CAN EVERY SLUM DOG BECOME MILLIONAIRE??

“Twenty five percent of Indians live on less than a dollar a day and seventy percent live on less than two dollars a day”. All meaningless news. The poverty in India is making media headlines all over the world. Don’t they know same amount of money has differing values in different places? What is so interesting in making news of a country’s shame?


But still, the forgoing is India’s shame despite of huge progress. Slums in India are like tourist spots for foreigners. India’s capital Delhi has 1.5 million out of fourteen million living in slums. Mumbai is worst with greater percentage living in slums. Other big urban centers have done no better. Many say poverty, slums and urban squat will not go away in next 20 to 25 years. And we are dreaming in heights. India, a developed nation in 2020!!! It’s all bull shit. For many people living in slums, escape is still just a dream.


How do slums grow actually? It is as simple as that, more population and more crowd, more slums. Big cities in India are facing the problem. People in big cities complain about the slums, garbage, filth, people living their. I would say it is their entire fault. They attract innocent people all over the country even though they cannot handle them. Rapid growth of mills, industries and shipping drew a large population into the cities. People living in villages are obviously attracted towards cities to earn more money with less work in less time. Huge disparity between urban and rural income levels is the main criteria for slum growth. To make their future secure, they leave their villages and settle in cities. Some people succeed but many will not. Unemployment strikes. Another reason for slum growth may be the development of cities. They acquired more and more land. Many lost their home. Where will they go? Many of the small villages with their own industries are slums now.


This kind of poverty is unacceptable. They deserve so much more. We have a billion population people. Goddd!! If we all are capable of doing something, we will be the biggest nation and no goddamn country can harm us. But we are burning brains. Many people are desperately ready to do something for nation but are not getting an opportunity. Many say they are the main problem of our country. I completely disagree. Yes they are the problem, but we pushed them into that hell and we have no right to say provided if we can help them.






We, students always argue about the quotas provided for SC, ST, OC, OBC and many more. But all these privileges are exploited by teenagers whose parents are capable of earning their own bread (not just bread!!) and are capable of providing education to their children. Many of youngsters in slums are backward class people. They have all rights to read and write. Aren’t they? But they are struggling with starvation. What is the use of bloody reservation then? To whom actually these reservations have to be given? Do our “so called leaders” have time to think rather than pulling legs? They are the real shame of our country. I agree many of the teens in slums have job to look after their family. But is that enough? That won’t help them to get out of the slums.


Whenever there are debates about slums all reporters, social activists, politicians shout rubbish, “We will discuss this with the high command” “opposition party has no work to do except blaming us” “Why don’t they clean it up?” “Politicians must help them financially” “why don’t they clean up the garbage and together build some decent shelter?” What the f***!!!, tell us something we don’t know!!! If at all they clean up the mess, where will they dump? Again in slums??!! The whole city’s garbage and sewage are dumped in slums, then how to get rid of them? It seems very easy but once you get into the slum and hear people over there, it is a huge problem which has no solution until and unless a leader (true leader!!) is born, a “change maker” uninfluenced from any external aid. Or they have to do it by themselves slowly step by step. 2nd one seems to have worked a little because 1st one is almost impossible. Each and everyone here are “born corrupts!”. A documentary telecasted in Discovery channel about Dharavi made me to write this article.


Mumbai is one such city. Around 6 percent of Maharashtra’s population lives in the slums i.e. in Mumbai. Dharavi in Mumbai is one of the very well known slums in India. Some 18,000 people are crowded in per single acre land. They have done an impossible thing possible. They have stopped asking help from our politicians (useless thing actually to ask them). They are developing themselves. It’s a small city within a city. It has its own informal economy of small businesses. Many goods are exported worldwide. They recycle plastic wastages to make buckets; pots etc. craftsmen show their talent in hand made clothes. One the country’s most popular comedians, who have acted in more than 300 bollywood movies, Johnny lever is from Dharavi. He was one in a million!!! But for others, getting rid of slum is just a dream. Mumbai always attract the people who seek a better life and many of them fail. And hence the slums grow bigger and bigger and poverty proportionally. Eradicating slums is not at all possible, but betterment is possible. Dharavi is the best example.


“Slum dog millionaire” was one such movie which got Oscars. A foreigner directed the movie (a biggest issue last year!!), which upheld the situations of slums dramatically, although that was the truth. Many felt ashamed of being Indian after watching the movie. Amitabh bachan was extremely ashamed and he did nothing. A nude India got Oscars also!!! Anil kapoor was in mars (he even left moon:P) and he was extremely happy and he also did nothing. So did others. Don’t know what all the measures are taken after watching the movie at least. But something special was there in that movie for me. It was the word “millionaire” which attracted. The only question which struck my mind after watching the movie was, can every slum dog become millionaire??!!!