Indian reality hidden in the glow of statistics
The government has launched certain poverty-eradication measures. But what happens to the Indians killed in Kuwait and to those such as Kaushalendra?
Name of the deceased: Kaushalendra Yadav. Father’s name: Vinod Kumar. Age: Around 27 years. Resident: Village Milik. Police Station: Kurra. District: Mainpuri. Current address: Rented room in Amit Yadav’s house in Kondli village. Police station: Knowledge Park, Gautam Budh Nagar.
These details are from a daily diary entry from June 18 at the Knowledge Park police station, recording the death of a security guard likely due to a heat stroke. Kaushalendra had reportedly been suffering from a fever. When his condition deteriorated despite preliminary care at home, a colleague took him to a “Bengali doctor” who advised immediate hospitalisation. Kaushalendra’s brother-in-law Abhishek got him admitted to JIMS, where he succumbed in about three hours.
Kaushalendra’s story epitomises the helplessness a significant portion of our country’s population experiences.
Kaushalendra was young, married and had children. He would have come to this metropolis, leaving his wife and kids back home, hoping to ensure a better future for them by toiling here. Deaths such as these expose the harsh realities swept under the carpet of glowing statistics used for political propaganda.
Kaushalendra was a security guard at an upper-class housing society. He may have had to work 12 hours daily with no protection from the scorching sun. The day he died, the temperature had soared past 45 degrees Celsius, making every breath a struggle. He belonged to an ever-growing workforce that has flourished in the past 20 years — a silent fraternity expected to be watchful, present, alert, and vigilant all the time.
People seek to sleep in peace by hiring them. But what do these people who stand guard to such peace get in return? A paltry ₹15,000 per month.
Kaushalendra was born into a caste that is politically dominant in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. The late Mulayam Singh Yadav represented Mainpuri in Parliament for many years. His daughter-in-law Dimple now represents the constituency in the Lok Sabha. Our politicians contest elections based on symbolism. But what is the state of those who trust them and vote? The fate of thousands of unfortunate people, like Kaushalendra, provides the perfect answer to this question.
According to the Union health ministry, between March 1 and June 20, close to 40,000 persons suffered heat stroke. Of them, 143 died. The majority of them must have been poor. Why? Another data point offers the answer: Last Sunday, 75 people were admitted to Delhi’s government hospitals with symptoms of heat stroke. Most were daily-wage workers, delivery boys, or elderly people. In the name of seasonal jobs, we have produced new victims of severe weather.
According to a Niti Aayog report, 248.2 million Indians have escaped multidimensional poverty between 2014 and 2023. Multidimensional poverty has declined in states such as UP, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. (Multidimensional poverty, as per the official definition, is a condition where a person is deprived not just of income but also of access to land, housing, health care, clean drinking water, education, and power, among other things). Kaushalendra didn’t suffer multidimensional poverty by this definition.
There is no doubt that we are one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. However, according to a World Inequality Lab report, India is likewise seeing new levels of economic inequality.
One of the greatest issues the poor and disadvantaged face is that many of them must migrate to urban centres to sustain themselves and their dependents. According to the last census, 33% of the Indian population, or 453.6 million people, had to move from one state to another to earn a living. According to another survey, 18 million Indians work abroad. Not every one of them is a CEO or a senior executive at a multinational corporation. Many live a hand-to-mouth existence. The stories that emerged after a fire accident in Kuwait about a fortnight ago illustrate this. A fire that engulfed the building that served as the living quarters of workers killed 45 Indians.
The government has launched certain poverty-eradication measures. But what happens to the Indians killed in Kuwait and to those such as Kaushalendra? The situation raises serious questions. And the world’s largest democracy needs answers to these.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
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