The Slumdogs Blog

India, which is often described as peaceful, stable and prosperous country by the western media, remains home to the largest number of poor and hungry people in the world. About one-third of the world's poor population lives in India. According to World Bank, more than 450 million Indians exist on less than $1.25 a day. India has about 42% of the population living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 per day. The number of Indian poor also constitute 33% of the global poor, which is pegged at 1.4 billion people, according to a Times of India news report. More than 6 million of those desperately poor Indians live in Mumbai alone, representing about half the residents of the nation's financial capital.

There is widespread hunger and malnutrition in all parts of India. India ranks 66th on the 2008 Global Hunger Index of 88 countries .The first India State Hunger Index (Ishi) report in 2008 found that Madhya Pradesh had the most severe level of hunger in India, comparable to Chad and Ethiopia. Four states — Punjab, Kerala, Haryana and Assam — fell in the 'serious' category. "Affluent" Gujarat, 13th on the Indian list is below Haiti, ranked 69. The authors said India's poor performance was primarily due to its relatively high levels of child malnutrition and under-nourishment resulting from calorie deficient diets.

As critics complains about the usage of “Slumdog” in the Oscar Awards winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, and for showcasing India as a poverty stricken nation, fogets the real fact about India. The millionaire's and the billionaires neglects the poor and therefore the gap between the rich and the poor widens. So is the gap between two Indians. As 'Slumdog Millionaire' has drawn a global attention, those politicians and the rich who stumps away the poor should come down from their statuquo and be ready to pay attention to the poors needs.