hmmmm ... income inequality leading to instability w/i a democracy ... sounds familiar. maybe like-minded capitalists should get together and do something about it!
I completely agree with this statement. A large portion of the population does not fully comprehend the situation, and it is all too easy to influence them towards the Hindutva movement, particularly with the prevalence of low-cost internet and social media. I have witnessed an increase in hostility between religious communities and the degradation of democratic principles, all in the name of religion. It is concerning to note that the news channels are now controlled by major corporations, who have established favorable relationships with the government, and they only broadcast information that promotes the Hindutva movement. There is little to no discussion of pressing issues, such as the economy.
Interesting. I went to India the October just before the Pandemic and gave a short presentation to a group of business leaders and educators. If I remember correctly, India had 186,000 graduates that year leave for jobs abroad. Indians are leaving India in droves because of the lack of jobs. Modi was at our conference and he was imploring multinational businesses to expand inside India and attract these grads. Haven't kept up with it recently.
hah! thanks Bram. Yes sounds like India needs C4$I just as much as we do. Ashok did say there are plenty of Indian philanthropists trying to give back but the inertia of the system is very hard to overcome
After reading your understanding of the book "India is Broken" and some of comments, I have two basic questions:
1. When was India not broken?
2. Out or percentage or numbers, what is more appropriate to quote statistics? Because, considering scale of India, numbers may turn out misleading sometimes.
I hail from eastern states of India where survival was a challenge due to law and order situation along with lack of basic facilities such as electricity. To put it in context, we had electricity for namesake for just 1 hour in my village in Bihar in 2001; now the electricity is for the whole day and night. And I am not even quoting the voltage.
Likewise for law and order. Number of politicians in Parliament or other elected body is I think not a complete barometer to assess law and order. Many places that I have been in India and from my relatives, I see and hear law and order has improved.
I read assessment in the aforementioned book, NYT, FT, where they talk about deteriorating democratic principles, free speech. But I think those are desire and I don't see any perceptible worsening, perhaps being an insider, my eye is not sensitive enough. However, what about need? Need and desire are different. How can we judge something on good to have parameters, not need to have?
If India needs to create jobs for its population, manufacturing sector needs to grow. So far, India's growth has been primarily driven by service sector. This assessment was shared in the Economic Times newspaper, an Indian business daily, a couple of years ago, and a similar viewpoint has been shared in other places as well. I believe that's why the current focus on Make in India is well appreciated.
In short, India is work in progress and work in progress offers opportunities and challenges, which are two sides of a coin. And the question is whether we should focus on the coin or a specific side!
Thanks for commenting so thoughtfully - your perspective is very important. To go from almost no electricity and concerns about safety to service all day and night with less worry about crime - those are precisely the things that governments are supposed to do for their citizens. America was a VERY corrupt democracy for a long time - in New York City people were paid to vote. And our last president was just indicted on criminal charges. So all democracies are a work in progress. I do think freedom of the press is extremely important. Democracy is a more robust system than autocratic regimes like China because there is constant disagreement and experimentation. From that perspective the Indian government trying to shutdown the Center For Policy Research isn't good. Modi should be confident enough in his achievements and plans to allow anyone to criticize him.
hmmmm ... income inequality leading to instability w/i a democracy ... sounds familiar. maybe like-minded capitalists should get together and do something about it!
I completely agree with this statement. A large portion of the population does not fully comprehend the situation, and it is all too easy to influence them towards the Hindutva movement, particularly with the prevalence of low-cost internet and social media. I have witnessed an increase in hostility between religious communities and the degradation of democratic principles, all in the name of religion. It is concerning to note that the news channels are now controlled by major corporations, who have established favorable relationships with the government, and they only broadcast information that promotes the Hindutva movement. There is little to no discussion of pressing issues, such as the economy.
thanks for commenting and adding your perspective. Ashok did mention that to me as well...about the main news media being close to the government
Interesting. I went to India the October just before the Pandemic and gave a short presentation to a group of business leaders and educators. If I remember correctly, India had 186,000 graduates that year leave for jobs abroad. Indians are leaving India in droves because of the lack of jobs. Modi was at our conference and he was imploring multinational businesses to expand inside India and attract these grads. Haven't kept up with it recently.
hah! thanks Bram. Yes sounds like India needs C4$I just as much as we do. Ashok did say there are plenty of Indian philanthropists trying to give back but the inertia of the system is very hard to overcome
Hi Kevin,
After reading your understanding of the book "India is Broken" and some of comments, I have two basic questions:
1. When was India not broken?
2. Out or percentage or numbers, what is more appropriate to quote statistics? Because, considering scale of India, numbers may turn out misleading sometimes.
I hail from eastern states of India where survival was a challenge due to law and order situation along with lack of basic facilities such as electricity. To put it in context, we had electricity for namesake for just 1 hour in my village in Bihar in 2001; now the electricity is for the whole day and night. And I am not even quoting the voltage.
Likewise for law and order. Number of politicians in Parliament or other elected body is I think not a complete barometer to assess law and order. Many places that I have been in India and from my relatives, I see and hear law and order has improved.
I read assessment in the aforementioned book, NYT, FT, where they talk about deteriorating democratic principles, free speech. But I think those are desire and I don't see any perceptible worsening, perhaps being an insider, my eye is not sensitive enough. However, what about need? Need and desire are different. How can we judge something on good to have parameters, not need to have?
If India needs to create jobs for its population, manufacturing sector needs to grow. So far, India's growth has been primarily driven by service sector. This assessment was shared in the Economic Times newspaper, an Indian business daily, a couple of years ago, and a similar viewpoint has been shared in other places as well. I believe that's why the current focus on Make in India is well appreciated.
In short, India is work in progress and work in progress offers opportunities and challenges, which are two sides of a coin. And the question is whether we should focus on the coin or a specific side!
Regards
Thanks for commenting so thoughtfully - your perspective is very important. To go from almost no electricity and concerns about safety to service all day and night with less worry about crime - those are precisely the things that governments are supposed to do for their citizens. America was a VERY corrupt democracy for a long time - in New York City people were paid to vote. And our last president was just indicted on criminal charges. So all democracies are a work in progress. I do think freedom of the press is extremely important. Democracy is a more robust system than autocratic regimes like China because there is constant disagreement and experimentation. From that perspective the Indian government trying to shutdown the Center For Policy Research isn't good. Modi should be confident enough in his achievements and plans to allow anyone to criticize him.