Has it ever struck you who are the thousands who die of "cold wave" or "heat wave" every season? When malaria strikes or plague spreads, it is always the poorest of the poor whose lives are sacrificed.

The government itself estimates that 320 million Indians, the largest concentration of poor anywhere in the world, are too poor to afford one square meal a day. Rural low caste poor are forced to live on the fringes of villages and suffer acute exploitation at the hands of feudal land-owners. Babus gloat that the number of poor has come down to 21%. Would that satisfy you if you were one of those 21%?

Have you ever seen the rural poor speak? Probably not. They invariably 'lament' or 'plead' or 'beg' for attention. Sometimes, they even 'wail' or 'weep'. Being poor also means a very high chance of being illiterate.

The government's anti-poverty programmes are badly targeted and poorly implemented, including the nation-wide food ration shops, where the non-poor end up at the head of the queue. It takes the government an expenditure of Rs.4.35 to transfer one rupee of income to the poor.

So much for being the world's largest democracy!