Alone, hidden and silent!

I walked out in to the garden in the morning, hearing the bird calls almost after three days of heavy rain, when the garden had a deserted look with only occasional bird movements. As I was moving about to sight the birds, I found that the bird calls were gradually becoming infrequent!

That was when I looked up to the sky, which was getting covered with  dark clouds !

I looked for birds who were in the garden. They had become silent following the signal they received of another downpour shortly. 

The following pictures of birds I could spot in different trees around our cottage, gave me a feeling that they turned into silent mode and were hiding in the foliage or in perched in secure positions.  

The birds have their own way to respond to adverse situations. They adapt to the variations in nature. 

When it started to drizzle, I came in. By then the morning  news paper had arrived which in its heading had the news about the data of the caste census in the state of Bihar. The surprising revelation was that there were more than sixty percent of population from backward communities in that state. They are usually economically, socially and educationally disadvantaged. They remain hidden away without access to the facilities which others who are socially, economically and educationally are well placed, can access. As those from backward communities are disadvantaged, they do not move into the mainstream of life. 

In a welfare state, which India is supposed to be, there ought to be proactive protection and action to help the people from backward communities to come to the main stream to receive the benefits which others are entitled to.  

The political climate in India is adverse to the backward communities as of now. There is a voice in favour of the backward communities in some political circles in the recent times.  

There is a reservation for jobs people from backward communities. What this census data from Bihar reveals is that the reservation offered is far less than that they would deserve proportionate to their population size. 

What happened when the weather turned adverse, was that birds were alone, hidden and silent!

I felt awful when I realised that after seventy five years of independence, there are people from backward communities who are yet to receive the benefits which other people have received normally. They live with their needs or voice subdued by the majority, who move up the social ladder.

I met a person in the shop, who was working for a meagre salary from the age of 20 years. He completed his schooling and could not carry on with higher education because, he did not have about 70 percent marks to get admission in a college. His brothers were also in a similar position. His two children have not done well enough to compete with the rest to get into college education which would open up opportunities for jobs. The three generations in his family have lived with opportunities denied to them!

It is for this reason a welfare state would need to offer to take care of the vulnerable population till they have come to a level of social, economic and educational recovery at par with others!

I have a suspicion that there was a stimulus for wealth creation in the last 20 years in India.  This benefitted a small section of people. The people who struggle did not receive enough stimulus to move upward!

We need a political system which is fair, just and committed to equity!

That happens when people are ethical, moral and mindful of others!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)