India Today
I have relocated partly to India since August 2008 and live 80% of the time in this country in the state of Kerala. I have launched a restaurant business here as well. My living in Kerala for the last 5 months has changed my views about India and Indians in a big way. Mind you, I left India in 1995 and was away for almost 14 years save a couple of trips back every year. I would like to share my current thinking with whoever reads this humble attempt of mine to write. I am adopting a 'Before/ After/ What changed my thinking' format to put forth my old and new views.
Before: Indians are the smartest folks in the world
After: Indians are just average when it comes to intelligence and actually below the average folks in developed countries
What changed my thinking: Personal experience employing people with 'good education' in fields as diverse as IT and hospitality. They do not come up with any original idea at all. Nothing worth mentioning has been invented or patented by Indians based in India that I have had the opportunity to read about or experience. I am comparing things like the slingbox, the iphone, high speed broadband etc. etc. etc. with anything at all that has been invented in India.
Before: Indians are very dependable
After: Indians are the least dependable folks when it comes to reporting for a job in the morning, especially in the less intellectually intensive sectors such as hospitality
What changed my thinking: Two cooks on leave at the same time, a waiter calling in sick, a cashier calling in sick and a driver having to come in 6 hrs late because of a personal emergency, all on the same day at an establishment employing just 21 folks
Before: India is progressing rapidly in things like infrastructure and could even beat China in this race to economic prosperity
After: India is actually progressing at a snail's pace in infrastructure with potholes and dug up roads all over and power supply going off several times a day without any warning
What changed my thinking: So many two wheeler riders die every day from accidents caused purely because of potholes and trenches dug up in these roads. Nobody cares, not least the elected representatives like the MLAs, the Ministers or the MPs.
Before: India is a safe country to live in because people need a licence to carry guns and in general Indians are peace loving
After: India is one of the most dangerous countries to live in and could potentially be compared to Colombia or Venezuela.
What changed my thinking: I read of at least 10 incidents a day about people being knived by 'goondas' (gangsters) and at least once a week about police being beaten up by these goondas in just the city of Trivandrum in Kerala.
Before: India has great internet penetration at least in the cities and good broadband speeds are available just like in the developed world
After: India is nowhere when it comes to broadband speeds.
What changed my thinking: Sure, there is internet connectivity and lots of users. But providers of the service are fleecing consumers with ultra high monthly rates and really low speeds. I pay $100 a month for 4mbps broadband with a 32 gig download limit. Compare this to Hongkong where you can get 100mbps broadband with no download limits for $15 a month.
I can go on writing about how much India has to do to play catch up with China. It is heartbreaking to see how politicians, elected members of the state assemblies and the central parliament, the ministers of State, the Union ministers etc. are letting such a great country (historically, pre-1900) slip into a situation where the poor have no chance to bridge the gap with the rich. These so called elected representatives and the government are the real hurdle for India's poor. In my opinion, the Indian constitution should be rewritten to restrict only people with a certain level of education, no criminal record and exposure to at least one developed country in the past to stand for elections. And those representatives should have a term limit of 10 years so that they get ample time to execute reforms without any thought of the next election - and further, they do not have any reason to even think of doing populist things to succeed in the next election. There should also be constant monitoring of each of these elected representatives' expense accounts, their wealth, what they are buying for personal use etc. It should almost be like a reality show where the people who elected them to office can monitor their every move. Only people willing to give up their privacy like this should be allowed to stand for elections, for it is the future of 1100 million people that they have responsibility for. If anything unsavoury is detected at any point in time, immediate corrective action should be initiated that could include expulsion and jail terms.
This is just my humble opinion. Feel free to add to this thread.
Before: Indians are the smartest folks in the world
After: Indians are just average when it comes to intelligence and actually below the average folks in developed countries
What changed my thinking: Personal experience employing people with 'good education' in fields as diverse as IT and hospitality. They do not come up with any original idea at all. Nothing worth mentioning has been invented or patented by Indians based in India that I have had the opportunity to read about or experience. I am comparing things like the slingbox, the iphone, high speed broadband etc. etc. etc. with anything at all that has been invented in India.
Before: Indians are very dependable
After: Indians are the least dependable folks when it comes to reporting for a job in the morning, especially in the less intellectually intensive sectors such as hospitality
What changed my thinking: Two cooks on leave at the same time, a waiter calling in sick, a cashier calling in sick and a driver having to come in 6 hrs late because of a personal emergency, all on the same day at an establishment employing just 21 folks
Before: India is progressing rapidly in things like infrastructure and could even beat China in this race to economic prosperity
After: India is actually progressing at a snail's pace in infrastructure with potholes and dug up roads all over and power supply going off several times a day without any warning
What changed my thinking: So many two wheeler riders die every day from accidents caused purely because of potholes and trenches dug up in these roads. Nobody cares, not least the elected representatives like the MLAs, the Ministers or the MPs.
Before: India is a safe country to live in because people need a licence to carry guns and in general Indians are peace loving
After: India is one of the most dangerous countries to live in and could potentially be compared to Colombia or Venezuela.
What changed my thinking: I read of at least 10 incidents a day about people being knived by 'goondas' (gangsters) and at least once a week about police being beaten up by these goondas in just the city of Trivandrum in Kerala.
Before: India has great internet penetration at least in the cities and good broadband speeds are available just like in the developed world
After: India is nowhere when it comes to broadband speeds.
What changed my thinking: Sure, there is internet connectivity and lots of users. But providers of the service are fleecing consumers with ultra high monthly rates and really low speeds. I pay $100 a month for 4mbps broadband with a 32 gig download limit. Compare this to Hongkong where you can get 100mbps broadband with no download limits for $15 a month.
I can go on writing about how much India has to do to play catch up with China. It is heartbreaking to see how politicians, elected members of the state assemblies and the central parliament, the ministers of State, the Union ministers etc. are letting such a great country (historically, pre-1900) slip into a situation where the poor have no chance to bridge the gap with the rich. These so called elected representatives and the government are the real hurdle for India's poor. In my opinion, the Indian constitution should be rewritten to restrict only people with a certain level of education, no criminal record and exposure to at least one developed country in the past to stand for elections. And those representatives should have a term limit of 10 years so that they get ample time to execute reforms without any thought of the next election - and further, they do not have any reason to even think of doing populist things to succeed in the next election. There should also be constant monitoring of each of these elected representatives' expense accounts, their wealth, what they are buying for personal use etc. It should almost be like a reality show where the people who elected them to office can monitor their every move. Only people willing to give up their privacy like this should be allowed to stand for elections, for it is the future of 1100 million people that they have responsibility for. If anything unsavoury is detected at any point in time, immediate corrective action should be initiated that could include expulsion and jail terms.
This is just my humble opinion. Feel free to add to this thread.
Comments
Dr Pradeep Vasudevan
Leicester/ Trivandrum