Sunali

India/Nepal border

End October/beginning November

Dear India

We have just come through the border and are now in Nepal. You might not realise this, but there is a remarkable difference between you and Nepal. Literally in the space of 100 yards! The Indian side was grim, dirty, grotty and very unpleasant; even the border officials were like this too. In contrast, Nepal was a complete breath of fresh air and so we were very happy to leave your country and get into Nepal. If Moradabad was awful, then Sunali has to be absolutely dreadful. I pity those that come from Nepal into India at that this border point. It is an incredibly poor first impression. Honest, but first impressions tend to stick!

India is undoubtedly impressive. But I use the word impressive to illustrate the move away from a Western accepted norm. Since you seem to see yourself as an emerging superpower intent on seeking a Western style lifestyle for your "haves", then the western norm must be a benchmark and against which you must be judged. You are a country that prides itself on many things; one being able to launch a mission to the moon recently. I think that 15 Nov is the date that the probe will reach the lunar surface. Well done. By any standards that is impressive, but it takes a lot more than a lunar probe to prove that you are up to the task of superpowerdom.

While in Mumbai we came across the July Special Addition of Inside India, which seems to be a Newsweek or Time Magazine equivalent,with 33 articles from "an array of industrialists, management gurus, scientists and academics"( quoted directly from the editor-in-chief). So the facts come from these leading personalities. We have merely collated them.

What is very impressive about India is the numbers that these authors quote in their articles. It is in the numbers that needs a little investigation and examination. Since the start of the century India's population has passed the 1billion mark! That is truly impressive for a single country; especially when Africa, as a continent, only has 900million people! It is reckoned that of those billion people only 20% have some kind of education.....which means that 800 million do not know their 3R's! That is truly impressive; and very frightening because they are so vulnerable to political manipulation by those that should know, and do, much better!

But Indian politicians and their civil servants only seem intent on serving their own interests. How would your citizens react to JFK's iconic words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?" You apparently had a great sense and tradition of philanthropy, but what has happened to that now? Does China scare you so much that you will let them dictate how you deal with your Tibetan refugee community? It seems so, because you have not spent a cent on maintaining any sort of infrastructure for them whatsoever. When they needed a place you kindly gave them refuge and safety. But would you still be so generous if the same thing happened now in the 21st century? Yes, the Tibetans and the Kashmiri situation puts you in a challenging position, especially as you try to mature into a superpower, but perhaps you might want to take on board Martin Luther King's words when he said, "You judge a man's character, not in times of comfort and leisure, but in times of challenge and controversy." How do you think your character would measure up? Do you think your political leaders have the will or the moral character to stand up and be counted when the chips are down? I think you know the answer to this one. Sad, but true.

It was interesting that in various conversations with Indian citizens (when they did not talk directly at us and bothered to listen to a different view point) was that politicians were all corrupt; from local to state to central government figures. Although you have legislation that bans anybody with criminal charges against them from standing for elections, there are 106 MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) with charges against them. But these charges are for murder and other serious or violent crime! 20% of your central government may be criminals yet they still run the central government! That is impressive. One article puts it that Rs883 crore (about 110 million GBP) were spent by the poor in brides to access their own public services! Reading between the lines, it seems that there are a few factors at work here. Is there enough facilities for everybody to access? And if not, why not? Why then should anybody have to bride a public official to access a freely available service?

But I think that the answer really comes from three points that you will need to address urgently if you want to be seen more than as a third world country with a big spending middle class and a desire to be a superpower.

First off, is how the law is upheld and more importantly, how speedily justice is dispensed. Last year there were 24 million cases still pending in your high courts! What about your lower courts then? 81 000 cases are still pending in the Supreme Court! If your law courts are unable, or unwilling to see justice done, then how can you expect your ordinary or common citizens to believe in you! Perhaps the difference, then, between a first world and a third world country is how justice is served to everybody. Justice needs to be blind and fair and everybody is treated equally. It also sends a very clear message of morality, ethics and depth when you uphold something believed to be beyond reproach.

Secondly, your public service needs a massive overhaul. It is plain useless, in fact. Putting aside the fact of the need for reservations, because your whole society is completely segregated along intra-religious and inter-caste lines, there is much to do to galvanise this aspect of governance. Practically every article makes the point that the public service has failed and that only the newly emerging private sector, and its potential to generate considerable foreign investment, is seen as the shot in the arm that your public services seriously needs to be able for your citizens to receive the services that they deserve. Your public service jobs are highly sought after and understandably so. It is a job for life with benefits and zero accountability to anybody. Because there is no accountability, public servants and the organisations do not have to deliver anything because there is no fear of punishment or retribution. So public servants can pretty much do as they like, when they like, how they like. They become lords of their tiny bureaucratic kingdoms and deal with any interference with complete indifference, if at all. But that changes if there is some money on offer.

The third point is the need for the police to actually be effective. The executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management makes the point that your police and intelligence services are badly managed, poorly equipped and totally understaffed. He makes the point that you cannot police in the 21st century with a 19th centuryservice. Seeing various events transpire on TV and how the police handle the aftermath of crowd control, crime scene investigation and site management were appalling! A bamboo lathi is not an effective police tool anymore. But it is, if your public servants have no need to be accountable and the crime can be solved by a bamboo lathi beating, then job done!

But perhaps the most fundamental problem that you will struggle to overcome is the deep divisions that scar your society. As your government has moved into the 21st century and away from the isolationist policies of the 60's through to the 90's, the expansion of the middle class has meant that there is even more of an economic division between the "haves" and "have-nots". If there is no trickledown effect, then those "have-nots" are going to get very resentful because their lot will not have changed. Not only socio-economic problems simmering, but there are enormous inter-religious and inter-caste problems brewing. The state of Bihar is a telling example of where you might be going if these societal discriminations are not dealt with effectively in the very near future. What will it take to get your citizens, or your governments at every level to deal with these problems and deliver services regardless of religious or caste groupings that your citizens seem hell bent on maintaining and strengthening?

You cannot bridge the economic divide by promising that you will allow TATA to build between 2.5 - 3.5millin Rs 1 lanhk cars every year! By the way, has anybody wondered where all these cars are going to go? Road volume is so high all over India, it is a wonder that anybody actually gets anyway. You have chronic gridlock already, what happens when 3.5 million cars hit the road? As a nation that claims to care about the environment, how can this many cars per year really be any good to anybody? Except perhaps those who are getting kickbacks and the politicians seen to be doing something. Of course, the shareholders are happy, they are making money!

All the articles implicitly beg for good leadership and management. But unfortunately, there seems to be neither in your country. Leaders should provide clear vision and breed hope and set examples that others may follow. But if the way you have ineffectively tried to deal with the terror threat in your country, then I am afraid, you have failed miserably in that regard. You just don't have a grasp as to what the problems you are facing. You need to keep asking yourself why and why and why and why. Eventually your answers should bring to all these points I have mentioned. Awareness is key, but actions speak louder than words. Yes, even doing nothing about anything except maintaining the status quo, is action enough. Perhaps you should take a leaf out of President-elect Barack Obama and bring about meaningful change for your citizens; all your citizens.

The future is not all doom and gloom, but the road ahead will be hard and difficult. If it was any easier, then it wouldn't be worth it? Would it? There is so much potential here to observe and learn from the mistakes of others. Does India need to have its own economy implode, like the US's, before a belief in the need for more meaningful change is brought about?

There is everything in this country, everything! Bar a vision that everybody can believe; one that transcends colour, class, caste, race and religious or gender orientation and unites, and ignites a belief greater than all of these and drives the country into a future that everybody wants to be part of!

I must tell you that we were happy to leave your borders. It was hard work being there. Our perceptions were challenged and confronted on every level. We had to take courage and face these confrontations and challenges head on and learn whatever the lessons they were trying to teach us. We didn't leave more spiritually enlightened, but we did leave with a better understanding of how India fits into the new world order and where we might fit in that new world order too. Both our futures will be challenging, daunting even, but also very exciting and certainly thrilling!

We wish you all the best. Good luck. We will be looking on and see how you are doing!

Sandy and Ingrid

Postscript - The original letter was penned weeks in advance of the latest tragedy that occurred in Mumbai recently so it seems that many points that I gleaned from other authors have been made, albeit, in a very harsh and tragic manner. It will be very difficult for India to not deal with this issue and address it fully because this incident has forced the cupboard open and all the dirty laundry and skeletons have come tumbling out. "Even the Indians are leaving India!" exclaims one of the main characters of a Paul Theroux novel about India, and after this horrific incident, it needs no further explanation as to why! I certainly don't blame them. Since we have been out of touch for a few weeks now (the Outback of Oz is not the most well connected of Internet regions!), there seems to have been very thorough coverage by the world's media as to the events that led up to this attack. I was surprised to read that India is only second to Iraq in terms of deaths as a result of terrorism! That is an amazing figure, especially since India is the world's biggest democracy (and therefore the happiest)!Who knows what the future holds for India in future? If her people decide to stick their heads even further into the sand, then it looks very bleak indeed. Here's to hoping that that won't be the case!