PETER FERNANDES
Why does society always look down with dis dain on poor people? Are deprived people really chil dren of a lesser god? Without an iota of a doubt, life is the most precious gift of God, and it is blessed with endless possibili ties for the growth and well-be ing of human society here and hereafter. In fact, God created the whole universe for humans to live happily with plenty. Therefore, a question begs to be asked: ‘Why am I poor?’ The history of humankind is a pain ful, unjust, immoral odyssey, which explains the agonising cry. And the existential expla nation is that the existence of the other is perceived with sus picion and fear to be subjugat ed and dominated rather than accepted as equal partners in building an egalitarian society. Unless humanity learns to ac cept the other as an equal part ner with the same rights and re sponsibilities, the agonising cry will continue to echo until the end of time. Hence, it calls upon the wise people to govern and be just arbitrators to diffuse the hostility and create a just and equitable environment for all to live and thrive. Consequently, a question comes to mind: why are millions suffering and dying of want in a world with plenty? Can humanity blame God as we tag the run-down people with a title, children of a lesser god? Remember, politics is a beauti ful thing, part of human nature, endowed by the Creator for the common good, but when pol itics is corrupted, society gets divided, and those vulnerable become children of a lesser god. Look at the dollar bill, “In God, we trust”, the dollar god is the pride of a nation, and Ameri cans proudly acclaim, “winner takes it all,” determining the val ue of gods in modern times to categorise the people by which god they belong to. In the name of promoting democracy and human rights, wars are fought to strengthen the dollar god, regimes are re placed in favour of the dollar, and the children of the lesser god wander in amazement. The dollar syndicate is a vi cious shadow government that controls world politics. During the colonial era, the British empire exploited the nations and their resources to benefit their own citizens by reducing the colonised people into chil dren of a lesser god. The fear of the other and undue pleasure of subjugating the vulnerable have divided humanity with deep wounds of hatred. Amer ican imperialism is the contin uation of the colonial mindset. The abduction of Nicolás Ma duro Moros, the president of Venezuela, is an indictment on the free world and on the inter national institutions’ protec tion of human rights. Besides, a childish demand to take over Greenland exposes that prime val fear of the other…if we don’t take it, Russia and China will take it, which is no justification given the history of the United States, rightly so that Barack Hussein Obama and Bill Clin ton are taking political shots at President Trump. But no mod ern presidents of the United States have the moral authority to speak on this subject. Dur ing Obama’s tenure, the world witnessed the biggest refugee crisis, and the ill effects of the aftermath are still felt. At the behest of the United States, prosperous nations like Libya fell into ruins, and yet, Obama had no qualms about receiv ing the Nobel Peace Prize, and Hillary Clinton sarcastically laughed, “We came, we saw, and he died.” The US foreign policy is very utilitarian. The world needs to understand that the United States has no concern about the global peace and prosperity; their only fo cus is acquiring the resourc es of every country to benefit them—it’s their playbook. The military budget exceeds the combined budgets of many na tions. The fear of the other is the cause for the existence of the children of a lesser god. A ruthless, mindless and heart less tariff war is for the same purpose: to make dollars great again. How long will this mind set persist? Unless humanity changes its course, the world is on the brink of nuclear annihi lation. Look at this: The President of the United States frequent ly and publicly belittles the Prime Minister of the largest democracy and fourth-largest economy without being chal lenged. What could be the rea son? During Manmohan Singh’s tenure, it was not the case; in fact, President Obama would consult Manmohan and take his advice. It’s a tragicomedy that this government, which rose to power on the promise of zero tolerance for corrup tion, has been dubbed by some commentators as the most corrupt government post-in dependence. In 2011, the Anna Andolan, or the India Against Corruption Movement, system atically brought down a fairly stable and less corrupt gov ernment. Anna Hazare had no qualms about crying foul about anything and everything about the previous government as a scam. Ironically, not a single scam was proved nor any per son prosecuted. In hindsight, it is crystal clear that Anna Andolan was sponsored by a dishonest system, and his si lence today speaks loud and clear about the dark system and systematic corruption for which he and his core group are responsible. It is also on record that some honest peo ple who were part of this core movement have asked for for giveness. How could the nation misjudge when the trajectory of the nation under Manmohan Singh was headed towards a prosperous nation, which was the envy of our neighbours and others? Eventually, the Anna Andolan led to the forma tion of the Aam Aadmi Party, which has significantly altered Indian politics for the worse. Consequences are enormous; since 2014, India has incurred unsustainable national debt, which is pushing millions be low the poverty line, yet the government continues to bluff the nation without an iota of pain or consciousness. The ru pee has hit a new low against the dollar. The high level of corruption and pollution has made India a laughing stock on the global stage. Yet, Anna and his gang are silent, even as the agonising cry of the children of a lesser god is getting louder. Who is responsible? The fear of the other has led to election rigging, the highest form of corruption in a demo cratic country, and the present dispensation has left no stone unturned to ensure its elec toral victory. The fear of losing power to the opposition has undermined democracy, free dom of expression, and the nation’s well-being. The 2023 CEC Act, which grants immuni ty to the Election Commission of India, has sparked signif icant legal and political con troversy, with critics describ ing it as a “lifetime washing machine” or “impunity.” The impunity given to the Election Commission is reaping benefits for the present dispensation, and now through the SIR ex ercise conducted by the Elec tion Commission, the winning machine is unstoppable. Al though the aim of SIR is good, the process is inadequate, with wrong timing and solely aimed at benefiting one party. In the process, the national treas ures are allegedly sold to two powerful business tycoons. Should anyone be surprised by the VB GRAM G Act? It is a direct attack on the children of the lesser god. Under MGNRE GA, the worker’s family had a legal guarantee of a minimum of 100 days of work per year. Under the new act, the work ers no longer have any legal guarantee to work. They work when the Modi government de cides. Therefore, no one should be surprised that the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and the CARES Fund lack traditional government accountability, as neither is audited by the Comp troller and Auditor General of India. Instead, both funds are audited by independent char tered accountants appointed by trustees, as they are not considered public authorities under the Right of Information Act. The present dispensation has a huge pile-up of dirty laundry to hide, and they fear facing the truth and justice, as they are willing to subvert an ything and everything, even political assassinations, to cov er their ill-gotten goods. Ruth lessly, the voice of the children of the lesser god is muzzled with muscle power and, when needed, supplemented with a few more dollars. Know this: it is righter and juster to fear God than to fear the other. (The Author is a Priest.)
