He lives in INDIA, the World's Largest Democracy. He has a rented one room house in outskirts of Gurgaon, very near to the capital city of INDIA. He lives with his joint family of 7 members. He is just 24 years old and is the only working member of his family. He has a wife with three kids and old parents who need to be looked throughout the day. He works as a cook for students and youth in their 20s and 30s working for white collar jobs. They call him "Shyam Bhaiya." Just like the whole world is gripped by the Covid Pandemic, Shyam is facing hardships too. But his pain is far more than just words and his story depicts the unsaid drama which is still behind the curtains of "the World's Fastest growing Democracy."
It was end of march 2020,when Indian PM declared complete lockdown due to the advent of corona virus pandemic. People for whom Shyam used to work had started leaving for home. His migrant friends were leaving for their native villages in UP and Bihar. Never in his life Shyam had seen such a huge "Reverse Migration" . He lost his job and had to sustain a large family with no work. He asked help from his employers and luckily they became ready to pay him in advance till everything was normal. Slowly he started recovering from crisis.
In July 2020 when unlock stage was progressing across the country Shyam also prepared to unlock his past dream of buying a two wheeler. He saw an advertisement online for the sale of second hand motor scooter which was way too cheaper than he could have ever got. He was getting Honda Activa for merely Rs 15000 and the owner claimed it to be just a month older. He was excited by the offer and confirmed the deal to the owner who belonged to Mumbai. Owner asked Shyam to deposit some money in advance so that he could start the process of transportation. Shyam deposited Rs 5000 on the first day.
The next day the owner informed Shyam that the motorbike had arrived to the Delhi airport and he need little more money for further delivery (mind you,he is sending scooter from the flight..quite a billionnare!!). Shyam asked his brother in law who works as a blue collar employee and is the most educated in his family. He transferred Rs 10000 to the owner's account. By now Shyam had given the whole amount of Scooter without having seen even a bit of it. The second day went and he received no information .
He called the owner on the third day. The owner informed him that the Scooter had reached half way to by his agent but was caught in security check on Haryana border. He gave the number of his agent to Shyam to inquire about the whole scene. Shyam called the agent and heard that his Scooty would only be dispatched if he pays Rs 5000 at the security check which would be refundable when the scooter reaches home. Shyam got worried and asked his brother in law to pay again so as to avoid any technical glitches. By now Shyam had given a total of Rs 20000 to the owner and was left with no good news. He kept calling the owner for the next few days and kept getting the assurances.
He narrated his story to his brother in law who somehow knew how to do google search. The in-law thought that the payment mode was #google pay which had the owner's number so he should first contact Google's complaint department. He searched something like Google Pay customer complaint number and a lot of numbers flashed on his mobile screen. He dialed the first number. Someone picked up. He explained the whole story and asked to file a complaint against the particular number. The person on the opposite line told him that this was a fraud but it would be resolved very quickly and his money would be credited soon. The so called problem solver asked him to tell his number so that money be easily credited to his account. He refused to do so. But the person registering the complaint told that without knowing the number, crediting money would be impossible. Since google pay acts on number this statement sounded genuine. He told his account number. In the next 1 min he got a credit of Rs 5000. He felt better after seeing this. In the next 10 min he got message of 22 transactions from his account with net debit of Rs 20000. Yes net debit.
If you have missed the track...the family lost Rs 40000 with no proof at all. But the story does not end here.
Shyam was left with no choice but to call his employers to seek their advice. Everyone was shocked to hear this and asked him to file a complaint. To their surprise, Police did not register the complaint calling it a case of CYBER CRIME. Yes cyber crime, something which was unknown to people like Shyam . He got afraid and frustated with this cycle of loosing money and told one of his employer, "Bhaiya complaint krenge to aur paise jayenge ,hum log ka kaun sunega yaha."
Shyam decided not to complaint any further. What happend next is a different story. One might think that this was the most foolish act ever. How can one be so unaware? But while thinking this one forgets the environment in which Shyam lives. One forgets the education he and his family got. One forgets their struggle and compare it with our strature.
There are thousands of Shyam out there in our diverse Nation. They are lost in this crowd everyday. They are the most suppressed, the most oppressed, the most unaware and the most uninformed in the society. Their grief is heard by none. Their complaint is entertained by none. Their fear is minimized by none. They just come and go like seasons. They form the part of lower strata of Indian Society. They are called by many names-a migrant or a worker or a slum dweller depending upon the situation. But are never recognized.
Shyam's story tells that there is still a lot that needs to be done for having an equitable society. For how long people like these will suffer? If INDIA wants to reach the height, it should protect its base before its roof. Let's come together to resolve, to teach, to understand them together as a society. The government and the public need to work holistically to resolve this. Let's make them fearless. "They can speak lets give them the Voice of their own".
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