Why ‘roti, kapra aur makan’ slogan again?

Why the common man has again started talking about his basic needs which include wheat flour ‘roti’, ‘shalwar’ and ‘kameez’ and shelter? The obvious reason is food price hike not yet brought down to a level he can happily afford.

Tomato is selling at Rs125, onion at Rs95, potato at Rs45 and ‘grapes at Rs260 which an ordinary citizen can’t think of buying for his children. He simply says: “O, my God!” One can say the poor’s only concern is bread to combat hunger, cotton cloth to cover the half-naked body of their children and shelter to protect family from wind and rain storm.

One can recall a socio-political party chairman’s interview to Egyptian editor, Dr. Amin Aboul Emein when he became the prime minister of the country. In that interview Z.A. Bhutto laid bare the philosophy of ‘roti, kapra aur makan’. Indeed, by sticking to what became the most popular slogan in 1970s, he displayed the force of his conviction and strength of belief in the destiny of the masses.

He told the interviewer he was committed to the concept and convinced of the propriety of the slogan. He was confident it would attract the masses “if it’s properly understood.” In the same vein of his exposition, however, he said it was an outlook; it was a philosophy.

The man stressed he was not so foolish as to have believed that with the limited resources of the country, with a population then of about 140 million, he could be able to provide ‘roti, kapra aur makan’ to everybody.

He knew he “would have to face the people again”. He also knew he would have to tell the people what he meant by the slogan or, if they misunderstood him, explain the misunderstanding to them and make clear the concept of the popular slogan.

He said the previous governments had stood on the heads of the people and tried to make them stand “headlong”. He wanted the people to stand on their feet and the government on its own feet. For him it was no use trying to do things which did not benefit the common man.

So, when he talked about ‘roti, kapra and makan’, he meant: “We must go for the people’s priorities; we must first think of the people’s stomach, their clothing and shelter for them before we go for grandiose schemes and big projects which scarcely provide the basic necessities of life.”

However, at the same time, he did not say that “I would whistle and clothes would fall from heaven; I’ll sing a song and houses would be built, or food provided.” He told the people they would’ve to work and struggle very hard to increase production, for “nowhere in the world do things come free to the people.” He said that “nobody presents gifts; I’ve not seen people work as hard anywhere in the world as in China.” So, the whole concept of ‘roti, kapra and makan’ was an ethical concept tied up with the practical concept of working hard and producing more.

-- zasarwar@hotmail.com