sometimes i wish i were richer. could afford more. like a fancy education from a really good arts school...
i tell my trainees how things are so much better. how we no longer have to wait to get a mobike, telephone connection, job...
and then i see an article. that talks of how the number of hungry people in the country are increasing. and how this number grows, just as the sensex does. and how it does not make the news the way the sensex does.
and i wonder. is it really that important that i get a telephone connection fast? are "naxalites" really the 'bad' guys? what part do i play in ensuring the continued poverty of millions? can i make a difference? do i dare?
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/26/stories/2007102653981200.htm
brave new india?
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Do you think economic growth and increasing poverty in India connected? The conversations I have with folks here are all centred around the "economic boom" on the sub continent.
i honestly do not know.
one the one hand, true there is a boom. people in general are more well off. jobs are more available, even for people with basic qualifications.
i think, however, that the problem is that the beneficiaries of the economic boom are largely people who were NOT at the bottom (financially) or very close to the bottom.
the people who have been hit hard are the 'bottom trawlers', subsistence farmers, 'adivasis' etc etc, who do not have even the basic skills to be able to handle the new economy. farmer suicides are up-often because they have believed the multinationals/the 'market' and gone into monoculture. demand flops, and they can't even eat their crop.
and in many ways, i feel the 'indian dream' has affected these folks, showing them the fortune that could be theirs, but not showing them the dangers, and quite definitely not giving them the skills to handle a new way of living.
disclaimer: i am no expert on markets, just another bleeding heart with no idea where to turn. :)
I think your claim that 'the 'Indian dream' has affected these folks, showing them the fortune that could be theirs, but not showing them the dangers, and quite definitely not giving them the skills to handle a new way of living' is so powerful. I think you are absolutely right here. Here is a link I thought you might be interested which I found very helpful- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/hi/story/index.html
Peace
hi there..
nice to come across a post tht talks abt the same ideas and thoughts ve been pondering on since quite sometime now... i agree with u, and even often share the musing tht 'is tht telephone connection' or car or a designer dress really all tht important? or if the luxury is justified when there's such a vast chunk of population who have a hand to mouth existence? there's always this subtle guilt conscious somehwere each time we proper a bit more.. i ve read a post and wud like ur views on it.. pl. post a comment when u have the time to the article 'Disparity and us' on my blog:
"http://gaurigharpure.blogspot.com/2007/11/disparity-and-us.html"
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