A third world country?

I am in India these days and I have to say the contrasts still amaze and sadden me at the same time.

Private enterprise is flourishing and carving out opportunities. I have been going to a club everyday to use the gym and marvel at the facilities there. There is a lovely pool, restaurant, spa etc. but more amazing to me is the fact that there are drinking fountains around the club, all hooked up to a state-of-the-art water filtration system. I just got a high speed satellite internet hook-up that I can use anywhere in the city. For the first time in all my visits, I actually saw street sweeping trucks on the roads. On a smaller scale somebody has setup a diminutive temple under a tree, just outside our neighborhood. Once a few people start visiting the idol, I am sure the shrine will slowly grow and not only a priest have found an income, but a piece of land would have been quietly acquired as nobody would dare demolish a temple. I am always impressed by the ingenuity of people.

However, it doesn't take too long to realize that there is a parallel third world country here too. There are piles of trash, and ragged little children playing in it. The drive from our house to the club is equally revealing. You pass scum covered ponds with water buffalo, and impromptu childcare by the side of a construction site - little kids watching even littler kids, on swings fashioned out of rags hung between two trees, while the mothers work carrying bricks on their heads. But then this is also the first time that I see street urchins dressed in jeans - maybe there is indeed a trickle down affect.

I couldn't help but agree with this article I just read about the state of India.

Personal responsibility

So I was talking to a relative who is on her first-ever visit to the US. She was amazed by the cleanliness. "There are neat little garden in front of every house and they are all so well-maintained. All houses have identical roofs and even the roofs are so clean!" she gushed. "The government must either be really good at maintaining everything or the laws about keeping things clean must be really strict, no?" She added.

I didn't say anything because I was not in a mood to lecture, but no, it is not the government. There is no "cleanliness police" going around cuffing people the instant they litter. Things are clean because littering, and people who litter, are frowned upon. It is the culture of the place - people like to keep their houses, their yards, their streets and their neighborhood clean, and do it themselves rather than waiting for the government to do it.

I had met another family member in India on my recent trip, and mentioned that my daughter was playing soccer in a league. She remarked "see that is why they have America is so good in sports, the government has such good sports programs." I had to point out that the government has nothing to do with it. The soccer league is organized by parents and for most part is managed by parents. The coaches are all parents that volunteer for the job and coach in their spare time.

That is when it struck me. The reason why India hasn't developed, (it hasn't, you ask. I can go into that in another blog or a book!) and still looks like a 3rd world country is exactly because of that mind-set. Complete ignorance of personal and civic responsibility and the expectation that the government will and should take care of everything. If we had more people such as my friend V, India might be a different place. When she sees a luxury car throwing litter out of its windows in the street of New Delhi, she chases down the car and tells the occupants what they just did. Unfortunately, many don't take her seriously, or say "what difference will another water bottle make" and never once feel a need to change their habits. You know, government is supposed to keep the streets clean!