So, they say India is catching up to be a major player in the world economy (if not already) and a super power of sorts. Really? Lets see, Poverty in India is defined as someone who makes less than 20 cents a day and a large percentage, if not the majority, are living on less than $1 USD a day. Mumbai (Bombay) is home to over 16 million people. India collects 40% of its taxes from Mumbai but 55% of the population there live in slums. From what I can tell an extreme few of the 1.2 billion that inhabit India hold all of the wealth. There’s a very small number of individuals that have most of everything, a negligible middle class, and an overwhelming majority living in Poverty. It's every bit a third world country. India is simply not sustainable.
If you want to see what happens when over population takes hold, take a look at India. The people for the most part are hard working. Everyone is doing what they can to survive but there is barely enough to go around. This in undoubtedly a big cause of the hassles I faced while traveling the country. Indians are crazy about movies and cinema. American movies are just as popular as Bollywood movies. They see all of the wealth portrayed by Hollywood and can easily justify screwing an American out of a few dollars. Any westerner would agree it’s not about the money it’s the principle of the matter but in a way, can you really blame them for their thought process? The position that the common man in India is put under is a desperate situation.
Workers are unfairly exploited because there are too many people and not enough work. Often times hotels, restaurants, and the like are over staffed because people can be hired for peanuts. I talked with a woman from the Indian state of Karnataka. She was telling me how everyone works in the rice fields for 8 hours a day to earn 25 rupees (50 cents). Think of that the next time you buy an ice cream cone. Competition is fierce amidst vendors and a portion of what many individuals make by having their own business goes to organized crime or some other riff raff like that. Not to mention that often times 30-40% of the money slated for government projects goes into the pockets of private individuals. Corruption is rampant and blatant. From what I could see the government does a poor job of taking care of its people by not putting enough money into infrastructure. Education, water, sewers, and roads could all use a lot of help in India. God forbid, health care.
They say the future of India is with the smart and savy 20 somethings of today. I totally agree. This demographic is producing some great individuals with intelligent ideas but most of them leave to study abroad and never return to India. I spoke with a man around the age of 30 who works in the tech industry. He said 80% of his graduating class went to study abroad and took jobs overseas. Why work in India for 30k a year when you can work in Nebraska for 100k a year.
Everywhere in India you see people unless you go to remote areas of the Himalaya or the deserts of the northwest. People are everywhere. Population continues to grow and I don’t see the country pushing birth control. Condoms cost money. Why do you want to waste money on a condom. If India invested more money in education and infrastructure I think it would greatly help. In the meantime the vast majority of people are living in survival mode and in my opinion I don’t see how it’s going to get any better as long as the population continues to increase. This is a major problem for India.
Where did I get this info? I got it by listening to the people and viewing the situation firsthand. I feel for the people of India and am exceedingly grateful I have not been dealt such a card. It’s a tough hand. All said, I am giving you my perspective as a westerner and it’s just my opinion but I think there’s not much arguing that India as it is now, is not sustainable. This issue really bothered me as I traveled the country. I guess it was because of the poverty I was constantly exposed too. I believe India could do a lot better and for the sake of the people of India I hope it learns how to.
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