Some poverty line!

Twelve rupees a day.

Evidently, if you can earn that much in India, you are above the poverty line. I got the shock of my life when I discovered this in MJ Akbar's editorial in yesterday's Asian Age.

Let's see – twelve rupees a day. That makes it – about three hundred and sixty rupees a month. What is the bare essentials one needs for an existence – a roof over one's head, some food and clothing? Can one get all that in Rs. 360 per month?

Well, one must! Because if one is earning that much, one is above the poverty line! No wonder the Government claims that almost three-fourth of the country is above the poverty line. If you are earning Rs 13 per day, you cannot be poor. You may not be able to afford food, clothing or any kind of accommodation (heck, even a room in a slum in cities comes for more than Rs 12 a day). You may not have enough money be able to support a family, send your child to school or even afford a doctor when one of you falls ill. But hey, you are not poor if you are earning Rs. 13 per day.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? With such a definition of poverty, who wants to be rich!?