Idyllic fabrication

In response to a petition filed by three activists, the Central government told the Supreme Court that "there have been no starvation deaths in the country during recent times, even during adverse situations like the pandemic." However, the government failed to back its assertion even after repeated insistence from the apex court. What is further worrying is that it simply appeared to pass the buck on state and local governments. Irrespective of whether the assertions made by the Centre are factually correct or not, its response is inherently flawed on the parameters of approach. In the first place, not being able to furnish data to substantiate the claim of zero death in recent years, indicates the negligence towards addressing the problem. This argument is further strengthened in the backdrop of the pandemic where documentation of miseries of people and their transition from one socio-economic status to the other — certainly a lower one — should have been accorded primacy to figure out comprehensive solutions. The government's fumbling on the question of data is indeed worrying. It presents a threat of lacking or defective policy formation around hunger eradication in the future. The second inherent problem in the government's response is the lack of coordination across the three tiers of the government. The Attorney General highlighted that the States needed to come up with community kitchens through appropriate funding methods, and the local governments should provide for logistics. These steps are indeed crucial but Centre should also understand its role as a facilitator. Coordination is the last thing to be ignored in a fight to weed out a problem as rooted as hunger. None of the tiers of the government can set itself aloof and expect positive outcomes. India is obliged to achieve the target of zero hunger by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals. Eliminating hunger is as much a local problem as it is international. An Oxfam report had estimated last year that the number of people living with 'extreme hunger' globally was 155 million. India was one among many countries that the report had flagged to be a 'hotspot' country. Just a few months ago, the Global Hunger Index ranked India 101 out of 116 countries — placing it behind many comparable developing economies. Of course, the Ministry of Women and Child Development had expressed its shock back then and termed the methodology to be flawed. The reason for the shock was however unaccounted for, as India's ranking had just slipped from 94th position in the preceding year's report after incorporation of a dozen more countries in the list. To make the outlook even worse, the World Inequality Report showed how unevenly India's wealth is distributed vertically along the socio-economic spectrum — with the gap further becoming wider in the aftermath of the pandemic and the lockdown. The point to be made here is that hunger is indeed a global problem and India is no exception to it — more because of the unquestionable economic disparity within the country. It would be wise to recognise this problem and chalk out policies, rather than denying it and squabbling over global conspiracies. The methodologies and approaches used in foreign data can certainly be questioned but, to replace that data, the government will have to curate its own data based on authentic sources. Especially for a government that appears to be focussing on transformative policy intervention in different areas, compilation of data becomes extremely crucial. State governments should also show responsibility and coordinate with the Centre towards eliminating the hunger menace by the end of this decade. We already have excellent examples from several states within our country itself that could serve as an inspiration for other states. Amma Canteen in Tamil Nadu is one such example. Started in 2013, the programme continues, perhaps in a modified form and with more vigour, despite the change in leadership. The canteen is known to serve hygienic meals to people across socio-economic strata at throwaway prices. It emerged as a boon for local workers during the pandemic. Obviously, it goes without saying that apart from incorporating innovative models like community kitchen, the governments must also focus on structural policy reforms that would curtail the soaring food inflation and prevent the poor from cutting items from their daily meal! Even if one goes by the words of the government that there hasn't been any death due to starvation in the country, the telling reality of rising hunger in India cannot be pushed under the carpet. The Supreme Court has asked States to come up with data. It is expected that they will come out with honest and appropriate data so that hunger could be accorded the high priority it deserves in policy formation.