Around the world, about 815 million people went hungry in 2016, according to the latest report of United Nations. A country like India which is in the race to become a powerful nation has performed below to North Korea. Social thinkers are terming it as alarming and asking for better stimulus for dealing hunger and malnutrition.
This was the first time when India performed below on the hunger index compare to other developing countries at one hand. On the other hand, the world has witnessed the first time increase in more than 15 years. United Nations member countries adopted the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and set out an agenda to end hunger entirely by 2030. But this report has discouraged the agency including others working for free hunger world.
There is no doubt that country like India has taken several measures in its policy and has enacted Right to Food Act for ensuring food for all, but its implementation on the ground is not convincing after seeing the performance on the recent hunger index. Recent news of the death of a child due to hunger in Jharkhand is a reflection of the weak implementation and question over the intention of the state and quality of governance. In contrary, the world had to face incidences of fires, floods, refugees, and violence in significant numbers last years. We have witnessed how Rohingyas have been treated in Myanmar and world response to it. In such circumstances, it is becoming harder for poor individuals, and marginalized communities to access adequate food and security for survival on the planet.
India has come forward to fight hunger in the past decades. Enactment of Right to Food act boosts its commitment. However, poor implementation and non-seriousness among the bureaucrats have thwarted the agenda of making India a hunger-free country on one hand. On the other hand, for larger coverage of this program requires India to promote farming, and innovate technology for agriculture to full fill the demand. Otherwise, the commitment of a hunger-free hunger nation will be a dream. However, making the state responsible for delivering its duty efficiently, we need to build strong civil society organizations who stand for the right and justice for the poor and marginalized.
