Page 3 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

Editor’s Note

Bitter truth of Delhi’s

starvation deaths

When Parliament was wit- don’t understand the pain of poor families that these
ness to fierce politics with Congress children went without food for 8 days in Delhi, which
President, Rahul Gandhi hitting is counted among the richest cities of our country. More
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shocking is the reality that Mandavali in Delhi where
and his government with ‘jumla’ these girls lived is just 20 steps away from Anganwadi
strikes and the sudden hugplo- Kendra set up to provide free education and food to
macy, 12 kms from Parliament, three children. The country has abundant food to feed every-
siblings were dying of hunger in the one but every year food worth 88,800 crore or 40 per
national capital. The deaths of three lit- cent of total food is wasted. Sadly we refuse ration to
tle sisters, aged eight, four and two, of starvation is a families following the dictum ‘no ration card no food”
chilling reminder to the gory fact that while you have as it happened in case of these hapless kids for whom
dinner, 200 million people in the country are going to hunger had become a constant companion. Could not
bed without food. we follow the policy of ration delivery at the doorstep?
It is not hinterland of Jharkhand or Chhatisgarh, The truth is disturbing that 7000 Indians die every day
but the national capital Delhi where its children are dy- because of hunger. Little doubt that last year in the
ing of starvation. In a country that boasts of being the Global Hunger Index, India ranked at number 100 in
world’s fastest growing economy, 5 Indians die every the list of 119 countries. With BJP blaming AAP, AAP
minute from hunger. It is a mockery of our claims of blaming BJP and Congress blaming both AAP and BJP,
development that one-third of the world’s hungry live a bitter truth has emerged that starvation deaths are a
in India. As per the Food and Agriculture Organiza- reality, a terrible reality in the 21st century India.
tion (FAO), around 20 crore Indians go hungry daily When you finish reading this editorial, ponder for
and are malnourished though we claim to have the few minutes over the post mortem report of these three
National Food Security Act in place. Food is the basic children that says there was “no trace of even a gram of
right of every living being and ensuring meals for each food in their stomach.” We don’t want children to meet
citizen is the foremost duty of Centre and state govern- the fate of Mansis, Shikhas and Paruls.
ments. There would be blame game and politics over
the deaths of Mansi, Shikha and Parul and an enquiry.
The Delhi government has already ordered a magis-
terial Inquiry into the deaths but we all know the gim-
micks of these probes. It is a shame for all of us who (charanjit ahuja)

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Volume 15, Issue no. 15, 1-15 august 2018, released on 1 august, number of pages including cover 68
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