A slow awakening for India

Few countries have the breadth and depth of India, a country that boasts 17 official languages, which is spiritually unrivalled, and with histories that permeate the air. There are not enough superlatives to describe everything that one is exposed to. When will this giant country emerge from its current doldrums?

As an occasional visitor to India, I eagerly explore it, to discover amazement. From Delhi through Rajastan (by car), on to Mumbai, I saw an India that is both chaotic and effervescent. Indians can be incredibly energetic or very lethargic.

They display unparalleled kindness (compared to all 48 countries I was privileged to visit so far) but can drive one insane. Nothing can be worse that on-the-spot-rule-making, which is a common developing world phenomenon, but which should not be perpetuated in a working democracy.

In fact, any two-bit employee who happens to be wearing some kind of uniform (security guard, airline employee, driver...), is happy to make up a law to fit the circumstance. "No photography, sir, government law."

"No entry, government rule," or, "no boat ride, sir, no permission." These are, of course, tiring when both central as well as state government leaders are eager to push hard to open up.

Many realise that such ROEs (rules of engagement) are redundant at a time when globalisation is the fastest known phenomenon.

Like most developing countries, India is moving fast, and mostly for the better. Yet, disparities are greater than elsewhere, and it is critical not to assume that the country is just Bangalore and other booming cities. There is a lot more to the story and what happens elsewhere is mighty important.

In Delhi, its bustling suburbs, and especially in rural sections one sees immense contrasts. Abject poverty is the norm although pockets of wealth are also visible.

Street barbers mingle with cheap food stands next to public baths that leave little to the imagination. In the countryside, water dug up from a well is successively used to bathe, wash clothes, and irrigate fields. Such practical features are common.

Long hours

Ordinary people put in excessively long hours just to survive with little time to spare for anything else. Harsh life is truly the norm, with little or no leisure, except for the well off.

Ironically, amid the chaos that surrounds residents, one sees beauty. A wedding group composed of 20 or so women walking the bride to a temple in Jaipur, or the pride of welcoming each other with a genuine greeting in Udaipur, or even the determination of a salesman to satisfy his client's every wish even if his stocks are almost depleted in Chennai.

Whether this inner strength is enough to save India is the fundamental question.

In other words, how can this emerging power secure its position in the 21st century, when it faces gigantic hurdles? How can it empower its own population, if it cannot re-channel export wealth into tangible benefits for the overwhelming majority, especially when the potential to excel is there?

For an outsider, three major challenges stand out, whose solutions are of the doable variety: traffic, garbage, and health. There are, naturally, many more concerns, but these three test everyone's innate resolution skills.

Traffic is, of course, painful. City driving is not for the fainthearted. Human and animal vehicles co-mingle on neglected infrastructure, although major efforts to upgrade are under way.

Metro systems, new roads, highways and more are under construction, but this is a race against time since millions of mouths are added every year.

In rural areas, highways are seriously wanting, because cars must compete for space with the hundreds of thousands of trucks that roam throughout India day and night. Most are badly overloaded.

Frequent accidents are truly the result of a reigning bedlam. Road courtesies exist but the sheer volume of traffic means that circulation is a burden. The challenge is to move millions of people efficiently.

Garbage disposal may be elementary but it is an industry in India. Sadly, it is the garbage of the rich that is dumped on the poor, who must negotiate mountains of dirt in every step they take.

Some purchase garbage and salvage its recyclable items to earn a few rupees each day. Needless to say, one cannot become a modern state while littering every square inch of available land.

For most Indians cleanliness in their private environments is possible but few seem to consider public areas their responsibility too.

Real health issue

Compared to a few decades ago, public health is greatly improved, with clinics and hospitals staffed with competent practitioners.

Yet, one is struck by how few Indians wear eyeglasses, and since no society has perfect eyesight, one wonders whether nearsightedness is rampant. This may explain some of the chaos but it is a real health issue for a people must first see if it is to create wealth.

These challenges have solutions. Even a lethargic Indian will display extraordinary energy if he is determined. Like the rest of the world, India is not flat, but dense and vibrant, kind and spiritual, as well as poor and rich.

Its potential is enormous although the cost of success will probably be far greater than generally assumed.

Dr. Joseph A. Kechichian is a commentator and author of several books on Gulf affairs.