Degrading dole

The dole is degrading. It is a topic that needs to be thrashed threadbare and thrown into a place from which it will be impossible to resurrect. Certainly the dole is a necessity in very special cases of economically challenged elders, infirm and totally handicapped, but the rest need no help and shouldn’t even be entertained.

Why are we making the once proud Parsi race increasingly dependent on the dole thanks to the easy availability of sources from which cash and kind can be obtained? Eighty years back a visionary named S. K. Markham predicted that the dole would some day become the indiscriminate and unscientific beggar-producing-charity that would give rise to "professional beggars.” These persons knock on doors of different trusts to take whatever they can get as there is no monitoring body to scrutinize each and every case thoroughly.

Since ours is a community blessed with longevity we are prone to age related ill-health. Medical expenses can be lessened by some sort of insurance or assurance when the individual finds it hard to dish out hard cash. This would be a boon all round.

But to me the dole smacks more of the degradation that has seeped into our community. The Bombay Parsi Pun­chayet (BPP) too must take some of the blame for the situation. Give the needy and helpless homes with very nominal rents but don’t put them in the category of a so-called "poor Parsi” who can buy an ownership flat from BPP for Rs 18 to 20 lakhs!

Of prime importance is a change in the mind-set of those who lead our community. They should be more interested in remedial methods than in the simplistic "take from the rich and give to the poor” solution!

All able-bodied Parsis must be given jobs in collaboration with Parsi run industries. In fact, some sort of reservation in such industries would be a blessing in disguise. Motivate the families to go out of Bombay to ensure a better lifestyle. Encourage entrepreneurship amongst the young with flexible loans and a ready infrastructure. I am sure the BPP can easily do this, instead of being mired in needless controversies. Such long-term policies are bound to pay good dividends and bring back pride in a community known for its honesty, pioneering enterprise and joie de vivre.

RODA D. HAKIM

Baroda

vadhakim@yahoo.com