Every Diwali, I am reminded of two disturbing scenes from the past. The first incident came to light on 12 November 2007 during the visit of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Moscow. I went to Moscow to cover this trip with other journalists. The Indian embassy arranged dinner for some people at “Naseeruddin”. The restaurant’s two claims to fame are the ballet and cuisine of Central Asia. A young girl was performing. Her lovely eyes expressed a sense of sadness. I was unknown at that time. That I would soon be in a different scene and it would be quite the opposite, a moment that stuck in my mind forever.
We had dinner, got into our cars and headed towards the Moskva River. Both sides of the wide streets were lined with skyscrapers. When the car suddenly stopped at a traffic light, I saw an elderly woman with an arched back, leaning on a stick and trying to cross the road. The brutal Moscow winter had begun and it was snowing. She struggled to move forward in the suffocating cold under the shadows of huge buildings. She was finally surrounded by those shadows, the stillness and the cold. Three days ago, after celebrating Diwali, the festival of wealth, we flew from New Delhi to Moscow, where most of the world’s neo-rich live. In addition to erasing socialism in this nation, capitalism also doomed that old lady to live in a permanent shadow of misfortune.
The next incident took place in Delhi about five years later, two days before Diwali. I had taken a late night flight from Ranchi. I saw a woman returning home with her young child on the road right next to a five-star hotel in Chanakyapuri. I’m not sure how far they have to go. There are no settlements for the poor around this wealthy diplomatic area. It seemed that the mother and son were being swallowed by the shadows of the tall buildings.
Since then, much water has flowed into the world’s rivers, including the Ganges, Yamuna, Tigris, Euphrates, Moskva and Rhine, but the disparity between rich and poor has increased. Meanwhile, a good news also came. In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund projected that India would be able to face a slowdown even if it lowered its projected growth rate. According to the same report, India can become the third largest economy in the world by 2028. Similarly, according to a United Nations report released last week, 415 million people were lifted out of poverty in India between 2005-21. Of course, despite the Kovid epidemic and the turmoil in the world, the Modi government has kept up the courage. However, in our country also the inequality gap is widening. It is important to keep an eye on this. Swadeshi’s model can prove successful in overcoming this.
Let us now talk about America, which some consider to be a piece of heaven on earth. According to prominent American politician Bernie Sanders: “Three people have more wealth than the poorest 50% of American society, despite the fact that today more than 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. You get it. That means those 1, 2, and 3 combined are wealthier than the bottom 165 million individuals.” Both China and Europe are facing the same problem.
India is primarily an agricultural country as compared to the US. According to a government survey conducted three years ago, 25-30 people per minute migrate from villages to cities for food, work or a better life. If this continues, then soon 60% of the country’s population will start living in cities. Our cities are already groaning under the burden of overcrowding. Dirty cities and deserted villages will not change our fate.
I would like to draw your attention to these terrifying figures on the occasion of Diwali as we Hindus pray for Kuber along with Lakshmi on this day. Why? According to the authoritative scholar of Hindu theology, Pandurang Vamana Ken, the earliest mention of Diwali is found in Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra, where it is described as Yaksha Ratri. Kubera is the hero of the Yaksha culture, and is unquestionably known as the god of wealth.
Although Kubera is the lord of wealth, another aspect of our culture requires us to serve the poor Narayan. Without this even the owner of huge wealth was not considered wealthy. Swami Vivekananda described Daridra Narayan as a divine symbol. Hundreds of people today curse to be poor, while only a few new Kubers are emerging. The question is how to bridge this gap. We Indians are looking for answers to such uncomfortable questions. If not today, it will be tomorrow; We will solve this puzzle on our own. With this noble hope, I wish you all a very Happy Diwali!
Shashi Shekhar is the editor-in-chief of Hindustan. Thoughts are personal.
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