By Diksha Langthasa:
I am one of the few millions of our country whose population has crossed the billion mark, who has had the privilege to receive schooling. Why do I call myself privileged? Because I haven’t earned this opportunity to study. I was lucky to be born to parents who had the means to pay for their child and ensure that the child received the best. And this privilege gave me the pride to distinguish myself from the underprivileged. I have read a lot about them, I have seen a lot of them. Yet, I have never befriended even one of these masses.
In the present time, it has been immensely easy for me to isolate myself from the reality of the world. It is far easier for me choose to shop in different places in a single day and exhaust myself than take time out to help the needy. I have insulated myself in this consumerist society from those who could really use some help from me in any way possible. As this realization has dawned on me, I find it utterly vulgar that I can spend a thousand bucks on a single piece of clothing than use them to buy for a little girl her necessities. This is where I feel I have failed myself. This is where I think I have made my education worthless in terms of returns to society.
In the indifference that I am reeling under, I know I’m not alone. And that I feel should be changed. Being aware of the reality is not sufficient; we must be a catalyst in society for change. We must respond to the problems in society with actions. As I read more and more stories of runaways and homeless people, I realize how much more courage they have than I do. Their courage was the reason they could escape from an abusive surrounding and if they couldn’t escape, they would survive it. They have the strength to live one more day. We take one more day for granted.
On a cold winter night, you might be comfortably tucked under a blanket. And just a few minutes away from your home, there might another human, just you age, without any roof, without any blanket, making himself vulnerable not only to disease, but abuse too. You may still be comfortable in your home. That comfort is indifference.