As I near the end of my time in India, through observation,
reading and mostly talking to natives, I begin to comprehend India’s greatest
challenges. Here’s the hit parade penciled in my worn notebook. Maybe this is
why Aldous Huxley wrote back in the 1960s: “India is almost infinitely
depressing, for there seems to be no solution to its problems in any way that
any of us in the West regard as acceptable.”
Government Deadlock – India is not a nation; it’s an idea. The
country’s borders and states were set-up by the British. The reality is more
messy. India is made up of what could be hundreds of ethnic groups—Hindus,
Muslims, Sikh, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, Jews—political
factions, religions and twenty two languages, poor and rich. Regional
separatism pulls at the federal cohesion. Church and state are separate only in
theory. Consensus is next to impossible.
As one Indian said simply: “New Delhi can’t get anything done.”
Caste Injustice – This one really stands out. You’re born in
your station. Its next to impossible to change it. Without a meritocracy,
India’s best and brightest are unable to rise and benefit the nation. It’s
outdated and an affront its democracy. However you can’t under Planet India
without understanding its long religious traditions. When I was in Varanasi,
one of the young men showing me around pointed out how the Indians washing the
bodies in the Ganges and preparing them for cremation are from one of the
lowest castes in India. So low that they are not permitted to touch Indians of
high status. Yet at the time of death it’s they who care for Indians of all
castes.
Secular vs. Religious – On one hand is a place like Bangalore,
modern, high-tech, research and science oriented. On the other is India as the
spiritual heartland of the world, with an age old belief that if things don’t
work out this life time it will the next. The traditions are so ingrained and
the pride around it so deep, religion I have come to believe is an obstacle to
India’s ambitions. China, on the other hand, possesses Confucianism. But that’s
not a religion, it’s a moral code of behavior, and it prizes hard work and
ambition. China’s religion, at one level, is making money, and in a global
capital world, it’s paying off at the material level. India’s riches are
intangibles.
Corruption – Nothing new about corruption in an emerging economy.
What’s disconcerting is how, despite a British legal system, the largest
democracy in the world, the support of the United States, it is believed that
as much as 80 percent of a transaction
goes to paying off officials, compared to 40 percent in India.
Treatment of women – The Western women I met had plenty of unkind
things to say about Indian men. The patriarchy is arcane and runs deep. Only 45
percent of Indian women can read, compared to 87 percent in China. As you
travel about the country, it always seems like the women are working, or home,
caring for kids, while lots of men mill about. Like the caste systems, these
relics inhibit India’s ability to prosper.
Abject Poverty – About 60 percent of Indians, or 800 million folks,
less on less than two dollars a day. The Indian economy is benefiting those who
are educated, speak English and can work in an office. That’s not even close to
the majority.
Baby India – In country with over a billion people, Fifty percent
of Indians are under the age of twenty-five. By 2015, there will be 550
millions teenagers. The challenges to find work for them will be more pressing
than in China.
Environment – Clean air, clean water, and basic electricity. During
my visit, there is a drought in the plains. Tens of millions of substance
Indians are affected. Wars of the this century will be over natural resource
and energy. India needs both badly.
Rural to Urban – Today, about one third of GDP is created by
agriculture, yet 70 percent of Indians (850 million, twice the size of the USA)
live in rural areas. Not only is there a lack of employment but the land is
strained.
Infrastructure – Ailing or non-existent outside the major urban
centers. A prerequisite for manufacturing and global trade.