Pro-poor development for Dharavi Slums?

To know what I have rambled on in this post, unfortunately you will have to take the extra efforts of reading this BBC article.It is not a very long article, so don't worry.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7558102.stm

Now...assuming that you have skimmed through it at least,I shall proceed.See now this article is a brilliant example to debate upon. While reading this article, I could almost predict what the next paragraphs are going to be about n they were! Look at this line in the article like, "The poor get a home in a block in a prime location, the companies make money and Mumbai's residents get a posh new city quarter. Theoretically at least, everyone wins”. This in itself is portraying the unsustainability of Mr.Mehta's plans. His intentions might be genuine as well for the re-development of the poor, but in reality, I am cent percent sure that the end product is not going to what it was ought to be. It is a known fact that Dharavi is a BIG industry. The world's best quality leather is made in the dharavi slums and that these people would rather make profits out of their industry and choose to stay in a slum.

Re-development , giving them new homes is an excellent and a theoretically proved solution for pro-poor development. But hey...we're talking about Mumbai here. Every living soul in that city knows the meaning of the word-business(and probably just that). He'll sell off the allocated home and get a profit in return, just as its mentioned in the article, coz that’s what’s been happening for years now. These have been small-scale industries alright, but they are probably the biggest testimony for the fact that India is almost governed by Privatization. This intrinsically runs counter to Developmental approaches like an RBA process (rights-based approach) bcoz it’s not a government (which at least has a constitutional law-framework for the citizens to refer to and use for their rights) that is then deciding the direction of our society's development, but corporations. And my oh my! Let’s not even get started about what Corporations do and what they dont!! Yes you can oppose my resentment towards corporations by saying 'Shut the f@#k up! We now have corporations adhering to CSR (Corporate social responsibility)’.To that I would just say one thing...'Oh….really?' Point is, even if they change 'some' of their business strategy in order to do some 'good deeds' for the society, they're still the ones making all the money!

For example; Coca-Cola making money out of selling products like the Coca Cola drink itself, which requires about 2 liters of water for every 1 liter of Coca cola, and by launching a product like Aquafina (How much water must be used up in the process? U do the math) As far as what I have seen/heard (Mark Thomas, documentary on Coca Cola,youtube) if u own a portion of land anywhere in India, you own the water resource therein as well. So u aint paying tax or any kinda money for it. So let’s get some perspective here shall we? Coca-cola buys this huge land outta the massive amounts of capital that they make by creating a market for generations of foolish youngsters (& maybe adults) buying harmful (pesticide) drinks like Coca-Cola of course.(People just don’t love themselves anymore these days do they?!) So they have the land, and all the water that comes with it. But they’re making mineral water for the ‘bisleri-class’ people and selling it to earn unimaginable profits. Why? They aint paying tax for it, but they’re selling it and makin money. Whats worse? We’re talkin about WATER…a precious resource for us now and this OMG-so-scarily scarce resource is being manipulated by one simple Private organization to create a kind of development that aligns only with the screwed up definitions of a class of people which considers having Pizza Huts and Mc’Donalds or even maybe tissue paper to wipe their asses in a multiplex , as ‘development’. It doesn't matter if Coca Cola steps upon a farmer's irrigation resource then aye?And what could be worse? they're still the ones who are dictating and manipulating the direction of development. How on earth is that righteously fair?

At this point you might wanna resort to lines in the article such as "Although Mumbai's transformation is being closely modelled on Shanghai, China's glitzy commercial capital, India's democratic system means the demands of the slum's myriad opposition groups cannot be ignored" ……….Genau ! So if we’re talkin about the rights of the poor, we obviously turn in the direction of a Rights-based approach. But we just saw who holds the power in our political system. So ….hmmm… what kind of a political system DO we exactly have? A democracy disguised as Oligarchy really? If there ever was a reason why I probably would develop a sort of an allergy for privatization, its only because of this very reason, that it nurtures Oligarchy in a very subtle manner. What I see before my eyes, is a country, that constitutionally offers lip-service to democracy, is fundamentally run by Oligarchy and when it comes to the people… Man it’s all about anarchy! One would think then, that being a Republic State would be the ideal thing wouldn’t it? But I won’t make the mistake of jumping to that conclusion as much as I’m tempted to, because If Satan had his way, he personified all his political wishes through the eyes of the United States of (f@#*@n) America. How successful are they as a republic? That is a HUGE topic for debate and maybe I will leave it for individual pondering when u have nothing better to do.

AT this point I am compelled to wonder, how realistically is it possible for ‘researched’ solutions’, that come right outta the academic journals, to prove themselves as sustainable in a business (selfish)-minded society like ours? Hitting the bottom of the sea, I’d say, how do we deal with the word ‘selfish’ which has worked its way up amongst us so fast , by emerging as the prime tool for achieving progress/success/development? What is the one thing that is so universal in nature that it is liable to impart a genuinely good school of thought ?

There is one word that takes center-stage as a response to all our evil, cruel self-destructive human notions of development. And that word is Education. What we have become today, is nothing but a by-product of a mixture of religious and moral views which then went on and shaped our social and civic views to create this society that we’re living in. Education, the broadest ever concept that it is, can very easily be subjected to a lot of criticism in being able to carry out such a big responsibility of creating a universally good, righteous and democratic school of thought. But movements in this direction have begun already, and since the past 50 years in fact.

I could be terribly and I mean…. TERRIBLY wrong in my notions and I welcome all possible criticism, suggestions, advice, etc with open arms (pls do so, else I won’t learn more and I’m damn greedy u know!). But I do know, that no revolution took place without severe criticism, that no leader really died a martyr’s death, and that it takes a transition from ‘me’ to ‘we’ to bring about a change. I’m not trying to be a Napoleon , Alexander or a Gandhi. I’m just trying to spread a thought.