INTODUCTION:

The first and foremost millennium Development Goal is to e dicate extreme poverty and hunger. It is onç of the eight goals of millennium Development. Mother Teresa, Queen of the poor, the Nobel Prize winner says, “Poverty is a trifling ailment composed with lovelessness, Moreover she says, “The greatest disease of today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbours who lives at the road side, assaulted by exploitation, corruption, poverty and disease”. “If an individual does not have anything to eat, it will be better to destroy the entire humanity,” says Subramania Bharathi one can not be happy and joyful with poverty and hunger. So it is a duty of everyone to eradicate poverty and hunger from this world.

MEANING OF POVERTY: -

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possession; it is a social position in which a section of society is unable to fulfill even its basic requirements of life.

MEANING OF HUNGER:

 If a person does not have sufficient bread for three times a day, he will feel the pinchof hunger. It is portrayed clearly, by the World Food Organization, it says that more than 80 crore people go to bed hungry everyday and 30 crore children are suffering from long — termmalnourishment and micro — nutrient deficiency. Moreover it is observed that — every 3.6 seconds another person dies of starvation and the large majority are children under the age of 5 years. So it is a social obligation for all of us to alleviate poverty and hunger. Clearly M.K.

Paul and others state in his “Blessed Teresa of Kolkata” that Mother Teresa observes the hunger in a different way. “All the people are same, all are hungry for love, being unwanted is the worst disease of all!. So it is an invitation for everyone to love the unloved and to care the uncared as God loved everyone. Only in this way we can eradicate extreme hunger in this world.

CAUSE FOR POVERTY:

It is important to note that poverty in India is the operation of “Vicious cycle of poverty”. Prof. Ragnar described this state as” India is poor because she is poor.” Now let me analyze the various reasons for the poverty.

(A) POPULATION EXPLOSION:

It is the major concern of all the nations of the world especially the underdevelopedand developing countries. The eleventh of July 1992 was observed as World Population Day to focus the attention on the problems due to population explosion. When the 20th century began the world population was put at 1.6 billion. It is estirnated that in the next century it would stabilize between 8 and 14 billion. Population growth is due to certain factors like high birth rate, low death rate, migration, lower marriageable age, widow remarriage, modern advertisement on medicine and health care. Added to these are high fertility rate, low standard of living, back of birth control practices and illiteracy. The increase in population puts pressure on land, water and forest resources. It leads to overall shortage in land, water and forest resources. It leads to overall shortage in land, jobs, capital, housing, industries, education, clothing, health services. The net result of population explosion is decrease in per capita income and standard of living of the people. Atleast in this millennium we should restore to check population explosion.

(b) UNEMPLOYMENT OF THE PEOPLE:-

People live in utter poverty due to lack of employment. It is increasing at an alarming rate year after year. In India, in 1951, the number of unemployed person was only 3.3 million. In 2000, it has risen to 10.6 million. It shows the non utilisation of human resources properly in India.

(c) SHORTAGE OF CAPITAL:-

The low per capita income and savings led to reduction to the capital formation. The overall gross domestic capital formation has increased from 954 crores in 1950 — 51 to Rs. 5,45,091 crores in 2001 —02. This is much lower than the required growth rate of capital formation.

(d) INFLATION IN THE ECONOMY:

Due to price hikes, purchasing power of the money falls. So the continuous rising of prices, reduces the size of the consumption of poor especially working in unorganized sector where the rising of prices are not compensated in terms of vaiiable Dearness Allowance etc.

(e) EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM:

We see today most of the young educated are suffering due to unemployment or under employment because our education system is not employment oriented. (f) Low growth rate:Though we had more than 50 years of planning, the growth rate of national income remained not more than 4% per amum on an average. This is because the growth strategy pursued in our plans especially in agricultural sectors during the last five decades has not been seriously designed to fight poverty. The main weakness is its greater identification with the large producers than the vast masses of the small tillers. This affects the proper utilisation of lands and peasants and causes poverty.

(g) INEQUALITY OF INCOME AND WEALTH:

Since the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, people live in poverty, misery, hunger and disease. Moreover it is observed that the income and wealth has not been distributed properly.

(h) CORRUPTION:

It is an important root cause for the existence of poverty even now. All poverty alleviation programmes implemented ever since Independence proved less and no effect as almost all agencies have become parasites on poverty. A study estimates that only 20% of allocated amount reaches the real targeted persons. Thus corruption occurs at various levels, distorting decision on development programmes and priorities and keeps the poor ever poor. Now let us analyse various measures to alleviate poverty and hunger, Remedial measures to alleviate poverty and hunger:

(a) Establishing Poverty alleviation programmes by the government as well as by the private institutions:-

Through five year plans our government arrests the poverty and decreases the mass poverty (e.g) small farmers Development Agencies (SFD), Marginal Farmer’s and Agricultural Labourers Agency (MFA.L.A), food for work scheme which was merged with National Rural Employment Programme of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Training for youth self. Employment (TRYSEM 1975), Integrated Rural Development programme (IRDP) Rural Landless Employment Guarantee programme (RLEGP1983), Development of women and children in Rural Areas (DWCRA). Golden iubilee Year village self — sufficiency scheme. Swarnajayanti Grame Swarogar Yojana [SGSY], Wage Employment Programme. [Jawahar Prosperity Scheme] Employment Assurance Scheme [EAS 1992] Indhra Women’s Scheme [IMY], Rural Women’s Development and Empowerment Project [RWDEP], Girl Child Self Prosperity Scheme [Baulk Samruddhi Yojana], Self — Fulfillment Scheme, [Swayamsiddha2001], Self-Respect Scheme [2002]..

(b) Concentration on Educational plans:-

Socrates says, “An education obtained, with money is worse than no education at all! More funds should be allocated for children’s education, providing equalized education and employment oriented education. We can control poverty and eradicate if all are educated, certainly after 10 — 15 years, our country will be prosperous and people need not to live in poverty and hunger.

CONCLUTION :

If we share our goods with have — nots, certainly there won’t be poverty and hunger in This world. So people should be generous, kind enough to help the weak to stand with their our legs — If we understand the severe problems of hunger and poverty, certainly we will come together to drive them out from the society. Only then, the whole humanity can experience joy and happiness. Let me conclude this essay with words of Mother Teresa, “Do what yoii do best, but do it for the love of God, not for fame or riches, and you will begin helping the whole world.” Let us have hunger to serve the poor more and more and create “new heaven and new earth.”

Reference Books:-

1. Indian Economics — Dr. S. Sankaran
2. Remembering Mother Teresa; Queen of the poor. — Sr. Leela Moozhayil FS.P
3. Blessed Teresa of Kolkata— Quotes and Anecdotes — Fr. M. K. Paul S.S.P.
4. Mother Teresa, Messenger of god’s love E. Le Joly.