Hi Mr PC,
This is Shyam from Boomtown. Call me ‘Sham’ if you wish.
I must congratulate you b’cos we’ve never had it so good. As we can see, the Indian economy is galloping. The facts and figures say it all: 9% GDP growth, soaring foreign investments, huge exchange reserves, stock markets at all time highs, Indians buying up foreign firms and the world watching our success story in open-mouthed awe. Indeed, the liberalisation and financial sector reforms have brought so many goodies that they more than offset the minuses. The net impact has been great for us and we are thankful to you for being such a people-friendly FM.
At a personal level, I have gone places. I have switched four jobs in two years and with every jump my salary too has vaulted. In fact, I have beaten your GDP growth by miles. I own a car and a flat, all within five years of getting employed, unthinkable for a middle-class bloke like me, say, a decade back. Of course, they are on HP, but that does not worry me what with my burgeoning pay packet which looks quite secure for eternity. For that matter, GBB (Go Bonkers and Bust) Bank has offered to finance a family holiday in SE Asia and the tele-caller with a cute voice even told me there is a pre-approved loan, if I planned to buy some modern art pieces or pedigree puppies. Now, that’s real consumer banking and kudos to you.
Sure, there’s inflation, but the prices of many essentials like Cell Phones, TVs, PCs (not you, sir) and other gadgets are falling. In any case, with multiplexes and eat-outs all round, what’s the big fuss about prices of food stuff like rice, wheat, pulses and oils? Let’s eat pizzas! Sure, the petrol price does pinch, b’cos my car is a guzzler, but I guess I mustn’t complain, having paid a fortune for it. What gets my goat are the bad, bumby roads. Can’t go beyond 40KMPH unless I hit the highway, which I do on weekends. Curse the civic fellas. They are useless… reason I din’t vote. And some of those highways aren’t broad enough. I suppose, those fields must give way. Can’t we pay ‘em off? Lucky, no such hassles on the broadband info-highway, uhh!
But you must do more for us, as you seem to understand we are the ones keeping the wheels of the economy running at a fast clip. For starters, why not ease personal taxes a bit more? And this Fringe Benefit Tax was a true dampener. TDS is still quite tedious. And the IT wallahs under you …they are big spoil-sports, always breathing down the blue-collared necks of us, the IT-gen. And why not tax rebates for going to the Windies for the World Cup or to attend the Ash-Abishek wedding? That would keep the feel-good on track. There is more; you can check out our wish list from the Pink dailies or the TV channels, that represent us, only us, and who are also in awe of your financial acumen. I sign off for now and will SMS you if any bright idea strikes. And I almost forgot, my cousin from the countryside too would be writing to you.
Truly yours,
Shyam
Dear Chidambaram Aiyya,
Vanakkam. I am Ramaiya from Aththippattu and country cousin of Shyam, who calls me ‘Rams’; I represent over 60% of our countrymen, who seemed to have somehow slipped your notice. I am a farmer. But I will become a former soon, by current trends.
You may not have observed the clouds over our farms, but we have noticed the silver linings in distant cities. Of course, you must believe we do not grudge those who have benefitted from the economic upswing. And we do understand that reforms and liberalisation have come to stay, in some form. We only seek a legitimate participation in that growth; As of now, we have missed the 9% ‘bus’ to prosperity. On the contrary, we are stranded and sinking. And mind you, aiyya, we all vote unfailingly. And not just farmers, but many other groups like tribals and fisherfolk also share our fate.
Of course, you will reel out the goodies that seemingly come our way, for you are an articulate man. But we have always been victims of such sophistry. No doubt there are agri success stories worthy of emulation here and there, owing to reforms. But, multitudes of marginal farmers like me remain in dire straits. Much of what the government is supposed to have done, has either not reached us or gone to wrong hands. First, credit is simply inadequate and invariably late. ‘Priority’ is only in theory … no cute voices offer endearing loans as they do to my city cousin. Lending to farmers is still a passing favour, not a national necessity, as it should be. Just call for the farm lending stats from banks and you will know what I am saying.
Secondly, subsidies and support prices hardly make any difference to us. While the former is increasingly linked to change of crop patterns that we find difficult to make, we only get a pittance out of the support price. The bulk is eaten up by middlemen to whom we are forced to sell, because we do not have the physical and financial wherewithal to store, transport, insure and negotiate. We are always desperate. Clearly, credit or price support, the money that we see is just a shadow of what leaves the government coffers in our name. And now even our fertile lands are coveted for SEZ’s. If we sell, the money would go towards our debt. What do we do after that? How many of us have alternative skills or opportunities to switch jobs like my city cousin?
And adding ignominy to injury, is the song and dance whenever there is an interest or loan waiver. And the furore over free power. We would prefer uninterrupted power and water rather than free power, but that would expose the politicos and the governments’ failings over the years. Therefore, though we feed the nation we are made to look like beggars. If, as FM, you are proud of growth, then be shamed by our plight too.
Whether we share the benefit of the boom or not, we share the burden. While the 9% growth (sorry to be harping on that) is rather selective, inflation seems quite a socialist. But we are the least prepared to bear it because of virtually nil disposable incomes. And with the vagaries of weather, water woes and creditors at our doors, even those meagre morsels may slip away en route hand to mouth. And we can’t afford pizzas either; reason why many of my brethren seek lasting peace through pesticides. Indeed, the spiralling prices of inputs and essentials, a direct fallout of a growth that skipped us, is the biggest killer of the tiller!
We have no voice. The media doesn’t care because we are neither big brothers nor sob sisters. The comrades, who swear by the down-trodden won’t touch us because we cannot be easily mobilised like bankers or government staff. Social activists would at best light candles or have a walkathon on the Marina, brief the press, have lunch and push off to the next ‘issue’.
My local MLA is the biggest landowner, belonging to the famous ‘humble farmer’ fraternity, getting a lot of free power, both from politics and the nearest sub-station. He has no time for us till poll time. And our city cousins hardly remember we exist. I tell you, Chidambaram aiyya, all this, not because you are brainy, but because you wear a dhoti like we do and we hope that it not just symbolic. And when you rise up to present the budget, do remember some couplets on agriculture from, where else, the Thirukural. They may ring a bell. Warning bell, really.
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