There is an old saying that Crime Follows Poverty and both shares a true intimate relationship. Crimes have different motivations indeed but let’s narrow down the perspective of crime to poverty only for time being and leave terrorism and political reasons for next time.
I am not saying crime doesn’t happen in richer class as we have an example of Sheena Bora murder but poverty has its true reasons. Every day when I begin to read newspaper, there is always 3-6 crime news flashing within few pages. To me it has all started looking same except the changes in character, location etc. but motivations seems common. We have seen the worst of crimes that shocked us for the 1st time and depressed us internally, was tough to imagine. We saw Nirbhaya who was bleed to death and now we have seen women and child crimes in other parts of world. What worst can it be?
So crimes seems to have achieved most of its possibilities we could ever imagine be it either a man who caught having killed his wife (5th wife) conspiring with robbers or a little 9 year boy head crushed and body found in dump yard or a little 14 year old girl reaching police station with an aborted fetus, there is nothing worst and shocking now as we have seen worst of worst.
But today I realized one more perspective of crime and i.e. in a country like India having 1/6th of the world population of whom 70% is poor, crime is also an exact opportunity of poverty or we can say poverty is an exact condition of crime, both are lovers.
First getting born in a Poor family hits you from all sides be it resources, education, vision, confidence etc. And then it gives you so many Crime-Prone situations be it unchangeable living conditions, jealous neighbors, exposed home, lack of financial security, lack of personal resources to entertain, lot of stress to pay bills and lack of spirits to get more. Your life ends up in meeting basic necessities and fighting every day for survival and space.
Imagine a person well secured socially and don’t have to bother for Health, Home, Education can easily follow up his dreams vs. a person who is born loser by luck and have to get it all at first place.
I know there are various other influencing factors for crime but what I mentioned is also one perspective and not a general rule to stop crime. European nations have got this basic securities by government and people are better relaxed.
In India, both ‘Haves’ and ‘Haves not’ work together and watch each other every day, while the one is buying a new car and planning for a good vacation and dinner, the other is disappointed or frustrated on why he is missing it and has no reasons to have it sooner or later. The affluent is either humiliating the poor or the poor is feeling humiliated and full of unhappiness by seeing achievers. What’s the solution for unprivileged? How easy for them to accept reality and how many knows the path of living happily and honestly in true acceptance and modesty?
Let me end my article with OSHO words above Rich and Poor –
“Boredom is a Rich Man’s Privilege as you need to have a life and money to get fed up with it with many entertainments and time for all of them as movies, travel, hobbies, museums, meditation etc. A poor only entertainment is sex”
Kapil Srivastava 