The Paradox of Contemporary India

Nancy MaguireTeacher, Cornwall High School

Participant, Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroadhttp://www.cornwallschools.com/webpages/nmaguire

India is a nation of contrast.

There is great cultural diversity.

There is religious diversity

And today, there is great disparity of wealth.

The entertainment industry is vibrant.

Elegant Shops are filled with luxury items

Luxury hotels host foreign businessmen

Comfortable homes grace every city

Private Boarding Schools and Collegesare available for those who can pay.

In reality, comfort and affluence coexist with poverty so seamlessly, that it seems

to go unnoticed….

The energy needed to fuel the engine of profit has left its

imprint.Industrial and air pollution are

major health threats.

Since the 2009 “Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education Act”all India children should expect

access to free, public education.

10 million children of primary age are not enrolled in school and

99% of India’s poorest Dalit children are enrolled in schools that lack basic infrastructure, teachers, and teaching aids.

India boasts an energetic service economy that has bred the growth

of a new middle class. Many question how accessible that

middle class is.

In reality, the wealth amassed by India’s 49 billionaires according to

Forbes Magazine, accounts for 31% of India’s total GDP.

www. wsws.org

On October 23, 2010, the New York Times reported the growing

wealth of small cities like Aurangabad.

But in the same city where 150 businessmen recently bought

brand new luxury Mercedes to the tune of $15 million,

Cotton farmers assume huge debt to stay in business and are often

driven to suicide.

Dharavi Slum Recycling

In cities and Dalit villages, most households survive on less than a

dollar a day.Over 199 Dalits die from inhaling toxic gases or drowning in excrement each

year.Only 20% of Dalits have access to

water.Only 10% of Dalit households have

access to sanitation facilities.

Despite India’s vibrant economic growth, a recent Oxford Study on Poverty and Human Development found that the 8 poorest states in India contain more poor people than 26 of the poorest African

nations combined.India has a poverty rate of 55%

“Changing Poverty’s Parameters, NY Times, August 12, 2010

It is true that the United Nations is working with NGO’s to provide

microloans designed to help enterprising villagers become

independent.

But one has to wonder why, in a nation that is 70% rural, access to

food is a problem.• Food prices have risen 83%.• 35% of the population consumes less than

80% of their total energy requirement.• 1.5 million children suffer from malnutrition• 61 million children in India are stunted as a

result of inadequate diet and health care.

Depending on wealth, education, and social class,

children in India know very different existences.

Article 7 of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child require that all

children are to be registered immediately after birth.

But according to UNICEF, an estimated 26 million children are born and about

half of them go unregistered.

This is the paradox of modern India.