The Article below appeared in todays edition of Mumbai Mirror. Question is
Who deserves Pension! Who all do we subsidise. Not sure if this topic had been debated earlier here.
I wish I could raise a toast to Taj's win with friends and family. But it's impossible on a Rs 400 govt pension
Kolkata: The ostentatious Taj Mahal and a dingy slum? Not much in common there, you'd think — but when the marble mausoleum in Agra was named one of the New Wonders of the World, the last of the Mughals whooped in joy at her home in a West Bengal slum.
Sultana Begum, the 54-year-old great granddaughter-in-law of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was up at her residence in a Howrah slum to watch the results.
"It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I stayed up till late in the night to watch the telecast," an ecstatic Sultana Begum said from her 66 sq ft room at Foreshore Road in Howrah district.
Sultana's husband, the late Mirza Mohammad Bedar Bukht, was the direct descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar and queen Zeenat Mehal.
"Taj will always remain among the top draws," Sultana Begum says. But she had only a few family members to share her joy with.
Her daughter Madhu Begum, granddaughter Roshna Ara and brother Parvant Singh Maihari were basking in the reflected glory of the monument built by their forefathers. "I wish I could celebrate with friends, family and neighbours," says Sultana Begum, "But I can't celebrate the way I want to. It's impossible for me to afford all that with the Rs 400 monthly government pension."
She used to run a tea stall, but has rented it to a scrap dealer. But that too folded up, leaving her to appeal to the government for a higher pension and a piece of land."In 2005, I wrote to Sonia Gandhi asking for a higher pension for a dignified life. She wrote back saying necessary action would be taken, but nothing has happened," Sultana says.
Does this woman need sympathy? Does she deserve pension? Do we need to save less and pay more taxes to feed people like her?
Who deserves Pension! Who all do we subsidise. Not sure if this topic had been debated earlier here.
I wish I could raise a toast to Taj's win with friends and family. But it's impossible on a Rs 400 govt pension
Kolkata: The ostentatious Taj Mahal and a dingy slum? Not much in common there, you'd think — but when the marble mausoleum in Agra was named one of the New Wonders of the World, the last of the Mughals whooped in joy at her home in a West Bengal slum.
Sultana Begum, the 54-year-old great granddaughter-in-law of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was up at her residence in a Howrah slum to watch the results.
"It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I stayed up till late in the night to watch the telecast," an ecstatic Sultana Begum said from her 66 sq ft room at Foreshore Road in Howrah district.
Sultana's husband, the late Mirza Mohammad Bedar Bukht, was the direct descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar and queen Zeenat Mehal.
"Taj will always remain among the top draws," Sultana Begum says. But she had only a few family members to share her joy with.
Her daughter Madhu Begum, granddaughter Roshna Ara and brother Parvant Singh Maihari were basking in the reflected glory of the monument built by their forefathers. "I wish I could celebrate with friends, family and neighbours," says Sultana Begum, "But I can't celebrate the way I want to. It's impossible for me to afford all that with the Rs 400 monthly government pension."
She used to run a tea stall, but has rented it to a scrap dealer. But that too folded up, leaving her to appeal to the government for a higher pension and a piece of land."In 2005, I wrote to Sonia Gandhi asking for a higher pension for a dignified life. She wrote back saying necessary action would be taken, but nothing has happened," Sultana says.
Does this woman need sympathy? Does she deserve pension? Do we need to save less and pay more taxes to feed people like her?
Arjun
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