‘Teen Sukhi Roti’?
If anything, the year 1996 will be remembered in Pakistan for the maximum rise in prices of essentials during any one single period in the nation’s history. Never before have the people of this country been subjected to such economic pressure in their daily lives as in the past three years. A galloping inflation seems to be on the verge of running wild, in essence we are only five miles from economic midnight. That the government’s economic handlers have been a disaster is no more a moot point, what is of concern is that they will probably escape accountability for criminal mismanagement of the economy. If we can hold a person who does not know driving to be culpable of murder for causing an accident leading to death, why cannot we charge-sheet those in charge of the economy for bringing it to virtual demise? Punitive action must also be made mandatory for these technocrats who have been active collaborators in helping those in ultimate power in the government loot the nation till at will.
Justice may be delayed, it can never be denied when the judiciary is served by the likes of the Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and his esteemed colleagues. Without hurrying the due process of law they are slowly but surely tightening the noose around those who so far do not only seem to be excused from the ambit of the laws of the land but have proceeded with impunity to take the laws in their own hands, breaking every statute of governance in their wake. While enriching themselves at the expense of the State they have beggared this nation, forcing a once vibrant population into a virtual state of shock, and holding out a sea of begging bowls just for sheer survival. The magnificent national party (PPP) that had been founded on platonic social ideals to mitigate the miseries of the common man by promising ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makan’ (bread, clothes and housing) for everyone now only gives perfunctory lip-service to that slogan, a 180 degree turn in its ideology. What to talk about ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makan’ this party’s government is now poised to even take away ‘Teen Sukhi Roti’ (three dried pieces of bread) from the common man. History will be a sorry record of the fact that the greed and influence thereof of one man dramatically changed the fundamental ideology and leaning of a once great party, converting it into an instrument of selfish purpose, meant to fulfill the avaricious greed of one man, destroying in the process the party’s base constituency, not only among its poor, but by the same person’s vengeful actions, its popular ethnic base in Sindh. Today the entire government is engaged in a vast filibuster, to delay and obstruct the course of justice on many fronts. How long will they delay the inevitable?
In the meantime what about the poor oppressed masses of Pakistan who were foolish enough to believe all the false promises made? While the government is certainly to blame almost entirely and will meet its nemesis on one count or the other come November, we cannot keep on criticising the government without accepting our own responsibilities as citizens of this Islamic State. Those of us who are educated and/or have means that have allowed us to have employees have a moral and social obligation towards these employees. There is no doubt that the taxpayers, whether they be self-employed as businessmen or are salaried, are very badly hit in the present worsening economic climate but even then their plight is still bearable, what is much worse is the plight of the poor people of this country who are lucky to even have ‘Teen Sukhi Roti’ what to talk about ‘Muthi Bhar Daal’ (a handful of lentils) per day. We can at least tighten our belt, do the poor, without any circumference left, have this ‘luxury’? Without a major change in lifestyle we can still get on with our lives as a salaried class. For businessmen, taxes and duties levied are usually a ‘pass through’ item, directly off-loaded onto the consumers, the main brunt again being borne by the poor. If not as human beings and Muslims, at least as people having a conscience, it is our obligation to mitigate in some manner the suffering of those who are not so fortunate as to be the employees of this world. While there are many people who look after their employees without any prompting, it is time that all of us in our own way take a concrete step in this direction. Whether employers are in the office or in the home, it is the responsibility of the employer to give him (or her) some succour. Not only that, we must put pressure on others around us i.e. neighbours, colleagues, acquaintances, etc to do so.
The minimum money the desperately poor need at this time is Rs.5 per day, which is just about what is required by him or her to purchase ‘Teen Sukhi Roti’ at the rate of Rs.1.60 to Rs.2 per Roti. Whether we are an industrialist having hundreds of workers or a class-2 government employee with a part-time servant, the obligation towards those whom we employ remains the same on a pro-rata basis. This Rs.5 per day translates into Rs.150 a month, this is the very minimum ‘Mengahi allowance’ that must be given to employees of all creed by employers of all creed. In November 1990, when the Pakistan Rupee against the US dollar was much stronger (less than Rs.30 to the US dollar) and the economic conditions much better than it is presently, the then Mian Nawaz Sharif government gave a mandatory increase of Rs.200 per month to all poor employees in the government, making it mandatory also for the private sector. Unfortunately even the public sector dragged its heels in giving that small benefit to the low-paid employees, in the case of the private sector there was a hue and cry with the result that in the end the supposedly compulsory increase was given by less than 5% of the entities eligible, mostly by the multi-national companies (MNCs) operating in Pakistan. As such while the Mian Nawaz Sharif thought was well intentioned the implementation thereof was mostly ineffective mainly because the mandated increase could not be enforced without the Parliamentary sanction that would have made it into a law of the land.
While a one-time increase indexed to the inflation would be welcome, we cannot rely on government alone. Some things have to be voluntary, it being the privilege of those who are more fortunate than others to assume that responsibility without being prompted to do so. The underlying concept for such a plan must not be generosity but a social and moral obligation that the conscience accepts as a prime responsibility. Nay-sayers may interject that the requested voluntary increase is a wild suggestion without having analysed the economic ramifications thereof. This may be true for those entrepreneurs who find no obligation towards their employees, for others it may only be a matter of employing one’s entrepreneurial and managerial skills so as to increase revenues somehow over expenditures in order to offset the additional outlays. Having got the privileges of health, wealth, stature in life, etc because of the benevolence of God, are we so small we cannot accept a modicum of discomfort and pass some our good fortune into other less fortunate? Let every person affluent enough to have an employee give that employee an extra Rs.150 per month. Let every corporate entity do the same, relying on their own entrepreneurial and managerial skills to make up the shortfall.
Each of us who has been privileged in some way must strive to (1) increase employment opportunities (2) increase employment benefits and (3) decrease the routine monetary load on the poor. There is so much to do as lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc in the field of such voluntary work that can lessen the burden on the poor, not only in one’s own profession but as teachers and instructors in educational and vocational schools. Our expatriates abroad can save every penny to send home so that the country’s foreign exchange position improves. Cannot our expatriates also search to find additional employment so that more people can go abroad, the aim being that these poor people should not have to pay huge “service charges” normally incurred? What about retired government servants and their civilian counterparts helping out in the education field as well as in instructing the poor in health and hygiene to lessen their bills because of medical needs? What about making a concerted effort to reduce the telephone and electricity bills in our offices and our homes so as to be able to give the difference in the elusive search by our poor for ‘Teen Sukhi Roti?’ The present government may have failed this country, will we just stand as by-standers while the poor of this country go from being poor and miserable to being destitute and helpless? It is upto us to rise to this challenge and not fail the population and the country that has bestowed prosperity on us, in whatever varying degrees. Our good fortune cannot be assumed to be a selfish privilege, it inculcates a socio-economic and moral responsibility that we must discharge. Without waiting for our employees to reach out with a begging bowl as they surely will, it is incumbent on us to reach out to them and ensure that at least they have ‘Teen Sukhi Roti’ per day.
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