India...What a Place...
I know it's been an entire semester since I last posted something, and to those who care, I apologize.
I recently came back from India, where I spent three and a half weeks absorbing one of the most mind-blowing places in the world. India is a place that you both love and hate at the same time.
First I will discuss very briefly and informally why I love it (as this is not the main point of this article). It has this charm that you can only find from the incessant noise, the diverse languages, and the amazing food. You can never get bored and you will always learn something new, even if it comes within an inch of you in an auto-rickshaw. It is honestly this ineffable experience that can only be absorbed and not articulated. The people are so affectionate, so real, and just so helpful. It makes you get emotional about how you want to see them as happy as possible. Really, I'm just shaking my head at a loss of words for how amazing this place is.
Despite this, I would love to change so many things about it, not for my sake, but to help those who I see struggling to sell toy airplanes at intersections or begging for food or money at the train stations. There is such a blatant discrepancy between the rich and the poor that India's so-called recent successes, namely in the IT industry, have been diluted due to their inability to encompass the whole of society. It is true that such giants as Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and Satyam Computing (the last maybe not so much anymore...) have shown India's prowess in technical ability as well as helped India's economy, and such foreign giants as Microsoft, Google, and Cisco putting branches in Bangalore and Hyderabad reflects a growing need for highly capable individuals, many of whom are found in India. Despite this progress, this is still the same India as it was ten years ago, which was the last time I came (unfortunately). The fact that Electronics City and HITEC City have sprung up has done nothing to change the lack of paved roads in Gandhi Nagar or the blatant flouting of traffic conventions in old Hyderabad. No matter what people say about India's progress, it will never reach its potential of being the most dominant power in the world without curbing its main problem: population.
This nation is literally the size of the eastern United States, but it has five times the latter's population, now clocking in at over a billion people. It would be one thing if the population was predominantly urban and educated, but alas, 70% of India is still rural, and unfortunately, almost half the population is illiterate. This is no excuse for the world's largest democracy. In a nation where the government is supposed to provide such institutions as education and public works projects in order to increase output, there is little evidence to show for. The reason for this boils down to one thing: the government physically cannot manage this many people. There's no legitimate way of taxation because, frankly, who can the government tax? If it taxes the rich, often those who are actually recognized by the government, they can plead that no one else is paying taxes and flea. Obviously taxing the poor does nothing, and the middle class is growing so rapidly that it can't account for all the change.
This population problem then leads to government corruption, as an unmanageable population will lead to resignation from the government, at which point officials will simply chew up the money themselves. The first thing the government should do with such a population is to set a limit on the number of children a family should have. China has done it, and it seems to be working. I'm not saying that it will be a popular move, but it is a necessary one. India's population is getting younger, which means fewer people will be dying, and indeed the population will increase even quicker. This must be stopped by implementing the "Two or Three Children per Family" policy. Obviously this won't be a quick solution, and it will take decades upon decades for India to reap the benefits, but it still is essential that it does so today rather than wait until the entire subcontinent collapses due to overpopulation. Once the government implements this policy, hopefully the population will eventually grow older, and the result in a century will be a more manageable population. (I know this sounds cold, but I'm just trying to assess the reality of the situation...)
As the population continues to decrease, the government must also be restructured. I am unsure of the general political science behind corruption, but it is pretty obvious that there is a lack of policing of government officials. In addition, the government does not instill fear in its people. This can be reflected in the lack of order on the streets. No one follows signals, the police, or street signs. Why? Because no one is going to give them a ticket for disobeying the law (and for some strange reason, people don't realize the danger of getting hit by a vehicle.) I am not saying that India should become some sort of police state, but the government should maintain some sort of power of the people, just as it does in the United States. Though the U.S. has its fair share of problems and, at times, corruption, one cannot argue with the brilliance of its founding fathers in maintaining a checks and balances system that makes sure that no particular person or body has too much power to abuse. India should try to implement this type of system. If this means a complete renovation of the government, so be it. This is necessary in order to curtail corruption. The reason these officials can just run away with government money is because no one is watching them; if they are constantly being scrutinized, they can only act in the most righteous manner; otherwise, they can be ousted. Once the government is in order, people will have more respect for it, and so will pay taxes, follow rules, and have a general respect - and a partial fear - of the government and its abilities. This is not at all impossible, and can in fact be a welcoming addition to an already complex democratic government. The main action item is that it must be implemented on the state and local levels as well. Only then will the money from taxation go towards public works projects, schools, housing projects, and certain social institutions that are required to keep the economy running.
The problem is that India is too smart for its own good. The people are too conniving for their own good. They find ways to beat the system, and indeed have succeeded. It's just strange to see that the government has not found ways to beat the beating of its system.
All of this being said, India still is one of the world's most amazing places. It just hurts me to see that it can be so much more than it is. You just need to give it some direction. I'm sure I'm oversimplifying the solution and my argument is completely convoluted, but one thing is certain: if there is a goal set in place, action can and will be taken. I guess someone just has to instill that goal into people's heads. The question is, "How?"
(Note: I actually wrote this post in India [as if I had come back already] while I was bored, but did not decide to post this until now for some reason...)
I recently came back from India, where I spent three and a half weeks absorbing one of the most mind-blowing places in the world. India is a place that you both love and hate at the same time.
First I will discuss very briefly and informally why I love it (as this is not the main point of this article). It has this charm that you can only find from the incessant noise, the diverse languages, and the amazing food. You can never get bored and you will always learn something new, even if it comes within an inch of you in an auto-rickshaw. It is honestly this ineffable experience that can only be absorbed and not articulated. The people are so affectionate, so real, and just so helpful. It makes you get emotional about how you want to see them as happy as possible. Really, I'm just shaking my head at a loss of words for how amazing this place is.
Despite this, I would love to change so many things about it, not for my sake, but to help those who I see struggling to sell toy airplanes at intersections or begging for food or money at the train stations. There is such a blatant discrepancy between the rich and the poor that India's so-called recent successes, namely in the IT industry, have been diluted due to their inability to encompass the whole of society. It is true that such giants as Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and Satyam Computing (the last maybe not so much anymore...) have shown India's prowess in technical ability as well as helped India's economy, and such foreign giants as Microsoft, Google, and Cisco putting branches in Bangalore and Hyderabad reflects a growing need for highly capable individuals, many of whom are found in India. Despite this progress, this is still the same India as it was ten years ago, which was the last time I came (unfortunately). The fact that Electronics City and HITEC City have sprung up has done nothing to change the lack of paved roads in Gandhi Nagar or the blatant flouting of traffic conventions in old Hyderabad. No matter what people say about India's progress, it will never reach its potential of being the most dominant power in the world without curbing its main problem: population.
This nation is literally the size of the eastern United States, but it has five times the latter's population, now clocking in at over a billion people. It would be one thing if the population was predominantly urban and educated, but alas, 70% of India is still rural, and unfortunately, almost half the population is illiterate. This is no excuse for the world's largest democracy. In a nation where the government is supposed to provide such institutions as education and public works projects in order to increase output, there is little evidence to show for. The reason for this boils down to one thing: the government physically cannot manage this many people. There's no legitimate way of taxation because, frankly, who can the government tax? If it taxes the rich, often those who are actually recognized by the government, they can plead that no one else is paying taxes and flea. Obviously taxing the poor does nothing, and the middle class is growing so rapidly that it can't account for all the change.
This population problem then leads to government corruption, as an unmanageable population will lead to resignation from the government, at which point officials will simply chew up the money themselves. The first thing the government should do with such a population is to set a limit on the number of children a family should have. China has done it, and it seems to be working. I'm not saying that it will be a popular move, but it is a necessary one. India's population is getting younger, which means fewer people will be dying, and indeed the population will increase even quicker. This must be stopped by implementing the "Two or Three Children per Family" policy. Obviously this won't be a quick solution, and it will take decades upon decades for India to reap the benefits, but it still is essential that it does so today rather than wait until the entire subcontinent collapses due to overpopulation. Once the government implements this policy, hopefully the population will eventually grow older, and the result in a century will be a more manageable population. (I know this sounds cold, but I'm just trying to assess the reality of the situation...)
As the population continues to decrease, the government must also be restructured. I am unsure of the general political science behind corruption, but it is pretty obvious that there is a lack of policing of government officials. In addition, the government does not instill fear in its people. This can be reflected in the lack of order on the streets. No one follows signals, the police, or street signs. Why? Because no one is going to give them a ticket for disobeying the law (and for some strange reason, people don't realize the danger of getting hit by a vehicle.) I am not saying that India should become some sort of police state, but the government should maintain some sort of power of the people, just as it does in the United States. Though the U.S. has its fair share of problems and, at times, corruption, one cannot argue with the brilliance of its founding fathers in maintaining a checks and balances system that makes sure that no particular person or body has too much power to abuse. India should try to implement this type of system. If this means a complete renovation of the government, so be it. This is necessary in order to curtail corruption. The reason these officials can just run away with government money is because no one is watching them; if they are constantly being scrutinized, they can only act in the most righteous manner; otherwise, they can be ousted. Once the government is in order, people will have more respect for it, and so will pay taxes, follow rules, and have a general respect - and a partial fear - of the government and its abilities. This is not at all impossible, and can in fact be a welcoming addition to an already complex democratic government. The main action item is that it must be implemented on the state and local levels as well. Only then will the money from taxation go towards public works projects, schools, housing projects, and certain social institutions that are required to keep the economy running.
The problem is that India is too smart for its own good. The people are too conniving for their own good. They find ways to beat the system, and indeed have succeeded. It's just strange to see that the government has not found ways to beat the beating of its system.
All of this being said, India still is one of the world's most amazing places. It just hurts me to see that it can be so much more than it is. You just need to give it some direction. I'm sure I'm oversimplifying the solution and my argument is completely convoluted, but one thing is certain: if there is a goal set in place, action can and will be taken. I guess someone just has to instill that goal into people's heads. The question is, "How?"
(Note: I actually wrote this post in India [as if I had come back already] while I was bored, but did not decide to post this until now for some reason...)
posted by pavYedav at
2:22 AM
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