“Ten rupees,” said the man.
“Twenty, sir,” said the little girl.
“Ten!” he shouted, waving the small plastic flag in her face as though he had already conquered another foreign power.
The child stood barefoot at the traffic signal. Her dress was faded, her hair untidy, and a bundle of tricolours rested against her thin shoulder.
“Sir, I bought it for fifteen,” she whispered.
“That is not my problem,” he replied. “Learn how business works. Take ten or leave it.”
His daughter sat in the car watching him. She belonged to Gen Z, which meant she questioned everything, especially fathers who believed questioning was disrespectful.
The signal turned green. The man threw ten rupees at the child, grabbed the flag and drove away triumphantly.
“See,” he told his daughter, “you youngsters do not know how to bargain.”
She said nothing.
That evening, he sat at his desk preparing the Independence Day speech he would deliver the next morning as chief guest at a housing society celebration.
“My beloved brothers and sisters,” he began writing, “the true progress of India will be measured by how we uplift the poorest of the poor.”
His daughter looked up from her phone.
He continued, “Every child must receive dignity, education and opportunity.”
“Very good, Papa,” she said.
Encouraged, he wrote, “We must ensure that no little girl is forced to stand barefoot on our streets.”
His daughter stared at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. Please continue uplifting her.”
He frowned and resumed. “As responsible citizens, we must never exploit the weak. The tricolour reminds us of sacrifice, justice and equality.”
She walked across, picked up the flag he had bought and placed it beside his speech.
“How much did this cost?” she asked.
“Ten rupees.”
“No, Papa. It cost that little girl five rupees from her pocket and something from her dignity.”
He looked annoyed. “Why are you making a big issue out of a small bargain?”
“Because tomorrow you will stand under this flag and speak about uplifting the poor. Today, when one poor child stood before you, you pushed her further down.”
“Mind your language,” he snapped. “You young people have no respect.”
“We respect truth,” she said. “This is the hypocrisy we Gen Zs are fighting on the streets and at Jantar Mantar. Leaders speak of the poor from decorated stages, then bargain with them at traffic signals. They praise the youth in speeches, then silence us when we ask questions.”
The next morning, the man stood before the microphone. The little flag was pinned proudly to his chest.
“My beloved brothers and sisters,” he began.
His daughter watched from the crowd, then walked away.
And elsewhere at thousands of traffic signals all over the country, bare feet children walked home, knowing they had not earned enough to feed their waiting family, living under flyovers and on pavements…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Inspiring!
Thanks Bob🙏
Heartbreakingly true!
Always happens with a lot of politicians. They believe they are rulers and the fault lies in the few lumpen elements who use brute force and foster this belief
I know politicians are the Bête Noir and are at the root of all our problems. But if we are honest we are ALL to blame in some form or other for the conditions that prevail in our country today. The example of a man throwing Rs. 10/- at a street urchin, grabbing a flag out of her hand, and driving away like a thief seems a bit contrived, particularly when he also delivers a pompous speech the next day that totally contradicts his behaviour. However that story serves the narrative well. But your’s truly can also vouch for the fact that he has seen the well-to-do housewife haggle with the vegetable seller over 5 rupees, but thinks nothing of shelling out Rs 1500/- for a pizza without even a murmur. That sadly is the hypocrisy that engulfs ALL our lives in one way or other. It is just that we indulge in it with such finesse that not only do we not acknowledge it, we are probably not even aware of it. The only solution can come from EACH ONE OF us deciding that WE , at an individual level, will NEVER victimise the poor and the disadvantaged. I for one NEVER bargain with such vendors, invariably round off my bill to a higher amount and tip generously, not just waiters but even auto drivers and the staff that clean the tables in restaurants. I also buy stuff I do not need or take a child to a restaurant and get him a proper meal. Frankly it is the absolute minimum that I can do. Our people, particularly the ones on the lowest rungs of society are the true heroes that are keeping this nation on the move. We need them more than they need us.