Read out aloud the ranking in world GDP pecking order,
And it sure impresses to know that India is in fourth place,
Better still, it’s tipped soon to get to the third place by 2012,
Take out the qualifier “PPP” and dangle “Nominal” in front of GDP,
Not much gets conceded though; the show is still pretty good at number eleven.
Restrictive controls relaxed, economy opened up, growth oriented policies instituted,
The only way for the economy to go then is to gallop forward and play “catch-up” for lost time,
And it didn’t disappoint either; at a time when others gasped for air, India grew leaps and bounds,
At first a trickle, but now a definite bandwagon; world money pours into India to invest here,
“Go! Grab a slice of the Indian pie” is a frenzy that’s cut across the spectrum; JVs, M & As, PEs, IPOs, all alike...
So, all cylinders on fire, action in every economic sector – India must be really shining, right?
Think through the mind, India is shimmering; see through the eyes, India is going hungry,
Never mind whose estimate is used, at least 80 million Indian families starve repeatedly,
The India that shines is building mammoth food reserves in its warehouses across country,
The India that goes hungry receives not a grain from there; while a third of those reserves rot...
An old and tragic story; enough food to go around yet millions die out of starvation and deprivation,
Blame it on government mismanagement, price-gouging, corruption, hoarding or panic buying,
Fact remains people die not from lack of food, but from inefficiencies in storing & distributing food,
India shining this year has one more reason to cheer; good monsoons will bring in yet another good harvest,
India going hungry this year has another reason to be sceptical; not much lessons seem to have been learnt any way...
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