Mr Sabka Bhalla
COWBOY E C O N O M I S T
 What he says: Our
economy is globalising. Cities are
becoming economic magnets that attract job seekers. It is a pump that
generates wealth and spreads it into the hinterland. We are seeing an economic boom in
Indian cities, thanks to consumer spending by our burgeoning tax paying, credit-card-owning middle class.
What he means: Actually our cities
are like octopuses that suck
the rural areas dry of resources. Forcing people to migrate to cities. And did you know
that most of the world's population lives independently of the formal economy? These
economic activities are not regulated by the government and there are no formal companies
with permanent employees. They also don't pay taxes. But this keeps the wheels of the city
turning in many different ways through cheap labour and cheap services. And the failure is
not on the part of the slum dwellers, but the State, which cannot give them formal employment.
Reality: Slum dwellers have limited
access to credit and formal
job markets due to stigmatization, discrimination and geographic isolation.
Shanti Bai
MS KOTHIWALLAH’S MAID
 What she says: Do you know how I begin the
day? I share a toilet with 20 other women. Chee chee! Then I walk 2 kms for
"free" municipal water for which the thugs charge Rs 2 and return with a
20-litre jar. Then I work so hard at Mrs Kothiwallah's place and tolerate her taunts and
low salary. I actually manage two homes. There's so much cooking, cleaning, taking care of
the kids… It's a 24-hour grind without any breaks. Thank god we live in the heart of
the city, so we don't spend time and money on traveling.
What she means: I
don’t exist in Mr Sabka Bhalla’s economic calculations. My kinds don’t count in the National or
Global economy. Yet the formal economy forms only 25 per cent of the global workforce; 75
per cent is engaged in survival
through the informal economy— this includes street vendors, casual labourers, hawkers, and
ofcourse poor peasants.
Reality: Slum women bear the burden of raising children under the
most difficult of conditions and maintaining house. They are also most vulnerable to crime
and violence.
75 % of the global workforce forms the informal economy |
