SHORTAGES 1

SHORTAGE

Dictionaries describe “shortage” in various ways, such as ……

·        A complete absence of a particular thing,

·        Something that is needed but is in short supply or missing,

·        Not to have something that is needed,

·        To have too little of something,

·        An insufficient supply of something,

·        An inadequate supply of something necessary,

·        A situation in which there is not enough of something,

      and so on.

 But we in India have forgotten the above meanings. At least the last three to four generations have been born and brought up in a situation of shortage of one item or another.

The leaders of the country are prone to blame any shortage on various things.  It could be such a serious thing as draught in the Antarctica or shortage of penguins in Africa. The people of course have been forced to take it as something which is ordained to their karma.

Let us take a view of the items which we have been living in shortage of….

1960 onwards        Wheat

to 1980                  Sugar

Vanaspati

Kerosene

Cement

Steel

Telephone connection

Cars

Scooters

1980 onwards        Electricity

& continuing         Water

Cooking gas

Fertilisers

Pulses

Milk

Text books of primary classes

Admission to Professional courses

2000 onwards        Train berths / seats

& continuing         Skilled workers

In this list all such items have been included if they were short for several years, but may have been available freely at a later stage. For example some items were short in the 50’s to 70’s, but are now freely available. Similarly some available then are in short supply now.

The list is not exhaustive, and some items could have been added / left out; but you get the drift. Some items were rationed during the 50’s to late 70’s, but then became abundantly available.

There is really no shortage of cooking gas, but the government is hell-bent in proving that it is so. See my earlier blog.

I have included milk in the list, but the majority will say that it is available in plenty. But real milk is in shortage, it the ‘manufactured’ variant that is available in plenty.

Skilled workers / technicians may come as a surprise, but it is a fact. The large infrastructure companies are hiring more and more of Korean / Chinese workers to get the work done, as skilled Indian workers are in acute short supply.

It may be noted that items such as ‘clean air’ or ‘medical aid’ have not been included as they can be termed as qualitative / abstract / of relative quality such as ‘cleaner or better air’ or ‘better or best medical aid’.

                   

                                                                        

Surprisingly, petrol has never been in short supply, even though the government thinks it is a luxury and is bent on pricing it around Rs 100/= per litre in the near future.

A study of the items throws up a conclusion that manufactured articles which were short in the 60’s have gradually become available; it is the services that are now falling short.

          A conclusion which can be drawn is that it is the basic items which have always been in short supply; the authorities see to it that items of luxury are available in plenty.

As Queen Mary Antoinette said …… If the people don’t have bread let them eat cakes !!