Good Vibes On Christmas

Since Christmas is a day of peace and goodwill, let us ignore the war drums that are still being beaten (on both sides) and turn our attention inwards, to enormous problems we all face that have nothing to do with Pakistan or Islamic terrorism.

At the outset, let us agree that life in an average Indian city or town is a daily nightmare.

This, while our The State spends the money of urban taxpayers on the charade called “rural development.”

Here is a story from today’s Mint on why garbage does not get lifted in any of our cities – and it is an interesting point that one of the persons quoted says “garbage is a mafia business.”

Hell! If garbage is a mafia business, the whole of our The State must be a mafia business too.

The greatest challenge facing Indians today is making our urban habitat livable.

Here is a Rediff poll on India’s 10 best cities. I daresay if the poll was on India’s 10 worst cities, the same names would occupy the list.

We do not have enough cities. We need to build many, many more. The USA is 350 million people living in over 200 cities. We are 1000 million people with just 5 big cities. 65 per cent of urban Indians live in these 5 mega-cities. Cheek-by-jowl. Overcrowded. Filthy. Unsafe. Pakistan is not responsible for any of this. City traffic is better managed in Sri Lanka than in India.

Our The State has more or less destroyed our “civilization” – a word with its root in the Latin civitas, which means “city.” The Indus Valley Civilization is called so because there were many cities along the river, like Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Lothal. These ancient cities all had elaborate drainage systems that worked - and still survive. Modern Mumbai floods up with every rain.

There is something seriously wrong in our own country – and our The State is the root cause of it all. Let no one go to war under its banner. Peace. Goodwill. Trade. Let us use words that give good vibes on Christmas Day.

Christmas in also a good day to think of charity for the poor. Our The State practices “false philanthropy.” Of this there can be no doubt. What can be the best gift we can easily give the poor?

I would say: A wide footpath. Like Calcutta’s Chowringhee.

Let any poor person who wants to shift to a city get a safe place on a footpath to sleep the night. Let there be facilities nearby for washing etc. And let us city-folk encourage these rural migrants to learn one skill quick and enter the urban division of labour. And, most importantly, let no policemen rob them of their surpluses when they conduct their businesses on the public streets.

Wide footpaths, 600 free trading cities, 6000 free trading towns – this will give the rural poor a “foothold” in the global, urban market catallaxy.

Poverty will be wiped out in one generation.

Merry Christmas to one and all.