That was the time when Sachin Tendulkar was becoming a national Icon, When the Beep – Beep sounds of the Pager were still being heard, When the IT industry was still finding its feet in India......It was way back in 1997 that this happened.........Due to some strange reason, these people were sent out of their own state. State which took care off them for so long suddenly felt they are not needed.......Not being welcomed by their Neighbors also, they settled along the forests that separated the two states.....
Sachin Tendulkar has now been a national Icon for so many years, Pagers??? Not many even remember them anymore, and the IT industry in India is the buzz word of the world..........The world in the last 13 years has moved very fast. But!!!! Sadly for these people the world never changed......The state that sent them 13 years back has not looked back and worse still chucks out the remaining few.......Neither their neighbors like to look at them......They still live in the forests......
What was this girl's mistake??? My colleague thundered a question..........It really pierced my heart......Even as I saw groups of people lying in shambles there, having no food, nowhere to take cover, no jobs, no money,no nothing, my heart pounded that question again.........What was this girl's mistake??? There was this girl, should not be more than 15, half naked, sitting almost in the road (Sadly they said that was her house- Difficult to use the word “house” when I say mine a room) and crying over her dead mother.......800 Families, almost 2000 adults, so many children and young adults lying all along the refugee camps not knowing what their future is.......not even knowing what their present is all about....
As I saw the people lying there in shambles, many questions kept coming to my mind again and again...........What is happening in my country???What is the government doing??? Where are the news channels??? Where are the human right activists??? How can a government send out their own people??? Why is man behaving so cruelly??? Did not anybody notice them in all these 13 years???The question marks are many...........But I feel two questions are extremely important as I kept thinking of them........
- As a country are we really serious about the poor???
- Does man still have a heart???
Even as a country proudly presenting itself as one of the fastest growing economies, Sending one rocket after another to space, planning to conduct olympics in the near future, are we getting our priorities right??? Even as the News channels, showing Aiswarya Rai's Neck pain, IPL's big bucks and Politician's hungama, are we getting our priorities right??? Even as human rights activists, protecting a terrorist from another country and speaking a lot about human rights, are we getting our priorities right??? I really think, if at all we want to grow, we have to set our priorities right.....The politicians should concentrate on eliminating poverty, the news channels should concentrate on bringing the people's problems and the human rights activists should fight for human rights.........Are we serious about the poor???? This question needs to be answered to get our priorities right......
Even in this dark picture, there still was some light.....An 80 year old man and his 68 year old wife from a place more than 2000 km far, not knowing any of their language, are living in the refugee camp along with these people trying to help them in whatever way they could..........Probably man still has something wet in his heart..........That might still be the reason GOD is postponing HIS coming again.......
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