Page 226 - SocialHarmony

230 Social Harmony

In this fair of Banaskantha district, the poor beneficiaries
have come from all tehsils and villages of the district. 1,67,000
beneficiaries have attended it, and 127 crore rupees were
disbursed among them instantly. All this has come under severe
criticism, you are well aware of all this. The utilisation of 125
crore rupees for the development of this district in five years,
the poor people of this district were not so fortunate!

A girl gifted me a pair of leather socks. I asked her if it was
to wear in the feet or to wear it to bed in cold. Then I asked her
what she studied. She said that she was a student of the tenth
standard. I asked her what she intended to do further. She said
that she wanted to go for higher studies. A girl who made socks
from the skin of a carcass, dreams of studying further! This
speaks volumes of the success of these poor welfare fairs. People
have now cultivated a sense of confidence in themselves.

Recently, I visited Rajua village in Amreli district, it is a
completely backward village. People are fishermen. A poor girl,
who is handicapped right from childhood, was given a tricycle
and then I enquired about her education. She said that she
wanted to study much and she wanted a favour from me. When
I asked what she wanted, she said: “Sir, give me a scooty in
place of this tricycle.” I asked her if she knew how to ride a
bicycle. She said, “No, but I want a scooty.” I said, “Daughter, I
thank you. You have been born in a poor family but you dream
of riding a scooty.” This is the thing how the poor people’s
dreams have been realized in Gujarat. This is just the mystery.

If you think of fighting with poverty, there is hidden infinite
power in the society, you will have to just worship it. The people
visiting the poor welfare fair must have certainly thought why
the government has remembered them. The poor must have
wanted to know why the government has called them. You all
must have felt that it is not the time of elections, then why have
you been called here? Generally, there is a tradition to invite
the poor when elections are round the corner, and this tradition
has been in existence for the past 60 years. When the poor are
invited, the only thing they can think about is that the election
must be near, so they have been remembered. For the sixty years,