After the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘Gully Boy’, tourists and foreigners who visit India are intrigued to watch that side of the country where life is not as glam, proper, and hygienic as the rest of the country.
Slums like Mumbai’s Dharavi and other similar places in the national capital are often visited by these foreign nationals who think this is the real India.
And cashing in on this mindset is a tour and travel company that has come up with a ‘Slum Walking Tour’ package.
Taking to Twitter, journalist Tanishka Sodhi shared a screengrab of the package that a popular travel company, Trip Advisor, is offering. In the ‘New Delhi Slum Walking Tour’ they will be taking people to one of the largest slums in Asia.
For a charge of Rs 1800, they will be giving people a walking tour of the Sanjay Colony and a first-hand glimpse of life in a Delhi slum during the 3-hour walk. Moreover, they will also ‘learn about the struggles of some of Delhi’s poorest inhabitants’.
Rs 1,800 to get a "first hand glimpse of life in a Delhi slum." pic.twitter.com/DrUx7GKCZ4
— Tanishka Sodhi (@tanishka_s2) September 3, 2022
And as soon as she tweeted this, people took to the comments section only to reiterate the fact that humans never fail to amaze us, sometimes with their stupidity.
Every time I think we have hit rock bottom as a society and it cannot get any worse, life surprises me.
— Hamza Lakdawala (@hamzamlakdawala) September 3, 2022
Looks inspired by Dharaavi Mumbai tourism. Poverty for sale !
— Vins (@vinayverma99) September 3, 2022
Such slum “tours” are on offer in every major Indian city. Mumbai, Kolkata, delhi. 🤦 Ye tour Wale kabhi nahi sudhrenge.
— the black bored (@shrUtiable) September 4, 2022
Capitalism making money out of poverty as well
— Vinaya🌻 (@truly_Vinaya) September 4, 2022
Poverty tourism
— Jayaram (@Jayesthetik) September 4, 2022
"Poverty Porn" – when you objectify people in poverty for the sake of entertaining a privileged audience. https://t.co/mCijndClox
— Anusha (@AnushaSooriyan) September 4, 2022
What kind of dystopian society puts the misery of poverty-stricken on display and tries to make a business let alone some bucks out of sufferings of the most vulnerable? https://t.co/O3FJmfUwuu
— Shariq (@sharicasm) September 4, 2022
such tours are nothing but avenues for providing voyeuristic experience to the rich, it’s poverty porn. disgusting. https://t.co/DRNfFThjtX
— suirishabh (@rishmunjall) September 4, 2022
Brahminism+Capitalism = Poverty Porn
Normalising exploitation in a modern way !! https://t.co/5j99uXc3FD
— Lokesh (@lokeshbag67) September 4, 2022
People making money from other people's miseries really proudly. 👎 https://t.co/Pe17d1MooM
— metacolonial (@metacolonial) September 4, 2022
Capitalists are making profits from poverty. https://t.co/brvDaAeP7J
— Gibin (@piebyfour) September 4, 2022
This is everything wrong with this world. Rich people earning money on the backs of people who barely have basic human rights and then they'll claim " we are apolitical" . Aur hum bhi kam nahi hain jo Twitter pe angrezi main likh rhe hain ispe . https://t.co/jbjuW21krU
— Puneet Saklani (@madhav________) September 4, 2022
Some people also highlighted that such tours are common in Indian cities. Is ‘poverty tourism’ the ‘in’ thing? If yes then I have a lot of questions.