Action plan soon to prevent deaths from diarrhoea, pneumonia / AARTI DHAR

The Centre will soon launch an action plan against diarrhoea and pneumonia in four States, including Rajasthan. The aim is to end preventable child deaths from these two by 2025. As high as 36 per cent of all child deaths, below the age of 5, in India are caused by these two conditions.

India accounts for the highest number of diarrhoea and pneumonia deaths among children in the world with over 2 lakh children dying of diarrhoea and over 3.8 lakh children of pneumonia annually, accounting for the mortality of 4 in every 10 children under-five.

The highest burden is being borne by the poorest sections of society.

The four States where the India Action Plan for Diarrhoea and Pneumonia will be rolled out — Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan — account for half of under-five mortality in the country which stands at 62 deaths per 1,000 live births nationally. The under-five mortality rate of Rajasthan is 59 per 1,000 live births.

Launch next month

The action plan, likely to be launched next month, is a follow-up of the Global Action Plan for Diarrhoea and Pneumonia that was launched by WHO and UNICEF in April 2013 which aims to reduce pneumonia mortality to less than 3 per 1,000 live births, diarrhoea deaths to less than 1 per 1,000 live births, reduce incidence of severe pneumonia and diarrhoea by 75 per cent compared to 2010 levels and reduce by 40 per cent the global number who are stunted as compared to 2010 levels by 2025.

While India has taken several measures to reduce maternal and child mortality over the years, including launching of the National Rural Health Mission; Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child Health plus Adolescent programme and the India Newborn Action Plan to end preventable newborn deaths, the success in reducing under-five mortality has not been uniform.

Seven States have achieved the MDG-4 target of U5MR of 38 per 1,000 live births and nine States are showing a decline of more than the national average.

While Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have achieved the MDG target, the rate of decline is 7.3 per cent in Rajasthan, 5.6 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 7 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 6 per cent in Bihar.

Twenty per cent districts in Rajasthan have shown an increase in U5MR between 2010-11 and 2012-13 in the annual health surveys.

Collaboration

The WHO and UNICEF have been entrusted to collaborate with the respective governments in implementing the action plan which is not a new project or a programme but a framework for strengthening coordination of existing interventions where the coverage remains low like in exclusive breastfeeding (39 per cent), vitamin A supplement (75 per cent), DTP3 immunisation (83 per cent), measles immunization (84 per cent), HiB 3 immunisation (43 per cent) and other interventions like access to antibiotics and ORS solutions, sanitation, better living condition, hand wash and clean drinking water.

Since diarrhoea and pneumonia are caused by multiple pathogens, no single intervention, including vaccine, will help in protecting children.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/action-plan-soon-to-prevent-deaths-from-diarrhoea-pneumonia/article6726609.ece

‘Coral bleaching in Pacific may become worst die-off in 20 years’ / KARL MATHIESEN

Scientists warn extreme sea temperatures could cause a “historic” coral reef die-off around the world over the coming months, following a massive coral bleaching already under way in the North Pacific. Experts said the coral die-off could be the worst in nearly two decades.

Reports of severe bleaching have been accumulating in the inbox of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch programme since July.

A huge swathe of the Pacific has already been affected, including the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, Kiribati and Florida. Some areas have recorded serious bleaching for the first time.

“On a global scale it’s a major bleaching event. What it may be is the beginning of a historic event,” said Coral Reef Watch coordinator Dr. Mark Eakin.

Thermal stress

In the Marshall Islands, bleaching of unprecedented severity is suspected to have hit most of the country’s 34 atolls and islands. The Guardian witnessed devastated expanses of coral that look like forests covered with snow. Warm water will soon begin hitting reefs in the southern Pacific and the Indian Ocean as the seasons and currents shift. Dr. Eakin said coral watch modelling predicts bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as early as January. Bleaching is caused by persistent increases in sea surface temperature. Just 1°C of warming lasting a week or more can be enough to cause long-term breakdown of reef ecosystems.

The worst coral bleaching event on record is a mass die-off during 1998. A massive El Niño event combined with climate change to raise global sea and air temperatures to never-before-recorded levels and killed around 15 per cent of the world’s corals.

Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a coral reef expert from the University of Queensland, said the current bleaching event was on track to be as bad or worse than 1998.

“Many coral reef scientists are expecting something similar to 1997-98 to unfold in the next six to 12 months.” Dr. Eakin said. Even under a weak El Niño, bleaching could continue until 2016 — lasting twice as long as the 1998 event. High sea surface temperatures due to climate change are making El Niño a less decisive factor in coral bleaching.

Initial analysis of the Guardian ’s photos from the Marshallese atoll of Arno showed its reefs could be added to the fast-growing list of seriously affected places. In less extreme temperatures, bleached coral may not die completely. But Karl Fellenius, a coral reef manager from the University of Hawaii said that in the Marshall Islands “it’s looking like the thermal stress was so profound that the corals died within days of getting bleached.” This does not augur well for the future of the world’s reefs under climate change. “The real problem is that recovery from a major bleaching event can take decades and these events keep coming back every 10 years or less. [Reefs] just don’t have time to recover,” said Dr. Eakin. The combined effect of rising temperatures and sea levels could mean the end for coral reefs in the next 50 years, said Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/coral-bleaching-in-pacific-may-become-worst-dieoff-in-20-years/article6714110.ece

Agricultural Households in Debt

A little over half of India's agricultural households were in debt, with 40 per cent of the dues from non-institutional lenders, during agricultural year 2012-13 (July to June), according to a official survey.

This 'Situation assessment survey of agricultural households' showed 51.9 per cent of all agricultural households were indebted, with the average amount of unpaid dues being Rs 47,000.

Conducted by the National Sample Survey Office, this should not be confused with a Census, as these figures would provide only broadly representative data. For instance, the survey was conducted in 4,529 of India's 638,000 villages. It covered 35,000 agricultural households.

Among the major states, Andhra Pradesh had the highest share of indebted agricultural households in the country (92.9 per cent), followed by Telangana (89.1 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (82.5) per cent.

About 60 per cent of the loans dues were taken from the institutional sources. About 42.9 per cent were from banks, 4.8 per cent from cooperatives and 2.1 per cent from the government, among other institutional sources. About 40 per cent of loans were received from non-institutional lenders - 25.8 per cent were from money lenders.

Meanwhile, another survey on 'Debt and investment in India' showed non-institutional agencies played a major role in advancing of credit to households, particularly in rural India. This covered the period of January-December 2013 and sought responses from 4,529 villages in rural areas and 3,507 urban blocks. Non-institutional agencies had given credit to 19 per cent of rural households, while institutional agencies had done so to 17 per cent.

In urban India, institutional agencies had advanced credit to 15 per cent of households, against 10 per cent by non-institutional ones.

The institutional agencies played a significant role in providing credit to households with a moderate rate of interest (six to 15 per cent) for both rural and urban areas. Among total cash dues funded by institutional agencies, 89 per cent in the rural and 92 per cent in the urban areas were provided at less than 15 per cent interest.

On the other hand, non-institutional agencies provided a significant amount of its total loans to households at an interest rate of 20 per cent or above. The share of such loans to the total by non-institutional agencies was 69 per cent in rural areas and 58 per cent in urban ones.

---

AGRI ARREARS

• 2.6 per cent of agricultural households own less than 0.01 hectares (ha) of land
• Among the agri households having less than 0.01 ha land, about 56 per cent gets wage/salary employment as the principal source of income and another 23 per cent depends on livestock as their principal source of income
• A third of agri households own up to 0.4 ha
• A majority of agricultural households which possess more than 0.4 ha has cultivation as the principal source of income
• About 63.5 per cent of agri households has cultivation as the principal source of income. About 22 per cent has wage/salaried employment as the principal source
• About 44 per cent of agri households has a job card of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
• About 12 per cent of agri households do not possess a ration card
• A Below Poverty Line card is possessed by about 36 per cent of agri households and another five per cent has Antyodaya cards
• About 13 per cent of agri households having less than 0.01 ha do not have a ration card

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/half-of-farm-households-in-debt-114122200074_1.html

लड़की को लकड़ियाँ इकठ्ठा करते देखा है

मुझे याद नहीं मैंने पानी को रोते कब देखा था
धुंए को सिगार सुलगाते कब,
लेकिन याद है लड़की को लकड़ियाँ इकठ्ठा करते देखना.

पहले उसने लकड़ियाँ बीनी
अरमानों की चिता पे फेरे ले मुंह फेरा
और अंत तक सतीत्व बचाती रही,
सती होने.

मैंने लड़की को चिता की लकड़ियाँ इकठ्ठा करते देखा है.

Why have people accepted Batman over other superheroes?

1.)Batman is natural :- You see Batman is the one who does not have any special power and does not even need any. That is, he is not bit by a spider (Spiderman), neither is he a mutant (X-Men) and nor he is from other planet (Superman) . He is just a Homo Sapien as you and me. On the other hand not even a gifted one, as everyone dear to him was taken away at very early stages of his life. His parents were shot dead in front of his eyes . 

2.)Batman is about PAIN :- Bruce Wayne had a deep cut in his heart about his parents . He was left with nothing, but a hollow Wayne Manor and his dearly Butler Mr. Alfred .

3.)Batman is about DEDICATION :- Bruce Wayne did not become Batman because he was destined to be so, but he bent himself in a way so that he could become a hero . He had only one thing in mind and that is "Vengeance". He had to avenge the death of his parents, and that kept him motivated and each time he tried to push himself over the edge .

4.)Batman is about LEARNING :- The Batman, may be the strongest, but each time and after every fight, he learns, he teaches himself something new. Who could forget the famous  "WELL SCENE" in which Bruce Wayne defeats his biggest enemy "THE FEAR FOR DEATH" .

5.)Batman is about ETHICS :-The Batman never gives up what he actually stands for and that is JUSTICE . There were a few of them who could really shake The Batman .Especially The Joker needs a mention over here, The Joker killed Rachel, infected Harvey Dent and finally destroyed Peace in Gotham yet The Batman having a chance to kill him, did not do so, for the reason he stands since by the law it is illegal to kill someone, even that someone be as monstrous as The Joker .

6.)Batman is about connecting the masses:-And now you tell me how many of you get inspired after watching him . I am sure most of you . This was all what Batman stands for, he is a symbol to bring within the heroism from you, me and all of us . Each time I do anything I try to connect myself with him as -
A hero can be anyone, even someone who turns off lights and fans while leaving a room .
A hero can be anyone, even someone who pays his taxes on time so that equity exists in the society.

7.)And finally, Batman is not at all about comparisons :- Batman is a symbol, he always needed more and more number of people to get inspired from him and not fighting among themselves for knowing who is the better one . So stop comparing and bring out the Dark Knight within you .

Read more answers Here.

Swachh Bharat and Sanitation / Agnikalam

Nirmal remained unattained. Now we want to graduate to swachh, also a laudable objective if its broad contours are to be imagined. To begin let me ask rather obviously, was there any centrally sponsored nirmal scheme that went to local - as opposed to state - governments, which central ministries were responsible, has there been any impact assessment of programmes undertaken under nirmal, and have states been pursued regarding their promise to set up state finance commissions to ensure constitutionally guaranteed financing of municipal and panchayat programmes? Or is swachh to turn out to be another unfulfilled wish?

It is one thing to expect the middle class not to litter Indian streets. But the depth of the problem lies elsewhere. Unless all Indians are assured a basic right in relieving themselves decently and in privacy, that is, have access to at least septic tank or slab/open pit, leave alone modern latrines, how could they be expected to throw their garbage in bins, presuming, of course, that adequate number of bins are provided?

Coming to brass tacks, let us examine relevant figures. Based on Census 2011, table 1 reveals that about one-fifth of urban and more than two-thirds of rural households do not have in-house facilities; most of them use open fields. Table 2 lists the top 10 states' shares of night soil removal by humans, one of the most degrading human occupations. Unsurprisingly, by far the highest occurrence is in Uttar Pradesh, though surprisingly dismal performance persist also in rural West Bengal and urban Tamil Nadu. Rural conditions of Jammu and Kashmir are also poor, noteworthy in light of pre-election promises being made to Kashmiris on development.

Using Census 2011 should not be terribly erroneous in light of little improvement over time. A 2014 World Health Organization-Unicef cross-country comparison in table 3 lists the top 10 countries that have achieved the highest reduction in open defecation since 1990 as a percentage of population. In the sub-continent, it shows a rapid decline in open defecation in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Reflecting the numbers on the use of open fields in table 1, it is not surprising that India does not feature in table 3 at all, while Sri Lanka does not feature for the opposite reason that there is likely to be little open defecation there. Also to be observed are that Ethiopia's reduction is most striking, while Bangladesh, Peru and Vietnam have rapidly reduced their incidence to single digits.

In table 4, the same source reveals that India's inclusion significantly worsens southern Asia's performance between 1990-2012 or 2000-12. Clearly, India has been, and continues to be, an outlier by far. As one indicator, 12 per cent of rural plus urban southern Asia other than India uses open defecation. But since in India it is 48 per cent, southern Asia's number jumps to 38 per cent once India is included in it! Indeed, globally, India represents almost 60 per cent of open defecation.

Thus, the statistics for India on sanitation, in the above discussion on latrines in particular, are no less than shocking. Should any policymaker expect swachh Bharat from those who suffer such ignominy through life? The answer is decidedly in the negative, and even less so from those who hand carry excreta through urban and village streets, not unusually the subject of mockery for being of a low caste. These very fundamental challenges have to be addressed through rational allocation of financial resources to the appropriate level of government, ex ante and ex post impact assessment (IA) and tight monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of an intelligently designed Swachh Bharat programme.

Implementation of the programme has to be followed by wide induction in awareness of the dignity of labour and social equity more broadly. When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi iterated, "Karo pahale, kaho pichhe", he actually cleaned out night soil of the Bihar Harijan, or so my generation was taught in junior school. In that light, by the time the joy of middle to high school came to be experienced, tasks following Gandhi's example were meted out to us to be applied in urban slums. Rhetorically, how many children are going through a culture of this kind of activity today?

In sum, Swachh Bharat is a correct policy revival but will fail unless buttressed by a robust, palpable implementation structure. The prime minister has to show his mettle by revealing his plan to make India clean and smart. Luckily, there exists a handful of municipalities from where one could derive inspiration. One such is the 2013-14 Budget of Berhampur Municipal Corporation in Ganjam district of Odisha that details its Budget allocation in garbage collection, solid waste management, drainage, public toilet, water supply, housing, roads and bridges, street lighting, parks, livelihood, infrastructure and project assistance. It elaborates that it wants mandatory public disclosure of documents and allocation, to ensure citizen participation - common in developed societies - increase allocation for the urban poor, and for basic services including water, garbage, drainage and public toilets, and implement a development outcome budget to ensure effective government management and accountability. It is rejuvenating for it sets an example for other local governments to follow. Central government bureaucrats should pick up such examples consistently and give concrete shape to the prime minister's vision though the leadership in this endeavour has to continue to be his.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/agnikalam-anatomy-of-aswachh-bharat-and-alchemy-to-swachh-114121600972_1.html

ओ रे बाबा हम चाँदी नहीं माँगते / पीयूष मिश्रा

ओ रे बाबा हम चाँदी नहीं माँगते
ओ रे बाबा हम सोना नहीं माँगते
हम हीरे का खज़ाना नहीं माँगते
गर हम कुछ माँगते माँगते हैं तो अपना हक
माँगते माँगते माँगते

हम यूँ ही कट जाना नहीं माँगते
हम यूँ ही जल जाना नहीं माँगते
हम यूँ ही मर जाना नहीं माँगते
गर हम कुछ माँगते माँगते हैं तो अपना हक
माँगते माँगते माँगते

पोप सुन लो ज़रा, तुम भी ये दासताँ
हमने सीखी है ये, गैलिलियो की ज़ुबाँ
धर्म तुम्हारा था, हज़्ज़ारों साल से
आज हमारा है, ऐसा उसने कहा
हम स्वर्ग-नरक का फ़साना नहीं माँगते
उलझा हुआ ताना-बाना नहीं माँगते
गर हम कुछ माँगते माँगते हैं तो अपना हक
माँगते माँगते माँगते

हम जीने का बहाना नहीं माँगते
हम गुज़रा ज़माना नहीं माँगते
हम बासी ये तराना नहीं माँगते
गर हम कुछ...

ओ ज़मींदार भई, तूने जो ज़ुल्म किए
इक-इक करके सभी हमने मालूम किए
झूठा लगान था, झूठा फ़रमान था
झूठी हर बात थी, झूठा हर दाम था
हम झूठा लगान चुकाना नहीं माँगते
खेतों में बारूद उगाना नहीं माँगते
गर हम कुछ माँगते माँगते हैं तो अपना हक
माँगते माँगते माँगते

भूखे बच्चों को रुलाना नहीं माँगते
हम फेंका हुआ खाना नहीं माँगते
अब हम थक जाना नहीं माँगते
गर हम कुछ...

bilateral investment protection agreemen

The finance ministry has finalised a proposal for a model bilateral investment treaty to replace the current Bipa (bilateral investment protection agreement). The model will provide protection only to companies and natural persons  with substantial business activity in their home country. The move will help prevent treaty shopping, the practice of multinational companies taking advantage of more favourable tax jurisdictions (also known as tax havens).

The proposed model would require the enterprise to have substantial operations in India and would exclude claims of indirect or minority shareholders. It would only entertain the claims of investors with at least 50 per cent stake or the right to appoint a majority of the directors or senior management personnel.

The model draft proposal has also made it clear that tax measures will be excluded from the BIT (bilateral investment treaty). In simple terms, this means no tax measure introduced by the host country will be subject to any dispute settlement under the BIT.

The new model clearly defines government for the first time to include only the central and state governments and not activities of any local government.

[ ALSO READ: India to replace BIPA with a new pact to protect investments ]

The proposed model agreement plans to remove some of the broad obligations found in the current Bipa model, which gives arbitral tribunals wide latitude to interpret provisions. So, the most favoured nation obligation would be removed.

The new model would introduce an early review mechanism to dismiss frivolous claims leading to significant costs. It also establishes a mechanism under which a host country can pursue counter claims against foreign investors for their illegal conduct.

Under the Bipa, the exceptional provisions to preserve the right of the state to develop policies in accordance with national interest are limited. It contains only one exception: essential security interest. The new model broadens the scope to include protection of the environment, conservation of natural resources, stability and integrity of the financial system, public health and safety, and improving working conditions, amongst others.

Under the proposed model of investor-state dispute settlement, the aggrieved party should exhaust all adminstrative and judicial procedures within a specified time frame within the country before the claim can be submitted for arbitration. Upon exhaustion of these remedies, the investor will have to engage in consultation with the host state to find a solution for one year. Failure to go through this process will lead to the investor being barred from pursuing investor-state arbitration.

The proposed model would also balance investor rights with their obligations under the domestic law. So, it does not provide any protection to investors who violate core obligations under the law.

A new model agreement was needed by the government as there had been a substantial increase in the amount of disputes under Bipa. The number of disputes went up to 550 in 2012. In that year, 58 new cases were initiated, the highest in a single year.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/new-look-bipa-won-t-let-mncs-milk-tax-havens-114121501080_1.html

Section 309 / Rajeev Dhavan

The Union government has decided to decriminalise suicide. A funny interpretation could well be that the Modi government can now commit hara kiri with impunity. But it should be noted that the cases under Section 309, which criminalises suicide, are haphazard, often concealing abetment to murder.

Philosophically, it is argued that the right to life includes the right to die without provocation or abetment by anyone else. In a development that could be traced back to the Wolfenden Committee report of 1957, England ended the criminalisation of suicide in 1961. Countries across the world followed suit. There is also concern about a duty to the sanctity of life. The law does not recognise a duty to save. But we need not get drawn into that controversy. We are concerned with the narrower issue of punishing a failed suicide attempt with imprisonment of up to one year or a fine or both. The offence of suicide is cognisable. A policeman is empowered to go to the hospital where the individual who attempted suicide is recovering, arrest him, and put him through the torture of criminal proceedings at a time when he is already emotionally fragile. In 1970, the Law Commission’s 42nd report recommended repeal and found it “monstrous… to inflict further suffering on even a single individual who has already found life unbearable, and happiness so slender”. In 1972, a bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, and discussed in a joint committee that lapsed in 1979.

Politics failed to humanise this provision. The matter was then addressed by the high courts. Bombay (1987) and Delhi (1985) struck down the provision, while Andhra Pradesh (1983) did not. The matter reached the Supreme Court in P. Rathinam vs Union of India (1994), which, in a sprawling and untidy judgment, struck down the provision. But some Supreme Court judges, including Justice J.S. Verma, felt that the right to die was inconsistent with “life and liberty”. This was consecrated in Gian Kaur vs The State of Punjab (1996), though the latter suffered from faulty logic and misplaced concerns.

Incidents of suicide increased from 73,911 in 1990 to 1,68,593 in 2000. But these reported cases are the tip of the iceberg. Newspapers reported more incidents, each more troubling than the last. After Gian Kaur, the judiciary failed to address the issue. The Law Commission’s 210th report wanted the provision struck down and now, the Modi government has stepped in to cover the judiciary’s inadequacy in this area.

The proposed amendment was supported by 18 states and four Union Territories. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi continued to resist decriminalisation with no coherent argument of principle. But the most interesting aspect of the proposal is that it was linked to Section 124(1) of the mental health bill, which laid down that “the person who attempts to commit suicide shall ordinarily be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have a mental illness and not be subject to any investigation or prosecution”. The wording of this section is clumsy. It cannot be that if the person is shown to not have a mental illness, he gets neither medical help nor immunity from prosecution.

Not all individuals attempting suicide are mentally ill in the narrow sense of the word. They may suffer from frustration, despair about living, health, debt, poverty, romance or shame, failure, depression. The instances I have culled from newspapers show that all are “sane” human beings who feel that they cannot continue living. This is not to suggest that people attempting suicide do not require medical or psychiatric help. They need support to regain their self-esteem. It is precisely because such people are not ill in the conventional sense that we omit to include them within the purview of welfare or medical care. Alas, the strains of everyday life mean that humanity has gone missing in India’s increasingly competitive and cruel society.

Euthanasia is not to be confused with suicide. Justice M. Katju’s somewhat unsatisfactory judgment on euthanasia in Aruna Shanbaug’s case (2011) did not find approval in Common Cause (A Registered Society) vs Union Of India (2014), which was referred to a larger bench on the grounds that Katju had misconstrued Gian Kaur’s case, which validated suicide and permitted passive euthanasia. Hopefully, the larger bench will examine the issues of suicide and euthanasia for the terminally ill who cannot decide for themselves. But the judiciary is not in sync with the times on these matters.

We are still left with an important issue. To punish attempted suicide is wrong. But what do we do in cases where someone else provokes or abets the suicide? Surely, the abettor, and anyone he is in conspiracy with, are guilty of homicide? That is why Section 305 of the Indian Penal Code deals with abetment of the suicide of a child or insane person. The charge invites death, life or other terms of imprisonment and a fine. Section 306 deals with abetment of suicide where the abettor, if guilty, may be awarded 10 years and a fine. The Delhi and Bombay courts felt that while suicide should be decriminalised, abetment to suicide should remain on the statute books.

Those who drive a person to suicide are criminals and  not to be spared. We see this in dowry death cases. But since 1986, there has been a direct provision, Section 304B, where punishment is not less than seven years and goes up to a life term. The mandatory seven years creates a problem, making judges reluctant to convict under 304B. A similar problem has arisen with minimum sentences under acts protecting SCs and STs.

How is the law to be changed? No fancy footwork is required on this through mental health legislation. What is needed is a simple clause replacing Section 309. An amendment to the IPC should simply state Section 309 of the IPC is repealed. The inhuman provisions criminalising suicide should have been replaced decades ago. On this, the Modi government has stolen a march over its predecessors. But we must withhold comment till the decriminalisation of suicide is actually enacted.

The writer is a senior advocate at the Supreme Court

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/309-reasons-why/99/#sthash.u4Cnogs2.dpuf

तब तुम क्या करोगे / ओमप्रकाश वाल्‍मीकि

यदि तुम्हें,
धकेलकर गांव से बाहर कर दिया जाय
पानी तक न लेने दिया जाय कुएं से
दुत्कारा फटकारा जाय चिल-चिलाती दोपहर में
कहा जाय तोड़ने को पत्थर
काम के बदले
दिया जाय खाने को जूठन
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

• • 
    

यदि तुम्हें,
मरे जानवर को खींचकर
ले जाने के लिए कहा जाय
और
कहा जाय ढोने को
पूरे परिवार का मैला
पहनने को दी जाय उतरन
तब तुम क्या करोगे ?
 

• • 
    

यदि तुम्हें,
पुस्तकों से दूर रखा जाय
जाने नहीं दिया जाय
विद्या मंदिर की चौखट तक
ढिबरी की मंद रोशनी में
काली पुती दीवारों पर
ईसा की तरह टांग दिया जाय
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

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यदि तुम्हें,
रहने को दिया जाय
फूस का कच्चा घर
वक्त-बे-वक्त फूंक कर जिसे
स्वाहा कर दिया जाय
बर्षा की रातों में
घुटने-घुटने पानी में
सोने को कहा जाय
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

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यदि तुम्हें,
नदी के तेज बहाव में
उल्टा बहना पड़े
दर्द का दरवाजा खोलकर
भूख से जूझना पड़े
भेजना पड़े नई नवेली दुल्हन को
पहली रात ठाकुर की हवेली
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

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यदि तुम्हें,
अपने ही देश में नकार दिया जाय
मानकर बंधुआ
छीन लिए जायं अधिकार सभी
जला दी जाय समूची सभ्यता तुम्हारी
नोच-नोच कर
फेंक दिए जाएं
गौरव में इतिहास के पृष्ठ तुम्हारे
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

• • 
    

यदि तुम्हें,
वोट डालने से रोका जाय
कर दिया जाय लहू-लुहान
पीट-पीट कर लोकतंत्र के नाम पर
याद दिलाया जाय जाति का ओछापन
दुर्गन्ध भरा हो जीवन
हाथ में पड़ गये हों छाले
फिर भी कहा जाय
खोदो नदी नाले
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

• • 
    

यदि तुम्हें ,
सरे आम बेइज्जत किया जाय
छीन ली जाय संपत्ति तुम्हारी
धर्म के नाम पर
कहा जाय बनने को देवदासी
तुम्हारी स्त्रियों को
कराई जाय उनसे वेश्यावृत्ति
तब तुम क्या करोगे?
 

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साफ सुथरा रंग तुम्हारा
झुलस कर सांवला पड़ जायेगा
खो जायेगा आंखों का सलोनापन
तब तुम कागज पर
नहीं लिख पाओगे
सत्यम, शिवम, सुन्दरम!
देवी-देवताओं के वंशज तुम
हो जाओगे लूले लंगड़े और अपाहिज
जो जीना पड़ जाय युगों-युगों तक
मेरी तरह?
तब तुम क्या करोगे?