Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
39 percent of the people live below its own definition of
poverty . In effect, the small elite and the larger middle
class live far removed from the worlds of the masses of
destitute Indians. According to one critic, economic lib-
eralization, “gave a flamboyant ideological justification
for the creation of two Indias, one aspiring to be global-
ized, and the other hopelessly , despairingly marginal-
ized” (V arma, 1998).
India' is rich-poor gap is being perpetuated. We know
that education is an important vehicle for change be-
cause through education comes opportunity , empower-
ment, and self-realization. In Malaysia, the government
spends US$128 per person on basic education. India in-
vests US$9 per capita. Furthermore, the bulk of India' s
huge workforce is far below the rest of the world in pro-
ductivity and quality . For example, the value added per
worker in India' is manufacturing sector is a tenth that of
Japan' s.
Although multinationals and joint venture enter-
prises manufacture cars, electronics, machinery , chemi-
cals, and war material, the sad fact is that poverty and
ignorance prevent at least three-fifths of Indians from par-
ticipating in any direct way in bettering their condition
in any national context. Many of the middle class “have
consigned the poor to being a fixture on a landscape they
do not wish to see” (V arma, 1998).
Feel-good journalism has blasted India into the sky
of global success. In 2006, magazine covers around the
world trumpeted: “The Rise of India,” “India Inc., and
“The New India.” But Indians talk freely about
two
In-
dias: “India” meaning the new India, and
Bharat
mean-
ing the old India. India gets celebrated in the media, and
Bharat is shrouded away behind the glitz, effectively ren-
dering invisible the still-mean lives of millions. Simon
Long, Asia editor for
The Economist
, observes that: “The
broad-brush picture of India is glorious; the details can
be sordid…and that the shining dreams evoked by the
world' s recent recognition of India as a great emerging
power have always seemed at odds with the messy reality
of the country itself.”
Recommended Web Sites
1901-2001 India censuses population statistics.
Keep track of Naxalite activities in India.
Renowned demographic research institute in Mumbai. Links to
other related Web sites.
V ariety of statistical data on India.
Excellent site with hundreds of maps providing geographical and
socioeconomic data. Click on states for detailed information.
Official site of the Narmada V alley Development Authority .
Government information on the project. Glosses over related
problems.
New Delhi organization that conducts population research and
conducts advocacy programs.
Information about domestic and other forms of violence and
crimes against women, men, and children in India. Coverage
of suicides and laws on dowry killings.
The Times
of India. One of India' s major newspapers.
United Nations Children' s Fund' s statistics about children by
country .
Bibliography Chapter 8: India: Giant of the Subcontinent
Adams, Paul C., and Emily Skop. 2008. “The Gendering of
Asian Indian T Transnationalism on the Internet.”
Journal of
Cultural Geography
, 25/2: 115-136.
Adlakha, Arjun. 1997.
Population T Trends in India.
Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce.
Beteille, Andre. 1996. “Caste in Contemporary India.” In
Caste
T oday
, ed. C. J. Fuller, pp. 150-79. Delhi: Oxford.
Blij, Harm, and Peter Muller. 2010.
Geography: Realms, Regions
and Concepts
. New Y ork: Wiley .
Christophe, Jaffrelot. 2005.
Dr . Ambedkar and Untouchability:
Analysing and Fighting Caste
. New Delhi: Permanent Black.
Chu, Henry . 2010. “Hope Has Withered for India' s Farmers.”
Los Angeles Times,
August 11: A5.
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