IF I WERE A MILLIONAIRE

Alnaschar, who dreamt what he would do when he became a millionaire by selling his earthen pots and pans, was by no means one unique or exceptional. We are all, more or less Alnaschars in this respect. We like to imagine ourselves greater and richer than we actually are. And so, if I do indulge in a bit of day-dreaming as to what I would do if I were a millionaire, let no one smile at my folly.

I will be frank. I am not one of those idealists who will rush out with their cheque-books and distribute their wealth to go good to the world. That may come later. For the immediate present, charity, I feel, begins at home. So the first thing that I will do will be to get rid of everything that makes life disagreeable to me. I will, for example, get myself and mine out of rented hovel in a crowded street where I live, and move into a big capacious house – (it need not be an Aladin’s palace)- where I can live comfortably. I will also try to fit up the house with the latest electrical labour- saving devices-an electrical cooker for the kitchen, a washer for laundering, vacuum cleaners for mopping up dust, - to mention a few by way of examples.

Having comfortably settled myself in a comfortable house, I will utilise my millions in order to build up industries. One of our proverbs says – money draws money. If I can invest a part of my millions in business and industries, I will not only be multiplying my wealth, but I will be doing some real good to my country. The prosperity of a country depends upon its industrial development, and I will be contributing my share towards ensuring this.

Frankly, I don’t believe much in charities. Poverty can never be cured by charities. The only way to eliminate poverty is by creating wealth in the country, and ensuring their proper distribution. Although I do not despise my millions, I do not believe in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. But to ensure that wealth is properly distributed, I must have some voice in my country’s government. That will make it necessary for me to take to politics. I have to devote some time in some way to political activities. I may run a newspaper; I may contest parliamentary elections; in any case I have got to put in my whole weight in favour of the equitable distribution of national wealth, so that none is poor or overrich. Many will say that it is all utopian; some will say it is a communist idea. But I am not afraid of names and labels as long as the thing is good

I do not know how much a million really amounts to. If after all this, I have still something more to spend, I will spend it for the spread of education. Today, education is the greatest need of my country, for democracy can function properly if the people are well educated. When I have a voice in the government, I will see that education is made free and compulsory upto the age of fifteen at least. For this money has to be found by taxation, by expropriation, even by confiscation if necessary. For education is the basis of a well ordered society. But if I cannot influence State policies, I must do whatever I can in my humble way. I will see that the children of those who work in my industrial concerns get free education out of the profits of the business. I will endow as many schools as I can for the spread of education.

All these are hazy notions, but surely they are not more hazy than the millions which are to help me to carry these notions into practice. If the millions are there, the notions will soon cease to be hazy. Of course, there is the other view – that if the notions are clear and passionately held, the millions will not fail to come to make them effective.