Yesterday and Tomorrow in India Today

Dost Mittar ji,

That was a wonderful article.

Benefits of the technology revolution seem to be reaching at all levels of society. Wall Street Journal (June 5) had an article on MNCs marketing their products to Indian villagers with a unique approach. ITC (Commodity trading company) is installing PCs (with full gear of solar panels, satellite connection etc. @ cost of $3400 each) in 10,000 villages that do not even have electricity. The idea is to have villagers sell their commodities at better rate than what they will get in local market. The villagers will earn more and be the consumers of seeds and fertilizers from ITC and many other products.

This is not a pipe dream. 2100 computer kiosks are already installed in various states and 14 years old Pooja Sharma of the article (in a poor village where no one had even touched a computer two years back) downloads agricultural research for the villagers.

Beautiful!

Did chowk contributed towards your extended trip to motherland? Just kidding. Good narration of north-south divide within India. Would Ramakrishna Hegde be the man deserving most credit for attracting so many high-tech companies to Banglore?

Amazing article Mittar-jee. Particularly admired the subtlety with which you sneak in a disarming humanism.

- Twenty rupees?? Unbelievable! Here we pay 50 at the airport desk and then another 40 or 50 inside when all the luggage has been checked in and still the cavalier attitude fails to change.

- ``Here was, then, the India of yesterday: poor, hungry, mired in poverty, highly dependent upon the vagaries of weather and yet full of life with colour, dance and music.``
But don`t you agree that all the color is contrived, fabricated out of the vestiges of the past to enable the poor to feed themselves. Perhaps if you were to shed your tourist apparatus and go live with them, you would find the true colors of their lives very different from the romantic spectacle visitors see, as you mention with the incident of your camel-driver.

- ``More than anything else, it will depend upon whether or not the bright young men and women of India shun their disdain for politics and displace the tired old men, hereditary politicians and goons``
Aik aisi hi ek dua hamare liye bhi kar lain. The single-minded devotion that you speak of is as urgently needed in Pakistan as it is in India.

There is an editorial in yesterday`s TOI (lead editorial actually, dtd 07jun`03) which talks about how the South has already moved way ahead of the North. Worth reading as an addendum to this excellent article.

So while we haggle about Kashmir and LOC and Siachen and religion and dowry and gender issues, the Southern States - with ample sea-ports remember - move ahead.

+++

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=9866

The South has Long Bypassed the North

[ SUNDAY, JUNE 08, 2003 12:00:27 AM ]

Forget the growing north-south divide, the south has already seceded from the Indian state — if not physically, then certainly in terms of social attitudes and identification. The south is far and away the better performer in the social indices — it is streets ahead in literacy, infant survival, gender sensitivity and all other health indicators.



Indeed, if the south were assessed as an independent country, its nearest comparison would be, not the BIMARU states, but the countries in south-east Asia. In the last decade, the south has also stolen a decisive march over the north in purchasing power capacity.



Which explains why the retail power balance has shifted in favour of the south: Delhiites might swoon over the shopping malls and cineplexes that are suddenly dazzling them, but people in the south have long been matter-of-fact about these facilities. The self-service foodstore chains that dot the nooks and crannies of the southern cities are still to show up even in the Capital. No doubt because in the feudal-influenced north, self-service remains a demeaning chore.



Pubs, discos and bowling alleys that are a way a life in Bangalore, and increasingly in Chennai, continue to be a rarity in the north, again largely because of the stigma attached to such places. One of the commonest sights in Bangalore and Chennai is of women dispensing alcohol at liquor outlets — something unimaginable even in the north’s most happening place, Gurgaon.



The higher visibility of southern women — be it in running computer schools or driving autorickshaws — is another sign of social progress where the north has much catching up to do. The socio-cultural identification in the south is more and more with south-east Asia. And for obvious reasons: One, the complete growing away of the south in terms of interests: Such hot Delhi subjects as Kashmir and mandir are irrelevant in the Deccan. And two, the north is no longer the magnet that attracted the southern job-seekers: Today the lot heads directly for Singapore and the US, bypassing Delhi.

sameerJB #1

``Did chowk contributed towards your extended trip to motherland? Just kidding. Good narration of north-south divide within India. Would Ramakrishna Hegde be the man deserving most credit for attracting so many high-tech companies to Banglore?``

I always thought Hedge was an excellent administrator. He had none of the PR associated with Naidu who is excellent in his own way. He seemed a good enough politcian. I never understood why he never advanced further in politics. Maybe someone familar with Karnataka politics could shed light on him.

great travelogue dost mitter jee -- great description of contrast between Jaisalmir and Bangalore -- glad to know that at least in the Infosys complex the shitty lights did not go out --

you r exactly right --``hereditary politicians and goons who are monopolising the political space in India at the present time`` --

heard that the Maha Goon -- the DPM (the Disgraced Prime Miscreant) -- Shriman Advani ji is building his new palace in Tihar....of course at public expense.....hopefully

Greatly enjoyed ur column -- hope u travel to India more often and write more often.

Chowk Staff:
There is a missing line in para 5. The sentence ``The government provides`` should be completed as ``The government provides ten kiglograms of ration to every family each month regardless of the size of the family.``

Nice article. Parts of India no doubt are modernised (like parts of Islamabad/Lahore/Karachi) and developed and I am sure India will make lots of strides in that direction BUT its biggest problem is a massive population and this will ensure that it large parts of it will remain massively mired in poverty. Basically there will be 2 Indias: one for the rich and one for the poor and the rich-poor divide will get bigger and bigger as technology increases. Ditto for pakistan but to a lesser extent in both the riches and the poverty.

I`ve always equated North India to the whole of Pakistan. It’s amazing how similar the two regions are in their attitudes, language, and social behavior despite being separated for more than five decades. I truly admire the South Indians for making progress and I hope that one day we can also have a South Pakistani segment to propel Pakistan.

But in this “safar-nama” I don`t see why Dost Mittar had to go in great details about the buildings, the cafeterias, the electronic ID cards, and the video-conferencing rooms of InfoSys. Anybody with money and some sense can build/acquire that. The level of maturity is lowered by describing such visibilities.

It would easily equate to my landing at the Lahore International Airport and be fascinated with its modern architecture, surfing the net from an Internet Kiosk while pumping gas at any PSO (Pakistan State Oil) station in any big city of Pakistan (not to mention that I could have done that from the airport terminal as well), travel on a high-speed six lane highway (motorway) with restricted entry/exit all the way from Lahore to Islamabad (and with more highway segments under construction from Lahore to Karachi and from Islamabad to Peshawar), eating at a restaurant whose climate resembles my mood (Marco Polo, Mezzo, Café Zaok, Uno Chicago Pizzeria, Village, KFC, Pizza Hut, Freddy’s, McDonald’s—8 of them just in the Gulberg, Cantt, and Defense areas, the Food Street), shop in upscale departmental stores, and of course watch all the cable I want. The same exists for Karachi and Islamabad and to some extent for the 2nd tier Pakistani cities like Hyderabad, Multan, Sialkot, Quetta, and Peshawar.

But with all these modern amenities I wouldn’t call Pakistan moving on a path towards modernism. These are the things that money buys. Look at Arabs, what have they gained from riding on big/expensive American/German cars?

I think if I had the money that Infosys has/makes, it wouldn’t take too much effort to build those 26 buildings. But building big buildings or airports doesn’t put us in the higher world status. It is the highness of the mind.

Important thing to realize is the maturity and the discipline of the South Indians that fetches them this money. They are the material that can and has overcome social stigma and engaged their population towards common good. Let’s pray again for a South Pakistan.

Dost-mitter

I hope that you are collecting all these to be later published as ``A train journey through India``.

And if you ever wish and come to Pakistan, I will host you a train journey from Karach to Peshawar. And may be accompany you unless you have a better company.

As for me, I have not sat in a trains in last 30 years in Pakistan. (outside, Yes)

dost mitter,

Infosys is not hall mark of indian achievement. Another economic downturn, another tech collapse, infy could be no more.
You should have travelled may 10 KM to malleswaram, to the campus of IISC. You should have seen the granite building, nearly 100 years old, stsue of jamshedjee tata, you should have seen the physics lab where C V raman did his pioneering work, you should have walked the roads lined with 100 year old trees to go to the cenetr for artficial inteligence.
The fountain spring of indian success is that dedication to education.

Finally you should have taken a trip to munireddy palaya, where the poor live, and go there around 10 AM and you can see women collecting todlers from the slums to take them to the school. That is the lasting core of indian success.

Kamalnsh # 9

You have a valid point. Whenever one moves through another counytry, there is a palpable air & mood very specific to that country.

I have never been to India but the few accounts that I have read speak of it.

The moment one crosses the Waga border, the story tellers tell us that suddenly there is more colour. The women riding cycles and mopeds. Sleeveless etc with no great fear of being noticed. It suddenly appears that this half of population is also equally free.

Liquor is openly available. Bars. Clubs. More mixed social life. In general, there is an openess, less tension and a more laid back life than in Pakistan.

There is probably a greater traffic rush and more visible poverty.
In general, Pakistanis are also a little fairer, healthier and better dressed.

This is what the story tellers say. I have yet to experience it myself.

re:#5 by Naqshbandi
``Basically there will be 2 Indias: one for the rich and one for the poor and the rich-poor divide will get bigger and bigger as technology increases. Ditto for pakistan but to a lesser extent in both the riches and the poverty. ``
You are missing the point. Cities like Bangalore are getting prosperous by upward mobility of middle income families. Young graduates, flush with computer training from one of the umpteen institutes that dot the southern landscape, are landing in good jobs and moving up the social ladder. This upward mobility is not restricted to any caste or race. Women have been very visible in this new phase of development.
My cousin, who got her Masters in Computer Science from a college in Pondicherry, got married to an Engineer and settled down in Bangalore. She landed a job in Bangalore`s Wipro. She now earns 3 x the salary of her husband. Recently, she was sent for a project work to San Francisco for a few months and her husband was taking care of their baby. Role reversal?
India is fast becoming a knowlege based country. What is happening in Bangalore, Hyderabad will spread in due course of time to other cities. For the first time perhaps, acquiring knowledge and skills in India also means significant upward mobility.
Sridhar

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superb writing; dost-mittarji...
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i`m going to Bombay in July...
my Pakistani friends...I do hope Mushy remembers that if he ``accidentally`` nukes Bombay (esp when I`m there)...
it wont be good for the mental health of Pakistanis everywhere...
no Bombay--no Bollywood...
no Bollywood...no more pirated Indian videos to stimulate the.. er..genious of your awam...
its all downhill from there, bharkhurdars...
soon the ENTIRE Pakistan will be like frikking NWFP...

I mean...praying to Allah 5 times a day sounds like a huge amount of fun an` all...
but what in Allah`s name do these Pathan-Naqsbandhi-types do for FUN the rest of the time?

Oh..I get it! Fun..is unIslamic; according to their sand nigger wahabi patrons..

Phew...thank Bhagwaaan these guys wanted another country!!
GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!

I mean.. if I had to live in a dirt poor howel without food or water---I`d MUCH rather have cable TV with jury rigged solar panels & watch Madhuri`s bosom; than writhe in front of Almighty 24 hrs a day...I mean HE made her bosoms too, you know!..or was it Dow Corning?!

...who cares if the frikking marital are fairer, healthier & better dressed...personally, MOST of them look like they havent had a bath in their entire lifetime....

...one thing about us ugly, poorly dressed, malnourished brahmins...we have a BATH every day..even if we have to scrounge water from a source that wont make it per EPA guidelines...

....... to be honest, i am extremely envious of what the horrible hindoos have managed to achieve in the IT area - they are on the right path while we are being urged to get on to sirat-ul-mustaqeem, the road to nowhere ......... infosys, wipro, satyam, tcs - they are not as insignificant as some detractors would like to make them out to be ........ they are bringing about a sea change in the social and economic life of the country and have a direct impact on other industries ........ they have changed the way the world views india and, more importantly, the way indians view themselves ............

.......... on the other hand, there is no little, if any, hope for pakistan ............because of the lack of political stability and the fear of the mad mullah, nobody wants to invest or do business there - not even pakistanis .......... you can`t even get anyone to open up a call center unless it is a low end, low investment, tele-marketing sweat shop selling magazines and credit-cards ..........and even this business is in jeopardy if the mullahs have their way and replace english with arabic - we can probably corner the bedouin market for camel trading!.............. i know, i know, there are a few exceptions, but together they don`t amount to a hill of beans .. .......... name one sgnificant pakis software company that cannot fit all its employees into the basement of the infosys building? .... cressoft? .....maybe - but they are denver based and even they can fit into one floor at infosys .......... try again......... askari info systems? .... there you go! ..... the faujis have a nice office in the blue area!.......there is also a faujisoft and a islamsoft that develops mullahware.............. pakistani businessmen, are scared kakaless and are hedging their bets by moving what they can to canada and uae .............everyone is sitting tight, no one is investing any significant money ............ nobody believes shaukat aziz and the crap on the pseb website - they can see for themselves what is happening in the assemblies in peshawar, lahore and islamabad .........