Response to Ignorance
A response to a particular post from a college sophomore in GMU. Maan, the education system in the US needs an overhaul. Read his tirade against India here (he has not permalinked his blog posts but just look for the "India's Problems Contd").. Juxtapose this with the fact that he is a first generation India American. Both his parents and all of their relatives come from India. I guess the view of the Indian abroad as the educated type only extends to those emigrating and not to their heir...
It's quite unfortunate that the author's opinion on India is so...uninformed. Lets tease out the elements of his argument:
1. 2/3 of the population lives in villages...
So what . This is not to say that the only sure form of development or comfort is to ultimately live in an urban mega polis. Almost 78% of the villages in North India has electricity and over 90% has water distributed since the Green Revolution drive in the 70's. Villages have better access to potable water than some sections of the bigger cities do.
Agricultural income is subsidized by the Indian Govt. and is under the tax net. What this means is that their output is bought at market rate sans sales tax but no income tax is levied on them.
Kerala fishermen coordinate via mobile phone on which part of the coast to bring in their catch to garner the best price for their catch.
Living in villages is not an imposition in India. Everyday 1000's of villager who wish to do so come to the urban megalopolises to do live, work, trade or be entertained. Some of them leave. Others stay. Some don't venture out at all.
Life ought not to be viewed from a single lens. Each persons view of contentment is different. Yours might be a killer car and a "crib" in the Watergate, others are content with the birth of their child or the marriage of their nephews or nieces celebrated around a village square.
Before one comments on the "woeful" fate of "these people" - I would ask how many time the author has visited a village in Haryana, Punjab, Jharkand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Not a town he mistook for a village because of the absence of a "Gap" or "Nordstrom" and a six laned highway.
2. "The lack of charisma...", "...naive and submissive..." and on the personal makeup of the average Indian
No where is the authors almost childish ignorance illustrated better than here. My suggestion - meet more Indians and not just the ones who run spice shops, or work for a techies firms or your own relatives. And leave out ABCD's as well. Come to India if you have the strength of conviction in what you write and I offer to show you 10/50/100 non-celebrities who will inspire you. But then, someone like you does not like to venture out a lot, I imagine. Maybe Daytona or Disney world. A gaping mouth ride through New York City. A suppressed yawn through DC. You sound so bored that even you do not know you are bored. Perhaps then, the comment has some merit if it were written looking into a mirror.
"These people do not possess any ingenuity, nor do they possess management capability." - So pathetic... Were you hopping for comment flames? Do you really believe that?
3. "... having lived in India for many years..."
How many exactly? How old were you at the time? Where did you travel while in India and how? Objective questions all. Would love to know the answers...
4. On economies and infrastructure...
Yes, Infrastructure is a big obstacle in the path of frenetic growth. Yes, India is a ROARING Asian tiger economy. The needs, rewards and promise of the latter will resolve the former. It will only gets better cause in infrastructure as it relates to demand and Development we have hit rock bottom. It may take 5, 10, 20 years. Again, what of it? We have had and have greater problems and have surmounted them. We will do this too and wow the world.
Say, how are those displaced people in New Orleans doing? Katrina, was it? And I hear your veterans are well rewarded too, huh? What's it cost you to fill your prescription? Do you or your parents have to slave away at a job to make sure you guys have insurance? How's that invincible army of yours doing in Afghanistan and Iraq? Have you caught the bastard who bombed your Pentagon with a civilian airliner yet, with your Predator drones and KH-11's? How many channels of your 500 are worth watching, anyway? Does your Public School System really leave no child behind? Their test scores must be through the roof compared to ours, huh?
And this in the most powerful and "richest" nation on earth. Surely, you'll excuse us poorer folks our not-so- world class infrastructure. The author must realize, and he will with maturity, that all nations have their unique sets of problems and overcoming them and not the fact that they have them is what ultimately defenses the character of nations...
5. On health and social ailments...
Yes we have an inordinately large number of AIDS reported. However, the author is seriously misinformed if he believes that the Government is not acting to curb it. 6 million people with HIV/AIDS is not an easy number to deal with but is a quarter of the cumulative incidence rate in Europe. Africa has 3 times the cases of AIDS. So, I'd advise that the author revisit his stats and information on which nation is partnering with the US to distribute drugs at a low cost to Africa...(and where the helpline for the AIDS call center in his own country will lead him to... :) )
If a cure is found it is more likely anywhere than in the US considering the President's religious administration of stem cell law... So hats off to ya for losing the edge on medical research. And our government is being accused of turning a blind eye on dealing with human diseases?!?!
It's quite unfortunate that the author's opinion on India is so...uninformed. Lets tease out the elements of his argument:
1. 2/3 of the population lives in villages...
So what . This is not to say that the only sure form of development or comfort is to ultimately live in an urban mega polis. Almost 78% of the villages in North India has electricity and over 90% has water distributed since the Green Revolution drive in the 70's. Villages have better access to potable water than some sections of the bigger cities do.
Agricultural income is subsidized by the Indian Govt. and is under the tax net. What this means is that their output is bought at market rate sans sales tax but no income tax is levied on them.
Kerala fishermen coordinate via mobile phone on which part of the coast to bring in their catch to garner the best price for their catch.
Living in villages is not an imposition in India. Everyday 1000's of villager who wish to do so come to the urban megalopolises to do live, work, trade or be entertained. Some of them leave. Others stay. Some don't venture out at all.
Life ought not to be viewed from a single lens. Each persons view of contentment is different. Yours might be a killer car and a "crib" in the Watergate, others are content with the birth of their child or the marriage of their nephews or nieces celebrated around a village square.
Before one comments on the "woeful" fate of "these people" - I would ask how many time the author has visited a village in Haryana, Punjab, Jharkand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Not a town he mistook for a village because of the absence of a "Gap" or "Nordstrom" and a six laned highway.
2. "The lack of charisma...", "...naive and submissive..." and on the personal makeup of the average Indian
No where is the authors almost childish ignorance illustrated better than here. My suggestion - meet more Indians and not just the ones who run spice shops, or work for a techies firms or your own relatives. And leave out ABCD's as well. Come to India if you have the strength of conviction in what you write and I offer to show you 10/50/100 non-celebrities who will inspire you. But then, someone like you does not like to venture out a lot, I imagine. Maybe Daytona or Disney world. A gaping mouth ride through New York City. A suppressed yawn through DC. You sound so bored that even you do not know you are bored. Perhaps then, the comment has some merit if it were written looking into a mirror.
"These people do not possess any ingenuity, nor do they possess management capability." - So pathetic... Were you hopping for comment flames? Do you really believe that?
3. "... having lived in India for many years..."
How many exactly? How old were you at the time? Where did you travel while in India and how? Objective questions all. Would love to know the answers...
4. On economies and infrastructure...
Yes, Infrastructure is a big obstacle in the path of frenetic growth. Yes, India is a ROARING Asian tiger economy. The needs, rewards and promise of the latter will resolve the former. It will only gets better cause in infrastructure as it relates to demand and Development we have hit rock bottom. It may take 5, 10, 20 years. Again, what of it? We have had and have greater problems and have surmounted them. We will do this too and wow the world.
Say, how are those displaced people in New Orleans doing? Katrina, was it? And I hear your veterans are well rewarded too, huh? What's it cost you to fill your prescription? Do you or your parents have to slave away at a job to make sure you guys have insurance? How's that invincible army of yours doing in Afghanistan and Iraq? Have you caught the bastard who bombed your Pentagon with a civilian airliner yet, with your Predator drones and KH-11's? How many channels of your 500 are worth watching, anyway? Does your Public School System really leave no child behind? Their test scores must be through the roof compared to ours, huh?
And this in the most powerful and "richest" nation on earth. Surely, you'll excuse us poorer folks our not-so- world class infrastructure. The author must realize, and he will with maturity, that all nations have their unique sets of problems and overcoming them and not the fact that they have them is what ultimately defenses the character of nations...
5. On health and social ailments...
Yes we have an inordinately large number of AIDS reported. However, the author is seriously misinformed if he believes that the Government is not acting to curb it. 6 million people with HIV/AIDS is not an easy number to deal with but is a quarter of the cumulative incidence rate in Europe. Africa has 3 times the cases of AIDS. So, I'd advise that the author revisit his stats and information on which nation is partnering with the US to distribute drugs at a low cost to Africa...(and where the helpline for the AIDS call center in his own country will lead him to... :) )
If a cure is found it is more likely anywhere than in the US considering the President's religious administration of stem cell law... So hats off to ya for losing the edge on medical research. And our government is being accused of turning a blind eye on dealing with human diseases?!?!
Blogged with Flock
posted by Sandeep at Tuesday, July 25, 2006
6 Comments:
Wow Sandeep,
Look like The Deep Raj touched a nerve. Your response was interesting and valid, but put away the sharp knives yaar. He's a sophmore in college, afterall.
Then again, I love controversy. You'll find my anonymous comments on Raj's postings...
He is one of us. His American peers are going to be looking to him for an understanding of India. If his own views are thus imagine the state of his peers...
You criticize me for my view of India from afar. But what you don't understand is that sometimes a distant view yields more about something than a scrutinizing one. Similar to the sepia mosaic that you once told me about. To see what it represents, you must not hold it too close.
If there is truth to that, then being an Indian already disqualifies you from making that call.
That's not to say that you can't have an opinion nor that it ought to be a positive one but that it is incumbent upon you to know what you are talking about. When were you in India last and what was the scope of your exposure to it? How many INDIANS did you talk to not counting relations...
Irrespective of your nationality as outlined in your passport, you are undeniably Indian. You can't change that. Even you're fellow americans look to you as an 'INDIAN AMERICAN' or whatever the PC term is these days.
They look to you to understand this mosaic that you speak off. You ought to be able to provide a better understanding rather than just a "oh India is full of poor people and beggars..." rot.
Do you know that the Bombay subway trains were up and running normal schedules the evening after the bombings? That while their loved ones grieved and the politicians paid lip service and their neighbors comforted them - the trains, humanity and life in Bombay returned to normal. Not one Mumbaite gave the terrorists the satisfaction of "being terrorized". How long did London, Madrid and New York take to get back to normal? Do you suppose that a bombing of the DC metro would meet with the same resilience of spirit?
Heroism, dynamism and strength of character is all around you in India and in huge quantity. You just need to look beyond the surface. And yes for that you have to be up close to it and not staring at photo colloges or insipid articles stressing one thing or the other either way...
Your terrorism example is interesting, but does nothing in disproving my beliefs about India. It's just anecdotal evidence of patriotism. I'm not denying that Indians don't have "heroism, dynamism, and strength" in their character. They do. I went to school there for two and a half years. I've been there on numerous trips and vacations since. I've witnessed firsthand the way men, both young and old, view their country. They have a great sense of nationalism. They criticize the US in any way they can, just as you are doing. Please stop, you are becoming more and more like a speck in the masses with each pro-India, anti-US rant.
The only thing I respect India for is their moral values. And even that is deteriorating. I hope I can turn to India to find a suitable wife 6 years from now, instead of marrying one of the many Indian American bimbos I come across here. But at the rate at which things are transforming, that might become unavailable to me.
You seemed to have taken much offense to my comment about the uncharismatic mentality of national Indians. How are you going to argue with me on this? I meet Indians who are fresh off the boat regularly. They are all the same. Introverted, timid, frail-minded creatures. The kind that are frightened to death when a teacher asks them in a question in class, but excel phenomenonally on tests. They lack social skills but master technical skills. That's their earmark. And I'm not just referring to students, I deal with customers who are the same way, at current and past jobs.
I used to work at a call center for an airline company. We had an outsourced sister call center in Mumbhai. If only you could see the incompetence of those numbskulls. It's so beyond words. Let me just say that by saving money with their low wages, we in turn sacrificed both quality and efficiency in our customer service.
Maybe those folks weren't in their niches. They should stick to the techie work and refrain from dealing with customers on the sales floor.
My commentary is proIndia for sure but not anti-US. The two don't go hand in hand. Criticizing of the US does not automatically mean anti-US but then perhaps you HAVE lived in a red state too long and that nuance is a hard one to get... :)
As for the anecdotal evedice you speak of its dime a dozen in this side of the world. It has to be because we live and are thriving in a nasty neighborhood and not under the sage buffer zone provided by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Be that as it may you have avoided the primary question of where you have really seen India. Have you been to Delhi? Mumbai? Chennai? How long? Who have you met other than your immediate family and your 6th and 7th grade classmates...
Why do you admire Indian born women for their "moral" value? Are there no American women (Indian or otherwise) who have strong moral values? I have a Caucasian wife whose moral certitude and gentle disposition humbles me and gives me pause to thank the Lord I found her. Perhaps like the 1 billion+ people you are so willing to judge by such a limited exposure you are judging your country as well. [shrugs] And why turn to such a uncharismatic, uncreative, people for a soul/life mate? I hope you put more thought in finding your soulmate than you do in finding your identity...
About the last two paragraphs... well thats a blog post all its own. Have to run now but stay tuned!!
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