India in the Twenty First Century

India in the twentieth century is the place to start. Thirty years ago, as a child, I received a world geography book as a present. Of the book, I remember very little, except for one image which remains quite fixed in my mind: a few ragged family members lay out dozens of what appear to be round loaves to dry in the hot sun; surrounding them are all the tattered emblems of urban life in the east; in the distance, tower blocks rise impressively into the sky. It is a scene from an Indian city.

The iconography of the image is striking yet for this very reason we must be careful. It forces upon us a sense of stark contrast, directing us to think along the lines of binary opposites. It seems to us that the urban Indian poor such as these could know only misery and destitution, while the wealthy minority reside happily and ignorantly in the distance.

How accurate is this picture? There can be no denying that by the standards of the west these people are very underpriviledged; without job security, minimal healthcare, limited amenities and no real property, we can regard them only as poor. Yet how do they view themselves? They certainly are under no illusions regarding their own situation but the spirit and fortitude and good humour shown against such odds commands our respect. It is hard not to fall victim to false empathy as Dominic Lawson calls it, imagining that we can feel the suffering of another while all the time feeling only our own horror at the thought of being placed in such a situation ourselves. Such false empathy gives way to despair, which these Indian poor, such as the woman below, cannot allow themselves the luxury to feel.

(image used with the kind permission of Vikas Kamat (c) 1996-2010)

Looking beyond the binary opposites, we see a vast multitude of figures in the middle distance who defy categorization. Their lives appear to be such clumsy yet functioning juxtapositions, so common in India. Who are these people and how have their lives changed since the photograph we have mentioned was taken? Have their lives changed for the better at all? Take literacy in India for example: it stands at over sixty percent now compared with only twelve percent at the end of British rule. Certainly an impressive achievement, yet still over half of India's children are judged to be underweight (and many women too) while water supply and sanitation in India continues to be a grave problem (see Water Supply and Sanitation in India).

So, what of India in the twenty first century? With such a jumble of progress and arrested development, we shall see that it will be very difficult to avoid travelling through Indian towns and villages without the sharpest of contrasts directing our perspective.

Daniel

Another post to follow.

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