No, Ivanka Trump. Poverty is not “beautiful”.
Why Ivanka Trump’s tweet about a 15 year old Indian girl generated a well-deserved backlash.
If there is one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and amplified globally, it is the ever-growing inequalities between the privileged and the underprivileged. It is the marginalized sections of society that have been hit the hardest by the existing crisis.
And this is perhaps most evident in India where the government has failed to address the concerns of migrant labourers who have been stranded in big cities without food and shelter since the nationwide lockdown commenced. As all forms of public transportation have been halted, migrant laborers have had no choice but to walk thousands of kilometers under the scorching heat of the sun in order to get home.
In the past three months, several news reports have highlighted the plight of the workers. One such story about 15 year old, Jyoti Kumar was tweeted by Ivanka Trump. Jyoti Kumar had to cycle over 1200 km from Gurgaon to Darbhanga, Bihar with her injured father on the backseat in order to get home. However, instead of questioning why a child had to undertake such an arduous journey, Ivanka glorified it as a “beautiful feat of endurance & love”.
It didn't take long for Indian politicians and netizens to call out Ivanka for her insensitive tweet. After all, there is nothing beautiful about Jyoti’s achievement.
While what Joyti did is certainly commendable, it was not for the sake of adventure. It was out of survival. With funds running low, her father, Mohan had no way of paying for their rented accommodation. Hence, with no other means of returning home, Jyoti along with her injured father, cycled for seven days covering over a thousand kilometers in the summer heat.
They survived only on biscuits and food given to them by strangers during their stops. It is therefore clear that she was forced into such circumstances out of desperation because the only other option was homelessness.
There are many like Jyoti and her father who have found themselves in such circumstances. And many have even died as a result of exhaustion or starvation. Considering the devastating situation, Jyoti and her father are lucky to have survived their ordeal. While many like us have the privilege to stay at home and practice social distancing during a public health emergency, there are several others who are either starving or dying because of poverty. Hence, this is why, Ivanka’s tweet was tasteless and even cruel. It romanticized Jyoti’s story as an adventure rather than recognizing it for what it truly is- a traumatic experience for which the government is solely responsible.
Ivanka’s tweet reeks of privilege and apathy, and therefore should be held accountable for her careless words. And yet, it somehow resembles the official stance taken by the center and the state governments of India. In other words, it is this very privilege and indifference that guides the center and state governments in its decision-making which is why the Indian government is yet to provide free public transportation to take the workers home, and has led several state governments to amend or altogether suspend labour laws.
Therefore, Ivanka’s tweet is a part of a larger problem which shows that the powerful and the rich only care to serve the interests of the elite. Perhaps this is why while the government arranged several rescue mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad, the plight of the poor largely remains ignored.
