‘Outsider-Insider’; the traveling mode, etc

‘Outsider-Insider’; the traveling mode, etc.
Aug.2, 2010
Today I read a good narrative by Amitabh, an IPS,IIM(Lucknow) trainee who preferred to talk cab drivers about their problems and schedules and could know some hard fact on ”outsider-insider,” issue which is available on mithila_premi@yahoogroups.co.in and mithila_vasi@yahoogroups.co.in
It was a good luck that he was saved by not meeting accident while driven by sleep deprived cab drivers on Pune-Mumbai route who in fact remain permanently sick due to sleep deprivation.

I always prefer a train(though that too gets accident like Vananchal Exp. had recently) or a Govt. bus though I was not knowing this ritual of drivers yet it must be more relaxed for Govt. bus drivers.
I prefer a passenger train reaching destination in overnight journey(like Pune-CST & back and so between Bangalore-Tirupati / Harihar-Bangalore and so Madurai-Thiruvannathapuram( may change for Kanyakumari from Nagarcoil,only 12 km away) or Rourkela-Bilaspur but not many such good services available in most parts of the country.
Such passenger trains named above have also sleeper/s coach/es on a nominal fare.
It saves money and also gives a chance to learn the locality like garland making ladies on Madurai-Thiruvanthapuram midnight passenger.
In trains I do not mind traveling in any class because every coach will reach the destination same time . A large part of my traveling had been in II Class though in most of the trains there is a great rush in such coaches due to limited, one or two coach/es which need to be make minimum four in any train as railways do get more money from the jam packed passengers instead of limited 72 of a sleeper coach).
But after Vanachal collision I too am afraid of as I recall the train I took that fateful night from Dhanbad to Ranchi I was in the rear coach and one passenger had remarked that rear coaches are safer during accidents but the following train, Vananchal’s rear coaches were smashed by a hit from train coming after it on the same line!
I read only yesterday somebody had advised that general coaches do need interconnection to avoid train robbery though I feel these should be placed in the middle for in any fateful accidents the general persons should be given priority to be saved not because I do travel there frequently but for the fact that such poor person’s even bodies are not identified for long not to talk of the fact that those are the bread-earners of their families while for reserved coaches list of passengers can be instantaneously released by railways.
About flights-I do not have much experience (maybe my time is not so worthy till I retire and go in practice- Govt. service gives you leaves sufficient to travel).
However, in air explosions hardly any survives yet people prefer that for status though wherever overnight train journey is possible that is better than early morning flights for catching which one remains awake almost whole night.
Many persons do not want to talk fellow passengers and are occupied on mobile are remaining within their known circle but if you talk unknown persons you may get many information not usually available in books.

Amitabh talked to cab drivers and found some revelations. This insider-outsider issue has many other facets-not only for drivers but also for each and every person. Once a native pf Bangalore told me that the students (mostly from north) had increased house rent. In 2 - BHK some 4-5 students share money and give around 1.5 times a family person can give as rent and also.
There is pressure on job number also, particularly for unskilled jobs for which an outsider can work at a lower rate (but that is higher than he can get in his own state, in our context from Bihar/UP/Orissa- I think people of MP and Rajasthan do go out in lesser number,even otherwise their population is spars-the so called BIMARU nomenclature was not even). Most of them are from lower socio-economic group and hence,sanitation is not maintained by them infuriating many people and then there is lack of local language’s use- a common language, Hindi, is uttered even by insiders to communicate with those outsiders and many groups like of Thakres’ or Rajkumars’ react making news and more so when such outsiders start pressure on electoral politics(as by 6 month’s residence one can be voter of that place) and it adds fuel to fire.
From an insider’s point of view many of these arguments have weight but so is in the outsiders’ as they contribute the economy of that place- ‘Punjab’s green revolution was due to Bihari(Maithil) labourer,’ probably I was the first person to say so(since 1990s- Panjabi kisan apan jahi harit kranti par apan monchh marorati achhi o Maithilk mehnatk paseena par) which is on everybody’s tongue.
The Mumbai was flooded some years back and there were diatribes against people of north when I had retorted ,”Ant goes on sugar. Let National Stock Exchange and Corporate office of National Banks shifted from there to Delhi.It is people’s money on which Mumbites claims of 6000 crore rupees tax to country was dependent.”
Later Sheila Dixit(a daughter in-law of UP-ite spoke against people of Bihar and UP and so MP Cm, ShivrajSingh Chauhan).
So the solution is to have balanced growth all over the country and hence I started opposing inter-linking of river(though initially I was supporting that) , as southern states will grow faster than poorer northern states(and my later opposing President Kalam was published by the Hindu and later I asked him such a question when he had visited Ranchi as ex-president in 2009 which he did not replied properly and mentioned only the plights of adivasis who face displacements.
A holistic economic policy based on the agro-industrial needs of the backward states need formulation and implementation and also a view that every Indian language is mine and one should try to talk at least few lines with such insiders and see what change will come in their reception! I had experienced this when I left Bangalore after residing there 19 months- One of the Kannadiga administrative officer told me,”Sir, with your going we feel one of our persons is going back. There are people living for 20-25 years but they have not learnt even a line of Kannada.”
Why not one should learn, ‘Thamba,’ from Marathi for BUS STOP , or ‘ Rail Sthanak,’ for ‘Railway Station,’ rather ‘ridiculesing,’ Hindi to use’ Lohpathgamini..shakat Sthanalaya….”
One going to west from east should try to inculcate the ingredients of higher culture and try to learn the tenets of business and entrepreneurship from them and try to contribute something whatsoever possible.


Dr. Dhanakar Thakur
Spokesman,
Antarrashtriya Maithili Parishad