I wrote an e mail to Aakar raising some points, but it was not acknowledged, so I feel the need to write it here again. I can see that several others have commented on this here. I had a sense of indignation when I read his article. It seemed that Aakar had generalized and stereotyped poor people by saying that the poor have loss of dignity, that they are craven and that they are not interested in knowledge. This is such an unfair analysis. In my personal experience I have met many people who in spite of not being rich are dignified and enthusiastic and seek knowledge(I have given specific examples to Aakar in my e mail). we also see the converse of well to do people, who are undignified, craven(very often) and uninterested in new knowledge. If I delve deeply enough into myself, I know that there are several instances where I have been undignified and craven. Aakar can examine whether it is so for him too and if it is so, where did it come from? from helplessness and hunger? My next question is what would the people he writes about think if this article was available to them? It is also surprising that Mint in its print avatar does not have a column for readers' views.