India is TRASHED!

I found an article that was particular interesting, about the extreme amounts of trash that have piled up in India, and what affects it has on the environment and culture. I know that when I visited India in January, it was impossible not to notice the garbage everywhere – mountainsides, burning in the streets, and all over the roads and trails. The article is written from Pondicherry, an area that I visited, and was written by an Indian man observing what the inundation of garbage has meant to him:

This year has brought a new hardship: the stink of burning garbage. I first smelled it about a month ago, a vague, almost indistinct smell on a Sunday morning, like something rotten in the air. A few days later my wife woke me in the middle of the night and said something was burning. This time the stench was unmistakable, overwhelming — a metallic taste in my mouth, a chemical roughness along the back of my constricted throat.

The problem of garbage has existed for many years, but because the are of Pondicherry is evolving and becoming more populated and popular, the author writes that the problem of garbage has changed from just a nuisance into a serious problem – the smell alone makes it a detriment to the tourist industry.

While all of India is affected, it seems that the garbage problem is more evident in cities. “India is drowning in garbage. The cities alone generate more than 100 million tons of solid waste a year.” This issue of garbage also reflects a lack of diligence on the part of the Indian government, for allowing the problem of waste to go so far. Although the Supreme Court in 2000 mandated that the problem of waste be addressed immediately, but seems that there is actually little being done about it.

I think that due to the capacity of change that can actually be done, added with the vastness of the issue, that the problem of garbage will remain in India for a long time. If the government chooses instead to just burn the trash, then there will be irreversible damage done to the environment, with levels of smog and toxins in the air skyrocketing.

With this article, I also attached a few photos that help to showcase the vastness of the garbage problem, even just from my month-long visit in January.

India's Role as a Central Super Power

Real Clear World wrote an in-depth article about reasons that India must play a central role in the U.S./Asia Strategy as it continues to evolve. In Obama’s strategy for international policy, he singles out India, China, Japan, and Pakistan as big players with which he must devote much focus and energy. The author of this feature, Jim Hoagland, says that because China and India are major players but have extremely different opinions on international cooperation.

The author writes that while there are no key elements of disagreement between Indian government and U.S. administration, there is also no real excitement about the relationship, as there had been several years ago. The article talks about the recent state dinner held on behalf of Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, but that there has been an air of ambivalence since then. High-ranking Indian officials have been reported as saying that they feel like the U.S. has dropped the ball in terms of reliance or focus on issue, which is a mistake as India continues to grow in power.

Because relations are so tense between India and China, the U.S. has found itself in a difficult position, as though having to choose between heavy alliace with either country. Says the article, “India has recently moved troops away from the Pakistan frontier while increasing deployments into border areas that China is claiming in pugnacious and offensive rhetoric.”

In uncertain times, it seems that India was relying on the U.S. to be an ally regarding the volatile relations that they have with Pakistan, and the looming threat of war, either nuclear or militarily. Because the expansion of Asian involvement in global development is inevitable, the author believes that the U.S. has made an egregious error by ignoring the power that India has and will continue to have globally.

To me, it would seem obvious that the U.S. should do more to secure their good relations with India instead of trying to work on their relationship with China, because India reflects the same positive democratic ideas that the U.S. holds so strong. By attaching themselves to China as an industrializing nation, I do not think that the U.S. is giving enough credit to India, and what the country is capable of. I have to agree with this author in saying that the U.S. must spend more time in vetting India and working to improve relations, because India can be an extremely valuable player, especially with Obama’s intent to move troops out of the middle east in the next several years. To give more power to China is underestimating India’s capabilities and evolving in the next several years and decades.

Articles on India -- Thanks, BBC News!

Looking at articles on India, I found one that surprised me on working conditions and injury. The article found that weavers, complaining of eye injury, have been partially blinded as a result of toxins in the silk. Recently, there were more chemicals added to the silk to make it heavier more attractive, but in doing so, the chemicals ended up impairing the weavers (at least 40) who were weaving the silk. This surprised me, because this instance, combined with an article from a previous entry (about death and injury as the result of faulty equipment used at the University of Delhi) are just two instances of wrongful injury or death – an accident.

The BBC article writes that one of the victims was quoted as saying, "Immediately, our eyes started to burn and our vision got blurred.” It seems that this is in response to China becoming more appealing in terms of its weaving capabilities, and that India was trying to compete with finer silk, in order to increase trade.

Another article that I found that relates to a previous entry is about a Kashmir civilian who was killed as anti-India protesters threw stones at him. In a “Lottery-esque” killing, Shafiq Ahmed Sheikh was hit in the head several times with stones, and died at a nearby hospital. In the India-administered region of Kashmir, many Pakistani Muslims are very opposed to India’s reign. Police say that throwing rocks and stones is a popular form of protest in the region, and that in order to suppress the violence, police are banning any public gatherings of four members or more. These instances of “stone-pelting” are seen as un-Islamic, but is just one of the modes that protestors choose to publicly condemn Indian-administration of the Kashmir region.

The third article that I found is one about a summit between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan in the coming days. Both prime ministers are quoted as being hopeful about the summit, and that, “winds of change are blowing across the world.” The relationship between the two countries has been strained since the bombings in Mumbai, where Indian officials blamed Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taib, though Pakistan denied any official involvement.

While I see this summit as a step in the right direction, I am too realistic to think that any tangible changes will be made, or any concrete differences will exist as a result of this summit. I think that both countries have too much invested in current relationship that they will not be willing to surrender or sacrifice any ground. Now, especially, with the volatile relationship with Kashmir, I just don’t see any real change coming as a result of this summit.

Government Spending on Rural Poverty

I wanted to learn more about government involvement in India, and the way that they are working to offset the problem of poverty in India. I searched through JSTOR, and found an article called, “Government Spending, Growth, and Poverty in Rural India,” which briefly describes the role that government is playing in poverty throughout the country.

Even since the 1960s, poverty has declined significantly, from 50-65% to just around 1/3 of the population living in poverty. The article explains this recent decline in rural poverty, and how government spending has had both direct and indirect impacts on the issue. Says the article, “Government expenditure has not only contributed to agricultural growth and hence indirectly to poverty alleviation, but it has directly created rural non-farm jobs and increased wages.” It seems that even the trickle-down affects of government spending have successfully put money into the pockets of rural farm workers, and by doing so, has helped to decrease the abject poverty that once existed.

One area that is often overlooked when looking into government spending is in terms of the indirect assistance that, in India, could be seen in terms of investments in roads, irrigation, health, etc. While these improvements do not necessarily change rural poverty, they do put the proper building blocks in place to help farmers and rural workers improve their conditions. The article says that by putting money towards education and healthcare, the government has successfully put money in place to improve conditions. “Current and past values of government expenditures on different investments, such as R&D [research and development], irrigation, roads, power, and education, were included in the equations for productivity, technology, infrastructure and education.” These modifications from government can be seen in the improvement of conditions throughout the country, from rural areas to industrialized ones.

In his analysis, from calculations and equations it has been shown that by the government investing an extra 1,000,000 rupees (about 21,000 USD) in eduation, there are 41 people that can be lifted above the poverty line. Government has recently used these findings, and invested more money and dedication into improving education conditions. While it might be assumed that education and health care are two of the biggest contributors to the decline in rural poverty, it is actually government expenditures on roads and R&D that have had the largest impacts on development. By enabling rural farms to be able to travel into the larger cities opens up vast opportunity for trade, and in doing so, many rural workers are able to finally be free from such poverty.

India -- Secure?

In finding articles on India, I came across a very surprising one, in which an Indian diplomat is being accused of spying for Pakistan. Officials are investigating the breach of security with Madhuri Gupta, a second secretary at the embassy, and the possibility of spying for Pakistan. The ramifications of this could be severe, and there is very little known about the information that Gupta could have been reporting. Officials are reporting that she had been under surveillance for over six months, but that they arrested her just a few days ago. It’s surprising to me that at this time, as technology is getting more and more advanced, that there are still so many instances where of spying or breaches within security; it seems to be almost an inevitability at this point. The article talks about the three wars that have bene fought between India and Pakistan since India’s independence in 1847, and this most recent incident will do nothing to improve any type of relationship between the two countries. It will be interesting to see if Gupta denies the accusations, or what she will admit to, especially during such a volatile time for the two countries, with the current disputes and fighting over the Kashmir region

In a related article, I found that a terrorist warning was issued for India, in the response to the planning of “imminent attacks” on India’s capital, New Delhi. The Indians were informed by U.S. Intelligence, and the state department was sure to include the word, “imminent” in their description. It is believed that Pakistan-based Islamic groups, who have been blamed for other attacks, including most recently, the bombings in Mumbai, will carry out the attacks. The terrorist cells are believed to be targeting public areas, where foreign travelers would be most identifiable. This is in conjunction with the previous article, about the possibility of Pakistani spies infiltrating Indian security, and it seems that conditions will only worsen before they improve.

The third article that I’ve found is in response to India’s involvement in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. India has not yet signed the bill, but recent reports say that they will be keeping a close eye on the deliberations at the United Nations on Monday. Because Pakistan has also not yet signed the treaty, many India officials will be watching the deliberations unfold, to ensure that those who have signed the bill are considering what is in India’s best interest. India intends to watch for any effort to seek universalization of the NPT, and also the focus that the bill will take on Iran. Says the article, “India’s position on Iran has been that it does not want new sanctions imposed while India also does not want to see the emergence of a nuclear-armed state in its neighbourhood.”

These three articles all help to highlight the heightened security and watchful eye that India must always have towards its neighbors, and how easily mistakes can slip through the cracks, the results of which could be detrimental to Indian security.

The Kerala Model

After spending a month in Kerala, India, observing the extreme contrasts under which the state exists, I thought that it would be interesting to take a closer look at the model of development that made Kerala’s growth so successful. With the highest literacy rate and a ranking of first on the country’s Human Development India, it’s clear that Kerala is doing something right.

I found an article on JStor about the “Kerala Model,” and the paradoxical way in which it works. “What Ails Kerala’s Economy: A Sectoral Exploration” discusses the possible reasons that Kerala has remained such a successful state despite the significantly lower employment rates compared to other states. Says the article, “A significant aspect of the ‘Kerala Model” is that even without having high per capita income, industralization and urbanization, the state has reached the third state of demographic transition and people get better medical care and education.” People are continuously amazed at the strides that the state has taken, despite its low per capita income.

Social scientists have found one reason that may be responsible for Kerala’s recent success compared to other states is the performance of their agriculture, both domestically and internationally. It seems that when talking about India as an emerging entity, people are most apt to discuss the technological advances and everything that they are doing in the IT industry. In doing so, they often forget the impact that agricultural trade has on the country. Kerala, specifically, is known for its commercial crops like, “coconut, rubber, tea, coffee and spices…As a result, the sector has been more open to market situations (both domestically and internationally).” Because Kerala does not have as significant an investment in the technology industry, farmers and workers do not have a very significant per capita income but they do work to trade and grow these important crops, also helping with the health and medical sector of their economy.

It seems that at this point, the only real reason that researchers can give for the relatively low level of per capita average is that there is not enough attention to be paid to the economic strain, because many are busy praising them for their more successful quality of life domestically. They have managed to have a 90% literacy rate (which I can imagine is higher than some U.S. states or towns I’ve been to), significantly lower infant mortality rates, and a health care system that is almost unparalleled in the other Indian states. Because Slumdog Millionaire was really the only knowledge of India I had prior to my departure, I was actually happily surprised to find that the conditions abroad were not quite so dire, and that the situations and lifestyles in Kerala, despite not having the highest income, were much better than those elsewhere in India.

I've also attached some pictures from my time spent at the schools in Kerala. The education system in Kerala is almost unrivaled with regards to other states in India. We taught interactive science development to the students, who actually knew more complex science (chemistry & physics) than all of us. Combined.

India Articles from the New York Times

I have chosen to center my blogs around India, because after visiting the country in January, I have seen just how inevitable it is that India will very soon be a global super power. As the world’s largest democracy, India holds power over countries like China, which are emerging but without democratic ideals.

An article written today focuses on the India Catholic Church, and the intention of the bishops to enact a policy for reporting abuse claims. Like much of Europe, there have been issues of abuse allegations and evidence of sexual harassment and abuse. The current santions in India are minimal, with the reporter, Lydia Polgreen, instancing a time where an Indian priest forced oral sex on a 14-year old girl in Minnesota, and that upon returning to India, his charges were dismissed and he permitted to return to the priesthood. With 18 million practicing Catholics in India, it is imperative that the bishops adhere to the strict “zero tolerance” policy that was enacted in 2002.

In the wake of the Model UN Crisis Simulation, and our group having to dealing with radiation poisoning affecting many Indian citizens, I was surprised to see this article in the New York Times about radiation poisoning found in India, but from an unlikely cause. It seems that outdated laboratory from the university of Delhi was the culprit behind one death and six hospitalizations. At such an uncertain time in Indian history and with such volatile neighbors, it surprised me that radiation poisoning was coming from within the country, and was even the result of an accident at a university. Says the article, “the radioactive materials appeared to have entered the country in a container of imported scrap metal,” and that they are going to administer tighter security measures to ensure that this radiation poisoning does not happen again, especially in such a vulnerable area (New Delhi).

The third article I found has less to do with India directly, but more about how the game of cricket, a sport that gets ¾ of its revenue from play in India, has caught on in Afghanistan. The article is about how the new team from Afghanistan will play India in the next few days, and about how the emergence of the team has been quick and unexpected. The article’s author, Huw Richards, writes about how many of the young players began playing cricket in Pakistani refugee camp, but have acquired impressive skill and understanding of the game. In an irreverent way, the author writes, “Afghanistan owes much of its aggressive playing style to examples set by Pakistan. It must be hoped it will take its administrative models from elsewhere,” adding that Pakistan’s team, which has been respected internationally, has faced many internal issues of corruption. The article praises India for its role as central location and figure in the cricket world.