Mary in India

I could go on and on with examples of civil servants (who btw, are un-sackable in this country) sit around making money by doing nothing. Roads remain unfixed, irrigation goes to rich farmers only, electricity remains shut off in most of the rural areas. The list goes on and on...

What irks me most about all of this, is their total lack of shame, they're not even trying to hide their love of money here. I've been asked for money to park in lots that are free, I've been told I need pay to see the man in charge of the FRO (foreigners/visas) which is supposed to be FREE, or sometimes just pay a cop that stops you for no reason who will make up a reason to get some of your money.

It's all accepted here as perfectly OK.

I know every country has it's problems, I'm not saying the US isn't loaded with it's fair share of corruption. Of course it exists everywhere, but getting caught means jail in the US. You know, ...cuz it's like, BAD to take money that's not yours. So you hide the fact you do it. But here it's like, whatever...everyone does it, who cares? India has so many problems and so much corruption I just don't see them becoming a world power any time soon. If you cannot even fix simple problems like INFRASTRUCTURE how do you expect to be a world power in the next 10 years? If you cannot supply your people with drinking water (a project India promised would be finished back in the 1970's), or even basic food and sanitation...what...the...heck?! How do you see yourself as a world power? It's like almost a joke to me and if anyone has ever been here you'd laugh too.

If you look back on India from Gandhi's day (1940's) until mid 90's, almost nothing had changed. It would look relatively the same. Only in the 90's with their IT and knowledge of English (thanks to the Brits) is India even remotely competitive with China. Even with all their natural resources, knowledge, and wealth they cannot handle simple things like enforcing traffic laws, fixing pot holes in a road, or supplying electricity. All the new buildings and construction going on are still under this old mentality of "it's good enough" (sort of like an Indian standard) they don't have any desire for perfection here. There are no building codes and electrical safety checks...and even if there was, you could just bribe your way out of it anyway. They honestly don't believe in buying expensive quality building materials or hiring professional skilled electricians. Why do that when you can hire cheap and buy cheap? Who cares if a brand new apartment building is falling apart in 2 years? As long as it's up. Honestly, I just don't foresee this "next world power" idea happening for India for a long time. If I were to guess, definitely not for (at least) another 40-50 years.

And what really cracks me up, is if you view some videos on youtube of people's India vacations. They show you India, they aren't showing you anything in particular, just...India. All the comments on these videos sing the same old song, "Why do foreigners always show the poor parts of India? Always giving us a bad name." HA. So laughable. Everywhere you go in India looks the same, there is no "nice areas" here. Everywhere there are stalls, dirt, cows, people, rickshaws blowing smog in your face, beggers, poor people, shoeless children, people going to the bathroom, and loads of trash. It's like the young rich India is in denial that this is how their country looks. They're fooled by their own Bollywood films or TV commercials. Like that is what life is REALLY like here! It's so bizarre. They've either never been outside of India or they live in some fantasy land.

Back to becoming a "world power" idea. There is so much culturally they'd have to change, and they just don't want to give up their deep rooted superstitions, ideas on castes, communalism, and this sort of idea that some how an Indian with wealth is better than a villager. Until they see all their own people as worthy, as humans, as their fellow Indians...they will never fix any problems. Because the root of their problems is not only their severe corruption but their high opinions of themselves (those who make money versus those who don't).

Sorry for the long complaining post. But sometimes this just builds up inside me, working with the kids from tribes that are (even to this day) literally spat on, takes it's toll on my spirits. Being in the slums, seeing all the injustices, it's just enough to make you want to scream sometimes. HOW CAN PEOPLE WALK AROUND SPENDING LOADS OF MONEY ON FANCY CLOTHES AND JEWELRY WHEN PEOPLE DON'T EVEN HAVE WATER TO DRINK???

WHAT THE F***!?!