Friday, September 19, 2008

India at 61: here's looking at you, kid!

Antara, daughter of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, sensationalizes and uses worn-out  cliches in her article about how India is faring.

What she fails to mention is that India and ordinary Indians have achieved so much in spite of all the negatives mentioned in her article. Most of what she writes is true and I have to agree with that. But in spite of all the negativity, it is no mean feat to have become and remained one unified country thru those turbulent 61 years.

Looking at India as if it were some sort of homogeneous idea or country is another of the article's failings. India is not homogeneous but a conglomeration of various peoples and faiths and cultures, most of which have disparate histories, speak different languages and have different aspirations. The reality that those various entities have been able to co-exist and thrive as a single political unit, under a democratic form of government, has to be appreciated.

No comments: