There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. Nelson Mandela

It's not the point that 'In spite of all its problems, India is a country that will have to be reckoned with in the coming years'. The point is, what is India doing about its problems? What's India doing about the 4 million street children, the 40,000 that go missing every year, the 400 million living below the poverty line? The corruption, the rich getter ostentatiously richer (and not paying taxes) and the poor desperately not being looked after. The rural villages, where the lack of work and infrastructure causes urban migration due to a lack of economic opportunity, the HIV cases which are rapidly escalating?

It’s true that if you speak out about India and are seen to tarnish its image using hard facts, you are seen to be being critical. The time is now for whom? For the Mittals? It’s just not good enough anymore. Granted, the vastness and severity of problems faced by India are no mean feat to contend with-but prioritising and assessing the needs over the wants should be done. Do we really need 25 malls in Gurgaon? How about a drainage system, Health, education policies which don't just pay lip service, but are actually implemented.

Your story reminds me of the WSSD conference, where while the delegates feasted on lavish meals, discussing poverty alleviation, whilst 100 yards down the road the shanty houses and adverse living conditions were conveniently being ignored.

Enough hypocrisy and time for action. It is not enough to dream the dream, you have to realise it.

The affluent rich Indians have come to believe that they are already living in a 'developed country'. They perhaps are: from their cozy homes they drive to their swanky offices in their air conditioned sedans and back. On the way, a crumbling infrastructure, destitution and poverty, recklessness and chaos just pass by every day as eyesores that need to be ignored. What you are seeing in India today is the 21st century version of centuries-old traditions of divides--caste, cultural, regional, class, lingual, religious--coalescing into a primary divide between the 'rich and westernized' and the 'poor and backward'. And, as the history of divisions in India goes, this stark divide will stay here for a long long time.

Good job Vijay. looking forward to your series. I hope you highlight more about the increasing gap between the socially privileged sections and erstwhile suppressed sections in the new economy.

Vijay - here is an excerpt from Shekhar's post. This is a good pointer to whither India:

"We are told we are Indian. We are not. You all are Indians. We are the forgotten people. We do not want to be Indians. It was Indians who took our children. We do not want to be part of you"

Vijay:

When the story of India's poor is told; lets also understand which are THOSE major factors that make poor POOR.

I once worked on - arguably the largest exercise - an assignment to provide a roadmap for the overhaul of CAPART - the largest donor organization in India (part of Government of India).

I personally visited and talked to NGOs from all over the country .. in HP, UP, AP, Assam etc.

I am convinced BEYOND doubt that the reason for poverty in India is - lack of opportunities to the poor to exercise their imagination and rights.

The poverty has very little to do with resources.

The system is lopsided in favor of the poor. And the asinine policies like quotas and affirmative action have the opposite effect. What is required is a system where anyone.. ANYONE with human strength can get up and make a change to his/her family's and society's life.

Things that need to be worked will - in my list - include:

1. further dismantling the caste barriers in rural areas
2. Asserting the rule of law in every sphere of Indian life.
3. An architecture where people are compensated for their efforts (such that their work is not usurped by the rich and powerful for their gains).
4. A credible legal system that works at the LOWEST level!
5. A new education emphasizing on how every individual needs to take control of his/her life and assert rights instead of one where the individual looks up on the Government to rescue him/her ad nauseum!

There are always two parts to any solution:

A. Structure
B. Substance

It is always tempting to concentrate on the Substance while prophesing the possible solutions.. little realizing that creating a new substance creates its own structure which may not be the most optimum.

On the other hand if one were content to concentrate on the structure.. then the various players will create a substance for the system that is born out of freedom of expression and creativity!

So I suggest that we need to look at how basic and telling structural changes ought to made .. substance will most definitely take care of itself!

Cheers,
Desh
Drishtikone.com

ERRATA:

"The system is lopsided in favor of the poor. "

Should have read

The system is lopsided in favor of the rich.

I think its wrong to think that the economy is only benefitting the upper and middle classes. I could be a bit naive in my assesment, but the long-term way of removing poverty is creating job opportunities. The availibility of jobs is what enables people to climb up on the social ladder. That being said, this is precisely what the success of India's economy is leading to - more jobs.

On what basis are people claiming that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer? Poverty is not something that can be eliminated in a day. Neither can any government in the world arrange for a free lifetime supply of food for the poor.

Slow is its pace is, and despite its many problems, the Indian government is doing everything it possibly can. Just because India does not choose to hide its poverty, like China, in the form a few glossed-up cities does not mean India is going to the dogs.

There are probably many reasons to their(India) current state, but I think if there is one thing I can describe as 'the' factor that might help, then it is systems. We either lack systems or procedues to implement them efficiently.

Desh, I agree with you that it is lack of opportunities that has left many living in poverty to be struck there, but look at US, the world's richest country and there is no lack of opportunity for anyone there. Still 98% of the American wealth is controlled by 2% of American people! US probably has the best structure (outside some countries in Europe) but still many of them live in poverty. So how will that resolve in the problem in India?

Sourav, to quote you
"Slow is its pace is, and despite its many problems, the Indian government is doing everything it possibly can"

With all due respect, I think any economist will tell you that India has been growing not because of the government efforts, but inspite of it!

In another blog, I will tell what is the price they quoted to me for a MP seat, when I was willing to go back and serve. No Indian government is wortht he praise. Praise the people.

Desh:
And where is the money to implement your suggested 5 year plans.. It's catch 22, You need money to implement solutions to help people make money.. That takes time.. And how about this... If the LEGAL SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED IN ENGLISH WHICH IS NOT THE LANGUAGE OF THE MASSES THEN YOU WILL HAVE CHAOS.. Its LOL to see all the people like you who always jump on issues to suggest a solution and in reality do not participate in any of it... When was the last time you TOOK ON THE BABUS?.. Did you give moral/Financial support to the owners of TEHELKA when these guys were/are fighting on behalf of us and when they needed it?... When was the last time you stopped as a witness to a road accident which had death?... When was the last time you voice your opinion as a real solution to Narmada Bacho Andolan Fighters? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PARTICIPATED AS A SOLUTION... KEEP YOUR HOUSES CLEAN AND THROW THE DIRT ON THE ROAD.. DRIVE AROUND THE POT HOLES BUT DON'T LODGE A COMPLAIN.. PAY THE FEES FOR THE IMMIGRATION CHECK NOT REQUIRED ON YOUR PASSPORTS BUT DO NOT CHALLENGE IT...

All thats required is little participation by everybody.. When I look at India I see only Families taking care of themselves.. I don't see any India..

I agree with Desh that there is a lack of economic opportunity in the rural areas, which is contributing significantly to impeding development and poverty alleviation. I also agree with Vijay that there has to be community participation at every level. Living in Delhi, and seeing how much more materialistic and selfish people have become to the detriment of not really giving a damn about the environment or their fellow man, reminds me of the 90s in London under the Thatcherite government. It's me, myself and I. Yes, it’s true, everyday you see people pissing in the streets, throwing rubbish out of the window, but again this is because of the distinct lack of any civil responsibility and infrastructure etc.

However, India has a phenomenal resource base which can be tapped into; natural, human, technology etc. The problem is not lack of money. Working for an International Donor, you find that India does not need AID per se, but technical expertise; how to implement compliance, rule of law etc. There are still areas which need to be developed. Even the service industry in India is fairly embryonic. Training is needed to deal with the international market. As an example, the number of international companies that have set up call centres in India are now beginning to realise that it may be more cost effective to set up operations in India (language being the advantage that India has over China), however, the lack of training ad experience is hampering delivery of services.

The 10th and 11th plans are ambitious and extremely comprehensive, but the fact of the matter remains that you have to have the systems in place inorder to implement the policies.

Sorry meant Seeeker not Vijay on community participation.

I read your comment earlier Desh and I thought, what!, the system is skewed towards the poor, boy that is a first. Then I see in post #6 you remedied that typo.

There is something about that "rule of law" that sounds nice, but, well, if the rich man is making the laws . . .

Truth be told, every statement attributed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament, leads me to beleive he was/is a socialist through and through; and then so was Einstein . . ., huh, go figure!

So, here in the United States especially, when I hear right-wing 'Christians' talking about how the poor just have to 'get a grip and get a job,' disregarding the fact that they are disregarding why in fact these people are poor to begin with, this smacks of some sort of 'old law' that resembles a Mammon-loving might makes right philosophy, then one constructs a religious movement that avers that 'God helps those who help themselves' and you use, say, Abraham as an example: and then there you go . . .

It often seems the most devout followers of old religions are the most greedy materialists who are also passing the laws.

Can we get another war please!!!

Peace

Vijay,

Wish you luck and I see it as a challenge, to people like me. Those who are at a stage in our lives where we have the time and spend quite a bit of it clicking away on keyboards with ideas, analysis and opinions which often turn out to be half baked theories. Will certainly give this a lot of thought, specially as you have already received a lot of interesting and intelligent inputs and try to be constructive. Will get back on this very soon.

Seekeer:

First of all - I dont believe in 5 year plans. I am at my very heart a capitalist. I believe that it is foolish to try and "distribute" resources around in an equitable manner. It is like starting a stock market without a stock exchange. YOU tell people how much they should invest and how much profit one should get! That to me is nonsensical!

When our politicians cannot even solve a SIMPLE Linear Programming Two Variable Optimization equation - it is rather incredulous for us to believe that ANYONE on this earth with the greatest supercomputer in the world and we still cannot solve the problem of equitable distribution.

So, lets accept THAT basic verity!

Lets move on.

I believe that instead of playing Gods.. we should play Architects.

We as Architects should create proper systems or structures in place and in time the things should fall in place.

In 1700, India probably had the world's highest GDP. US was way below.

Today the situation is the opposite.

In 300 years we see an UNapproachable gap as we see. In 1700 US probably must have had a similar experience!

What I am trying to say is that the change will take time - it is NOT going to be an overnight change.

The worry that I have is - that in the impatience to see a quicker result we shouldnt harm the VERY structure that could promise that longer term change!

Yes, we need to look after the poor and the needy. But MORE important than "looking after" them.. we need to provide them with the wherewithal to make themselves count! So that when a poor person works hard.. he/she gets a shot at becoming rich! So that Dhirubhai's example is not just a fluke but a daily occurrence.

After sifting through the history of various societies you will notice a strange similarity amongst the MOST prosperous ones - ALL were meritocratic and open societies! Whether it was Greek, Roman, Indian or American societies AT THEIR peak!

So it does provide a lesson to all of us.. doesnt it.

In the run to get it right in the short term, by using socialistic measures, we may well be messing up ANY long term means to lift the lot of the poor in India in our naivette!

But then there is hardly any basic difference between the NGO Activist and the Wall Street Investment Banker.. both play an effervescent game of INSTANT gratification.. the only difference is one wears the pin-stripes.. and other the pins (of medals)on his/her chest!

Cheers,
Desh
Drishtikone.com

We cannot solve the 'problem' of equitable distribution, b/c the people with the money don't want to equitably distribute resources, hence the ceaseless wars in the history of humankind, and then you hire a bunch of killers (armies) to keep the masses 'in place,' and then super-rich capitalists endlessly promote 'you too getting rich';

and viola, there is the 'Illuminati,' the sychophants, and the ones' who say 'I love my fellow man,' as they exhort you to buy their book on life, or want to sell you an insurance policy that the government makes another law saying you just must have . . .

As the U.S. government starts yet another front of this 'word war' on 'terror'; let me see, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, who next, Iran?!?

Capitalism is exploitation, and shall ever lead to war and injustice! But let me guess, we are all 'in this together' right . . .

Yeah . . .

Peace

Vijay,

You have managed to get a lot of juices flowing and I think the substance of most of the responses you have got here are proof of that. I would like to add one more dimension to it.

At the bottom, or should it be top, is corruption that is omni present and the greatest evil. My intention is not to spread the blame but to try and establish where it lies. I think we, all of us, are to blame. We may want the babus and the netas and the police etc etc to change; are we ready to change ourselves? Who is the largest contributor to corruption? It is certainly not the poor. Isn't it people like you and me, "decent middle class citizens" of a non-law abiding society?

Can we try and make a small but significant difference? Im sure we can. We have eaten away and corroded our own respect of the law and yet expect others to abide by it. Is it possible to reverse the tide? I think we can make a difference if we want to. The question is are we strong enough to do it? It is for each one of us to answer that question for ourselves.

You are possibly spot on when you say "India has been growing not because of the government efforts, but inspite of it!" Yet there is another cliche which is also applicable, we have got the government that we deserve. Another oxymoron?

I'm sorry if I labour on this point, but I can't help but give just one example that says it all. New Delhi is nothing but thousands of illegal structures, illegally constructed and put to illegal use and established by thousands upon thousands of illegal gratifications made by people like us.

Now we want to bend the laws, the constitution and the courts to get all these legalised. Why don't we take the easy way out and amend our statutes to make corruption legal and thereby eradicate it and save ourselves a lot of heartburn?

Empyrius:

I can understand what you are saying and completely agree with your apprehensions. I know it would sound crazy but my personal opinion is that democracy in the US is less than efficient and effective!

Why? Because the basic checks and balances are compromised and it is BUILT into the system! For example, the practice of Executive appointing the Judiciary! Which I believe is the worst possible practice.

Between Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary - everyone of them needs to check the other! In the US this basic checks and balances relationship is compromised in favor of .. Executive! So, are you surprised that the nightmare in US is so prevalent?

In India, on the other hand, Legislative and Executive are hand-in-hand and thoroughly corrupt! Judiciary at the lowest levels is too. Thankfully, until now Judiciary at the top does NOT serve at the pleasure of the Executive (or even the Legislature entirely)! That is why it is possible for it to pull up the executive time and again!

But ultimately it is the executive that sets the tone of the country. And that is where India missed people like George Washington and Ab Lincoln.. whose FIRST and foremost concerns were their country as opposed to themselves or their ideologies!

We in India had founding fathers like Gandhi (who wanted to - ironically - force non-violence down the throat of everyone!); Ambedkar (who threatened to do a Jinnah if his demands on Dalitistan were not met and Gandhi agreed to give him quotas!); Nehru (who was sleeping with the wife of the British Viceroy who was busy planning the mess in Kashmir!)...

and those who could do something and had the wherewithal were forced to shut up like Sardar Patel (forced by Gandhi to step down - against everyone's wishes - from contesting for PM against Gandhi's blue-eyed boy and Cassanova, Nehru!); or Bose (who was forced to step down from COngress Presidentship as early as 1928 and marginalized in internal politics during the entire freedom struggle!)..

For 50 years, Birlas and Tatas had a FREE REIGN in Indian business.. they could be the sole middlemen for export and imports of the country.. or get all government contracts or create an ENTIRE city while selling Iron and Steel at .. Cost PLUS pricing (so every Rupee spent on Jamshedpur brought the Tatas 15 paise from the Indian Exchequer and consumer since the Iron and Steel pricing was CONTROLLED!)...

.. or Tatas and Birlas could get PRIME land in Delhi and Bombay at peanuts.. for their own business purposes while they also did research work!

Under the Garb of charity and altruism.. India's socialist and Non-violent idealists raped the country DAY IN and DAY OUT!

... and who paid? The poor!

I have a theory...

India loses roughly $6.8 billion ANNUALLY to Electricity theft (for more such stats: http://www.drishtikone.com/?q=node/1025) .. and that is because India's electricity is nationalised through State Electricity Boards (SEBs).

So who pays for this $6.8 BILLION? The poor.. finally! Because the Rich and the powerful are the ones who steal it the most! And who goes without the electricity that could have come through HAD that $6.8 billion a year recovered and Spent? The poor rural farmer!

So, what if the entire thing was left open? Would the per cpaita cost increase come to MORE than Rs 6 on an Annual COMPOUNDED rate?? ($6.8 billion/$1 billion EVERY FREAKING YEAR!)

The answer is NO!

So are we efficient under socialist structure or a private enterprise structure?

On the first look - if we do not go into the details of cost/benefit.. it seems the Socialist structure is better... but that is an Illusion!

THAT is why I was saying in my last post that LONG TERM good of the people SHOULD NOT be kept hostage to "apparent" SHORT TERM good! But then every one is a punter.. from NGO Activists to the Wall Street guys! :-)

Cheers,
Desh
Drishtikone.com

Indeed Desh; good stuff.

The part about George Washington and Ab(e) Lincoln though, well, mayhap they used the concept of 'patriotism' as a means of rallying the troops, but the heart of the matters, were, again, economics (as alwasy).

Nice stuff on India, I am going to have to do a little reading on that; thanks.

Peace

Thanks Empyrius!

I recommend everyone here to read two books:

- The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto (http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Capital-Capitalism-Triumphs-Everywhere/dp/B0002X7VWU/sr=8-1/qid=1169068230/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-1793551-7991335?ie=UTF8&s=books)
- The Power of Productivity: Wealth, Poverty, and the Threat to Global Stability by William W. Lewis

The second one discusses the effect of Productivity on India's poverty alleviation (amongst that of other countries). The facts mentioned there are STARTLING to say the least!

India moved from nowhere in Milk Production to world's largest milk producer thanks to NDDB's Dr. Kurien. So, we have done fantastic right? WRONG!

The Indian Dairy sector has productivity levels that are roughly 3% of the US Dairy Sector! That is not all... in fact the Indian Dairy sector is world's LARGEST employer in the world for ANY sector in ANY country - total FTEs = 45 million!

Indian Agriculture sector has a productivity level of 1-2% of the US .. the max we can go to is 3% given our conditions! There is NO incentive for the farmers to go the mechanistic farming route because the labor is so cheap.

Why is this agriculture labor cheap? because the opportunity cost of other alternatives is almost negligible!

How can the opportunity cost of the other alternatives be raised? By bringing in the Industrial sector. It would be foolhardy to believe that Primary Industrial sector can fulfill that need. The best thing for agriculture will be to have a robust Secondary Industrial sector and NOT just Small Scale Industries!

The Secondary sector will thrive if there is a growing Primary sector. But our Activists target the Primary sector with the slogan that it doesnt help the rural poor.. of course it doesnt! It is not meant for that... it is meant to proliferate the secondary sector .. WHICH will employ the rural poor! China well understands this basic equation.

.. and honestly.. THIS is the "Trickle Down Effect" that Mahalanobis and Nehru were so fond of.. except that they had only worked it all out mathematically. not practically!

Our priorities are totally screwed up.. we want to see a baby fed by pipe in the Milk plant that fills up the Milk truck.. and if it cant feed the baby then it should be blown away! Little realizing that unless the Milk truck is filled with milk.. the chances of a baby's bottle getting milk a week from now are NIL!!

Cheers,
Desh
Drishtikone.com

Hmmm . . .

Hmmm, I will continue reading the comments later but it already made my adrenaline high.
The bigger problems of mismanagement (politics) and corruption in India, won't get solved till middle class becomes a little bit settled. Currently middle class seems to be somewhat selfishly involved in securing money, jobs, status and so on. However, they are still quite different from upper class or rich people of india who have trained their minds for worst kind of manipulations. The middle class of today will actually embrace the poors of india tomorrow. The upper class will always be hungry for power and money. The reason is simply because middle class has more sense of reality than the upper class. It will take another decade or two to get critical mass of middle class, which can trigger actual changes to reflect concerns of the poors.

Most of the development that is happening today is quite similar to what happened in times of British, where the actual reason for development was to help British rule and not to help indian population. Similarly, most of the development today is still to help the ruling class and not to help the common people. This can and will only change when the middle class is so large that their genuine concerns actually covers concerns of poors or concerns of all of the society.

Somebody said that we should further dismantle the caste structure of the society. That is right, Hindus should take it seriously now as this is something long over due. Those who are educated should try to force things which can help eradicate caste system.