The media has given wide coverage to the hunger deaths occurring in the Baran district, in particular in Rajasthan. While it is clear that the state has failed in its moral responsibility to provide relief to the dying, the non-functioning of the Public Distribution System and the Antyodaya Yojana (distribution of grains at Rs.2 per kg for the poor) is a stark reminder that mere ration assistance will not suffice to help the poorest of the poor.

In the months of June and July, there were an equal lot of reports about the starvation deaths in Manatu block of Palamau district in Jharkhand state. Here, the administration went to the extent of threatening the media person and accusing him reporting false information. However, in reality, in the entire village which was surveyed, it was found only one household had 2 kg of rice and the rest of them had just nothing to eat. Naturally with these kinds of starvations and the responsible administration closing their eyes and being blind to the people's sufferings, what is expected to happen to the poor is nothing but death.

Time and again, it appears that the central and state governments do not want to owe any moral and social responsibility for droughts and deaths due to hunger pangs. It is time and again seen that the government immediately gives a statement saying that the deaths are due to ill health and not due to hunger. But everybody is aware the ill health of diarrhea is occurring simply because the victims are eating roots and already their fragile bodies are unable to cope with the deteriorated health and this leads to their deaths. Recurrent drought also breaks the food chain of the poor. Lack of purchasing power on the victim's part and food scarcity drives them to alternative forms of food for survival. In several villages we work in Jharkhand, at least 2-3 months in a year the villagers survive on the root called Gheta. Sometimes these roots tend to be poisonous or destructive to the fragile health system of the victims, leading to recurrent bouts of diarrhea. Since there are no healthcare provisions in place to treat the general public, the lack of food and eating of the roots ultimately leads to untimely death.

So far, no government has ever come out and declared that in its state, people are affected by drought, malnutrition and hunger deaths. It is always the media which projects the hunger deaths and only then is the administration woken up from its slumber. Why cannot there be a mechanism in place to address the continued drought situations, which are sure indicators for the suffering of the people. Why cannot the government have emergency plans in place in extreme situations rather than waiting for people to die due to hunger and then start the measures?

In a healthy democracy, the opposition needs to be at least alerted to such situations. But strangely enough, the hue and cry made for non-entities are missing when it comes to issues affecting human lives. The center which needs to be responsible is quick to catch the state on the wrong foot on issues such as drought and hunger deaths, if the state is ruled by opposing parties. Now, the center has come out strongly and confirmed that the deaths in Rajasthan are due to hunger and the consequences of drought. But why was the center quiet when the similar deaths were reported in Jharkhand in July this year?

This means the common public has to keep their fingers crossed, and will not know when they will be showered with petals and or hit with brickbats through no fault of their own.

It seems nobody is really serious on such impending and recurring catastrophes. Though the vagrancy of nature is not in our hands, the planning for the people is in our hands. While there are abundant stories of grains being rotten and wasted away to the rodents in the central food granaries, it is incomprehensible why immediate relief measures are not provided to the poor.

It is estimated that 320 million people in India are facing starvation. In contrast, it is said that 65 million tonnes of foodgrains are rotting in government godowns. The much fancied grain bank scheme of the central government is bogged down by red-tape and bureaucracy, as it is to be managed by the government with no say from the suffering people.

The only answer is that civil society needs to wake up from its slumber. It needs to devise its own system of food security as it used to happen earlier days. The concept of the grain golas and the community management of the grain golas should be taken up irrespective of drought or non-drought situations. Even the self help groups (SHG) can play a greater role in this. In Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, the effective role played by the SHG during one drought season has saved many families in the village from migration and starvation. The group, which was involved in paddy procurement during the season and selling it off for higher gains during non-season, had given paddy loans to a number of affected families in the village. This, in turn, helped them to survive the severe drought. The governments have a moral responsibility and need to answer to the needs of the people, otherwise they have no right to rule the state and the country.

The Supreme Court has given a ruling on the Right to Food, but on the other end, the states are flagrantly violating these rules. The Supreme Court now needs to take concrete action for contempt of court by the states.