vichar? (simple living high thinking).
In 21st century it has gradually developed into ?lavish living and polluted thinking?. But this era of materialism, consumerism and lavish living can be said to be the result of growing economy brought by open, liberal, global policies required for acquiring higher rate of GDP growth, the only success of the Prime Minister, which is highlighted in three years reporting card.
The Prime Minister himself very well knows that these sermons are not going to work because the political class are themselves indulging in vulgar show of wealth and lavish style of living as depicted on the celebration of their birthdays and all other ceremonial occasions. His government is also shielding the corrupt and criminals.
The corporate people are indulging in these anti-social acts of vulgar show of wealth and high lifestyle out of their own known sources of income but not so of the political class, who are doing it out of money grabbed by corruption and scandals.
Now there is corruption to show status in the society by lavish spending and vulgar show of wealth no matter how it is grabbed. This is the main cause of corruption in every field and at all levels.
The desire of the Prime Minister can be fullfilled only if the representatives of the people who have taken the oath of serving the people with honest and integrity can set an example before the nation by following the maxim of sada jeewan uchh vichar as propounded by Gandhiji.
The Prime Minister and his government has to adjudge the progress of the country not by the figure of GDP but by the improvement in the figure of poverty, illiteracy, health etc of the poor of the country and not only announcing sops for a particular class, who they think will bring them to power in the next election.
The Congress has done exactly this in the half century after Independence?Sympathy and empty slogans ?garibi hatao? to the poor and sops to wealthy and others.
This is going to result in deceiving own self and no betterment of the ?aam admi.?
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