Modern Inflation
By M.C. Linthoingambee
If we are asked to mention a period or phase of time when we took everything for granted, a majority of us would point out the time when we were children and when our parents and older family members looked after our needs and we just took things for granted. The same goes for me but now, living independently in another city has made me realize just how much the rates of modern inflation is hitting me.
The grocery rates keep on increasing at a pace far beyond our social strata in an unexpected rate while one cannot forget the monopoly of the *sabjiwala* presiding in a particular residential era. While the rate of tomatoes go far exceedingly to the context of Rs.100/kg, there were those times when we wouldn’t even bother if tomatoes laid exceedingly in our own households back home. But if asked of the rates back home in Manipur, I wouldn’t know. When we narrate these stories they are not to be taken lightly since a large portion of the economy are deeply affected by it. Looking into the perceptive lens, more than 60% of the population is mainly comprised of those who are still unable to afford the basic necessities of life. Doesn’t this general price expectancy every now and then affect these people more? While we sit in our homes lax about the concerns of inflation, there are many, who suffer from the cause of malnutrition while not having the capacity to afford the required amount of calorie intake they are need to be taking. While the Japanese investments ties recently with India acquired by our new Prime Minister continue to make headlines, things are the same back home. The temperamental stand of filling up foe cooking gas is also a huge issue in everyday life, while some are more inclined to use the pipeline system of receiving gas into their homes, there are also those who stand in long queues to acquire a tank of gas. Remembering how our family elders use to stand in those lines to acquire their gas slip at MM Gas, Hirangchal Gas Agency and so on. I recently learnt that we need to book gas cylinders days before they are actually delivered.
When many of these daily requirements are going on price rise, shouldn’t we be looking at the production rather than cutting down on un-acquired land? When a promise of development springs up there are always those talks of certain lands being acquired by government. And when the right to property has been exclusively removed from our fundamental rights, it becomes explicitly easier for authorities to strip away people of their homes. The meager amount of compensation is not enough to meet the new house hunt considering the price rise in acquiring a new land or a new home. While the deal of houses are valued not anywhere less than 60 lacs and above in the capital of India itself, where can we expect those people who are considered ‘poor’ to go for that matter if they are driven out of their homes. There are still villages existing, surviving even in the small corner of Delhi, “The New-Delhi” and while the government fail to look their way, we bear witness to corporate ambitions to acquire that land in the hope of building new corporations where they claim youths will have a further chance of employment. Seeing how both are needed, we are talking about life and job both being necessarily pickled and sandwiched to choose from. The public trust doctrine is something we often come across in spite of our ignorance. While the Ambani brothers very often wage law suits on many matters currently being that of natural gas, the judiciary has awarded them with the ratio of determining that natural gas is a naturally occurring substance, and it should not be the cause of feud between brothers. Those notably MBA degrees only seem to let them see only profits (money) over people. The social justice principles in our parent legislation of the Constitution seem to be taking fewer tolls on these heavily armed increases. As a matter of which, using gas or electricity for the purpose of cooking have not taken affect. A large number of families are forced to use *chullahs and firewood *which are naturally available. These uses produces a large amount of smoke which causes air pollution that result in producing a harmful effect to our environment whilst causing a large amount of carbon monoxide compounds to be released in air that further adds to the green-house effect and cause respiratory problems and other ill diseases to its end users. As a matter of which a large affect is cause on our public health which is in gross violation of fundamental right to live and exist in personal liberty.
And these are not the only fixated problems that need solving; there is also the issue of sanitation being a primary concern. A recent article on *Civic Sense* in The Times of India written by Jug Suraiya pointed out that in spite of the new government’s promises to build new sanitation systems for women who do not have the necessary input of disposing of their natural business at night, shouldn’t we be focusing more on correcting those men who seem to enjoy taking a dump in a busy street in view of the public. While certain public restrooms may charge a price for the purpose, perhaps building more public houses of sanitary needs without a price might change the outlook of these men, who believe that paying for natural relieve is an evil into their wallets.