Original English text
Poor Welfare Fair: Service to Humanity
219
find that they are like Radhanpur, Santalpur, Harija and other
villages; with the only difference that this area is green due to
availability of water. A 28-30-year-old youth ascended the stage
and said, “Sir, I have something to say.” The officers felt that
somebody with a black flag had mounted the stage. I asked him,
“What is the matter?” I stopped the officers and asked them to
allow the young man to speak up. He said, “Sir, please do one
thing. Get my name struck off the BPL card. Just think that there
was a young man who did not want his name in the BPL card. It
appeared to me that he was somewhat insane. All people, not
only the poor, but also the resourceful, want the BPL card, and
there is this young man, on the other hand, who was behaving
just the other way round. I asked him, “Brother, why?” He came
before the mike and said, “I am an ordinary young man earning
my livelihood in the village. I have no land. I go to the places
where there are held music programmes, I beat the drum, play
the tabla, and then I learnt to play the band; I have learnt all
that. The government aided me with one lakh rupees, and now
I have a band party of my own. Now, I get a lot of work in the
surrounding villages where I play the band. People send their
vehicles, tractors and trolleys to fetch my team, and the income
of all of us – mine and my team of 15 members’ – has risen so
much that we don’t want to be in the BPL any more. This
government gave us one lakh rupees, and now we all are above
the poverty line.” What a great vitality this poor welfare fair
has created – it was a burning example of just that.
Dang district is the least developed in the whole of India.
No one wishes to go there. If somebody is sent there, he thinks
that it is like a punishment posting for him. The tribal sisters
there gave me a sum of ` 31,000 rupees for girl education. The
tribal sisters, who have no footwear on their feet, who look quite
ordinary, gave us ` 31,000 for girl education! I asked one sister
how educated she was. She said, “We are not literate, but now
we want the girls to get education, so we have come to you to
give this money.” This is the finest example of expressing social
awareness.
What type of inspiration this poor welfare fair gives the
society! When a large industrial house undertakes some social
