Indifferent to the Independence

Hardships are their primary concern

Lata Jain

Hyderabad clearly has two different streams of development. The dichotomy is reflected in all areas of human life. We have a vision in our eyes in which we see our nation as one of the most prosperous countries in the world. But, this vision halts as soon as a corruption story is aired on television channels and you refrain from thinking on the similar lines again. Apart from corruption, the city has an army of child beggars roaming the streets, trying to solicit money by playing on your pity. There are a lot of kids hawking things like, balloons and paper mache idols of Ganesha and Durga. The poor, the needy and the impoverished have all been sidelined by the government for decades. Their growing numbers are a ticking time bomb that will eventually blow up. No matter what their financial situation is they too are a part of a free India. What does Independence mean to them?

Chandraiah, a native of Nizamabad has been pushing an ice cream cart on the streets for the last 33 years is a father of three children and aged 64 years. A hard life is his daily dose of bitter medicine. His son Ramloo was handicapped in an accident and has been on the bed for the past 30 years. Chandraiah earns about Rs 100 daily so affording medical treatment for his son is out of the question. He says, “I am well versed in Telugu and read the newspapers. Andhra or Telanagana, it makes no difference to me. I need good food to eat and medicine for my son. To me Independence Day is just another day; only difference is that I sell more ice creams on this day.

Paro, who is also known as Nazia to some is a mother of a 3 year old child. She was sold for Rs 900 by her parents in Kurnool. She said, “I have no security, food or shelter. I earn Rs 200 by begging on the streets. People sympathise towards my son. The day it rains, I can’t beg or if my son falls sick, all the money is spent on medicines and we starve the entire day. I don’t care about Independence. I just need food, clothes, shelter and a guarantee of a good future for my son." Gogji Bai and Bheeru from Rajasthan are currently residing on the streets of the city selling tissues and Angry Bird balloons for a living.

They have two sons aged 8 and 9 years and a 14 year old daughter. Their 8 year old boy is still living in Rajasthan while their 9 year old son is working at a garage in Vizag. They worry about their daughter as they plan to get her married soon. They say, “We only want to go to Vizag to visit our son and have good food and clothes for all our children. We earn Rs 250 daily and don’t save anything. The future prospects of our daughter gives us constant worry. The time of the British rule was better. There were no unnecessary bandhs or riots.”

Christopher Rajmundry, aged 59 years lost his hand in an accident and has been having a hard time in his daily life. He says, “I need a tricycle to move about. I’m having a temperature for the past few days and people at Gandhi hospital are sending me back without any treatment or medicines. My family abandoned me after my accident. This is the life after Independence. My father fought and died for this country during the freedom struggle and here I am without any medicines for the past 13 days.”