POVERTY IS A CURSE

         Poverty is commonly believed to be a curse because of the traditional Indian faith in fate and karma. Most people believe that it is written in their destiny that they are poor. Others accept poverty as a punishment for the deeds in some past life and they have to undergo suffering. Such people do not do anything to better their lot. They accept poverty as a fact of their lives and consider it a curse to be born poor. They are jealous of the rich and those who better placed in life as a matter of fate or karma.

         With nearly one-third of India’s population living below the poverty line with hardly any basic amenities of life available to them, the situation is alarming. If people accept their poverty as a fact of life and do not make any efforts to improve their standards of living, their number will keep on increasing and India will continue to be a land of the poor. The percentage of people living below the poverty line increases as the population increases.

         The first step towards removing this curse of poverty should be to control the growth of population. A large population eats into the meager resources that are available and negates the fruits of development and progress. If the growth of population is controlled, the people will have a better access to the basic amenities of life like education, health and sanitation, employment. Soon, poverty will become a thing of the past.

         Those who are poor should not be merely content to remain poor because they are born so. They must make concerted efforts to rise above their present circumstances and make a determined effort to do so. This can be done through education or learning other skills so that they can earn more and improve their standard of living. This requires a strong willpower to spend their time gainfully and not idle it away in cursing their lot. Volunteers from educational and vocational institutions can contribute a lot in this direction by encouraging people in improving there existing lot. This can be supplemented by making people living in poor localities aware of the benefits of cleanliness, health, sanitation and hygiene. This will go a long way in eradicating poverty, which will no longer be considered a curse.

         Poverty is external as well as internal. While outward poverty can be minimized by effort, it is the inborn feeling of poverty being a curse that must be tackled. The mindset of the poor towards poverty must be changed through education and awareness. They must be told that they can rise above their present deplorable state not by pitying and accepting it as an act of God but as something that can be removed by their own effort. If this is done, they will find the world a better place to live and work in.