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The forgotten story of tongawallahs..........

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By Kishor

So,finally the Delhi's tongawallahs have been shown the door, for the sake of adding 'extra' beauty to the city. If i am not making any mistake,the tongawallahs have been practicing this vocation right from the British period. In other word they are too part of our history.The question is not who is displacing them and who has got displaced. The vital and most disturbing question is, whether any alternative arrangement has been made for their survival/income. The tongawallahas reminds us of the glory of the forbidden past which our ancestors enjoyed and we too embraced with dignity.
The city is growing and so is the infrastructure. We cannot blame the government for the steps it is taking to improve the civic amenities and infrastructure in the city. But a novel and human approach should be put in place to resettle and rehabilitate these tognawallhas. Showing them the door is the simple way of depriving one of his livelihood, which is not only cruel but also inhuman. It is not just the question of only tongawallahs but also for the people who have been deprived of their livilehood or their natural source of income, as happened in some of the tribal areas and rural communities.If we want to grow as a developing society then a balanced and human appraoch has to be adopted so that no one would leave behind in the rat race of development.
The civic socities and the NGOs have to come forward for these people whose voice has been left unheard. An alternative arrangement has to made for these people who have spent their life in ferrying tongas. It is one of the age old profession which continued generation after generation. So one has to think about it from a different perspective. A noble and viable source of income has to be provided so that they do not feel that the government has snatched their source of income,or they have been betrayed in name of development. One should not forget discontent and social inequalities are the most favourable breeding grounds for social anarchy. Let's give our tongawallahs' a dignified and noble exit from their age old profession which they have worshiped and followed. Let them feel to be part of the so called developed society.....

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