In this article think about Maharashtra Election Politicians, Mission Swaraj Challenge By Dhruv Rathee. Based on the principles of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, I would like to announce Mission Swaraj. What are the solutions that should be implemented to see the development in Maharashtra? So that the development reaches people. Let’s understand in detail and turn this dream into a reality.
Mahavikas Aghadi Alliance has talked about some of its guarantees. They promise to give ₹3,000 to women every month. And ₹4,000 to unemployed youth every month. Sounds interesting, but look at the other side.
BJP’s Maha Yuti Alliance made similar promises. Under the Ladaki Bahin Yojana, they will give ₹2,100 to women instead of ₹1,500. For senior citizens, the pension will be increased from 1,500 to ₹2,100. A large number of students will be paid ₹10,000 per month, and farmers will be given ₹1,250 per month. Basically, both alliances are throwing money at the people.
Kalpana Chawla’s flight went to space, but the politicians’ imagination can’t look beyond the necessities. These politicians think that throwing some money at the poor that’s barely enough for them to survive on, is enough.
Have you ever thought about where this money is supposed to come from?
This is government money, it comes from tax. The same tax that breaks the backs of the middle class people. The bad news is that the middle class is getting smaller. Government tax data shows this clearly. Because of this, there’s a negative impact on demand. The Federation of Automobile Dealers Association admitted this in August that inventory to the tune of ₹730 billion remains in factories and dealerships. This was acknowledged in the latest monthly review of the Ministry of Finance, that consumer demand is decreasing.
There was not only a decrease in automobile and housing sales, but also the daily-use fast moving consumer goods could not escape this slowdown. The volume growth in FMCG, in last year’s September quarter, the urban growth was at 10.2%. This time it has fallen to 2.8%. And we know that a large percentage of the middle class lives in cities. So, for middle class people, first it’s difficult to get a job.
India Unemployment Report, 2023 by ILO revealed that by 2022 unemployment among the educated people in Maharashtra had reached 15%. And even if you get employment. The salary is very low. And if the salary is good, then you’re burdened by tax. Apart from direct tax, the burden of indirect tax takes the form of rising prices. When survival is so difficult.
How can middle class youth chill? There’s also the point that paying tax isn’t the issue. But what does the middle class get in return?
People can’t send their kids to government schools because they won’t get quality education there. The fees for private schools keeps on increasing. Hindustan Times in Dadar, Mumbai, a school demanded ₹86,000 for admission in first grade. When parents asked the school about the fee hike, the school management gave them a curt reply that they can either pay the fees or send their child to a government school.
In a school in Borivali, the fees for third grade was ₹135,000. It is said that in capitalism, consumers get a choice. But what choice do middle class parents have? The choice between which private school they want to be robbed by? If there are government schools with good infrastructure and quality education. These private schools will lose their markets.
Due to increased competition, they will have to lower their fees. But government schools do not provide quality education. Middle class parents are worried about their child’s future and so they give up on their needs to send their child to private schools. If this isn’t blackmail, then what is it?
Talking about public transport, We see these horrific scenes of overcrowding in Mumbai locals. But it is called the ‘Spirit of Mumbai’ and ignored. In August this year, the Central Railway and Western Railway submitted an affidavit to the Bombay High Court which stated that in the last 20 years,51,800 people have died after falling from the suburban trains in Mumbai. This averages out to more than 2,500 people dying each year by falling out of Mumbai’s local trains. Humans are being treated as insects.
The BMC Chief told the Bombay High Court that due to heavier than usual rainfall, there were more potholes on the road. However, rain doesn’t cause these potholes. They are caused because of a lack of proper drainage. When will the governments learn how to build proper roads? With proper drainage, footpath, and sidewalk. Two years ago, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that his government will make Mumbai roads free of potholes.
But in 16 months, only 9% of the target roads were completed. In Dr. Shankar Ravchand Government Medical College and Hospital, there were 31 deaths last year all within 72 hours.16 children died. It was later found that pigs roamed the hospital premises. “Pigs roamed as relatives of patients went about their chores. Some brushing their teeth, some washing utensils. “There was no hygiene or cleanliness.
One week before that, in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital 18 patients died within 24 hours. The Bombay High Court said that the conditions of hospitals in Maharashtra were ‘Unacceptable. And issued strict warnings to the government. The poor people of Maharashtra have no other option than these hospitals. But the middle class is afraid to send their children to these government hospitals. They send them to private hospitals their they are robbed due to exploitative fees.
Now let’s say the middle class manages to tolerate everything somehow. Private school and private hospital. But where will you get private air? news published in Frontline. In December 2020, an ICMR report was released. It was revealed that after Uttar Pradesh, in India, Maharashtra is at the second place on the list of deaths due to air pollution.
In 2019, in Maharashtra, 149,118 people lost their lives due to polluted air. And this pollution isn’t limited to cities only, it has spread to rural and semi-rural areas too, there’s no proper garbage and waste management. Garbage is openly thrown out on the roads, then garbage dumps are set on fire, and this is a major contributor to air pollution. In May 2022,the World Bank Group published a paper, “Air Pollution and Poverty” “PM 2.5 exposure in 211 countries and territories” It was said that 97.6% of Maharashtrian population are breathing in air which is beyond the safe level. Imagine how it affects the lungs of your children and their health.
In how many election rallies have you heard about these issues?
Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadda was right when he said that “We in India today, pay taxes like England to get services like Somalia. “In short, what’s happening is that rich capitalists and politicians are getting richer by the day, poor people are struggling with increasing poverty, and to cope with this poverty, money is being thrown at the poor people, and the middle class has to bear the costs. Giving money to farmers, giving money to women, giving money to unemployed people and to students.
What is happening?
But when it comes about giving away money, that can be justified too. For example, if a country is in a recession, it’s an extraordinary situation, and people do not have money to buy anything, if there’s no demand because of this, and factories can’t produce anything because there’s no demand. Leading to unemployment and eventually no money in the hands of the people.
This becomes a deadlock situation. And to break this deadlock, people can be given money. Older speeches by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. This is done to stimulate demand. When people use the money to buy something demand rises, production will take place giving employment to people. And so a stagnant economy will be given a forced kickstart.
What governments continuously give out money?
Any election giving away money has become a continuous element. It is not a part of any marvellous strategy. It serves only two purposes. First, it will attract votes. And second, it will help continue slavery. Though our country got independent in 1947.And in 1950, our Constitution was implemented. Whose Preamble mentions Freedom as a core value.
But dose merely saying that and writing that ensure freedom?
The farmer works to his bones all year long but still doesn’t earn enough to live with dignity. Is this freedom or slavery? I have talked about this type of slavery The 6 rich districts in Maharashtra, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad, Sindhudurg, and Kolhapur they’re in Western Maharashtra. And the 7 poorest districts, Washim, Gadchiroli ,Nandurbar, Buldhana, Hingoli, Yavatmal, and Amravati. All except one are in Eastern Maharashtra.
why are farmers pushed to suicide in these prosperous states?
Map of Maharashtra made by Indian Pixels in December 2022. This speaks of the inequality in Maharashtra. But the politicians can’t hear anything. The districts in green on this map are rich and the ones in red or orange are poor. On the eastern side,only Nagpur is in green. While the remaining districts are in red, orange, or yellow.
Their annual GDP per capita is less than ₹300,000.And on the western side, the districts are in green, with annual GDP more than 300,000,and Mumbai’s is more than 600,000.The Eastern Maharashtra area, despite being a farming area it is dry. It’s known as Vidarbha. Fed up of this inequality, they have been demanding statehood.
How many states can be made because of this?
Because, friends, inequality isn’t only between the rich and poor districts, but even in each district, there is inequality. Here, we were talking about villages. But the inequality in the cities is worse.
What will anyone achieve by giving the farmers a measly 1,250 per month?
Is this really to respect the farmers or to humiliate them?
1,250 per month is 15,000 per year. This isn’t aimed at honouring farmers, this is aimed at keeping the farmers enslaved. Farmers would be truly honoured if their annual income gets to ₹1.5 million. After all, the work they do is the most important. Mahayuti Alliance and Mahavikas Aghadi Alliance, for these elections, both have promised to forgive the farmers’ debts.
This is important to ensure that slavery continues. I don’t see any promises this election to end slavery. They aren’t talking about any initiative to ensure they don’t go into debt. To help him earn an annual income of ₹1.5 million. The solution is quite simple, they need to take these tired-and-tested models of these farmers and apply all across Maharashtra.
This isn’t unmanageable. There are 44,728 villages in Maharashtra. The government needs to appoint 9,000 agricultural assistants immediately. And every agri assistant should be given 5 villages. And they would need to go to these villages to teach and help the farmers.
Then why is his model not being applied in the entire Maharashtra?
Are they waiting for an auspicious time?
This was about growing crops. When the crops are ready, build a local market to sell them. Where farmers can directly connect with the consumers. Have farmers’ co-operatives. Help them with food processing. Dr Ramanjaneyulu has created a brand for farmers Sahaja Aharam.
Why don’t the politicians do the same?
Not only for the farmers, but also for other artisans and craftsmen. Help them in setting up their shops. The problem of unemployment is not going to be solved by large companies because the business volume in companies keeps on increasing. And due to economies of scale, this doesn’t create new jobs.
The problem of unemployment will be solved only by promoting small and medium businesses because they are labouri ntensive. And with handmade goods made in cottage industries, pollution can also be reduced. Government can use this to earn a revenue to. The least that the politicians can do is make such false promises. Right now, the level of election promises has been set so low.
There’s no promise of providing quality education. We don’t want free education, we want free ‘quality’ education. And this isn’t something unachievable. First thing, they should change the way they appoint teachers. Two months ago, 100,000 teachers of Maharashtra’s district schools protested against this .The banners carried by these teachers read, Let Us Teach. They want to teach.
Government teachers are kept busy with all sorts of work, be it in Delhi or Maharashtra. Admin assistants need to be appointed for all non-teaching tasks. Double the number of permanent teachers. And wake up their education minister, secretary, and school inspectors from their peaceful sleep. It’s only a matter of whether the politicians want to make changes. It’s the same for the police. The Maharashtra Police Force has ~230,000 personnel in total. According to the United Nations, there should be 222 police officers for every 100,000 people.
In 2011, Maharashtra’s population was around 110 million. Now, it is estimated to be around 130 million. By this calculation, there should be 585,000 police officers in Maharashtra. 2.5 times the number now. They should be trained well. There should be a separate team for investigation. They need to have a target to make Maharashtra completely crime-free. And justice should be equal for every person, no matter how rich or poor they are. Similarly, roads, buses, trains, and hospitals need to be revamped too.
Cleanliness in Maharashtra should be important too. Similar to other countries. One of the reasons why Indians love other countries, waste management and composting are crucial. Beaches in Mumbai should be cleaned up. New staff will be needed for this too. A salary would be paid to them. People like Afroz Shah are an inspiration for this. He has cleaned Mumbai’s beaches single-handedly.
Overall issue then it is much better to pay salaries to new agricultural assistants, new teachers, new police officers, new hospital staff, and new cleaners, instead of merely giving away money to the masses. By implementing these solutions, farmers’ income will increase, the informal sector will grow exponentially, the economy will grow, the tax revenue will increase, and unemployment will be solved.
It is absolutely possible to take these steps. If only the politicians let go of crony capitalism, of their kickback models, and care for the masses and want to genuinely help them. Around 400 years ago, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj dreamt of Swaraj. Swaraj talks about empowering the local communities and governance at the local village level. Swaraj advocates for no discrimination based on religion, caste or how rich or poor a person is.
A state where everyone has an equal chance to succeed. That has clean air and clean water. Where the law and order system is fair for all. That is why, based on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s dreams, I have named this mission, Mission Swaraj.
To make Maharashtra the state that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had dreamt of. First, training farmers, soil testing, laboratories, seed banks, and local markets. Second, rainwater harvesting. Third, free quality education. Fourth, free quality healthcare. Fifth, cleanliness and access to clean air and water. Sixth, eradicating crime and ensuring safety and security. And seventh, promoting local industries and providing employment to all. Only a Maharashtra Election, political will is needed to take these steps. These politicians will get this political will only when voters vote based on these issues.
Dhruv Rathee Mission Swaraj Challenge accept by Mahavikas Aghadi Alliance – Click Here
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