Poverty in India

Before leaving India, I wanted to comment on its poverty.  It is such an integral part of this country, it can’t be ignored or glossed over.  Many of the passengers on the ship have discussed this issue.  Many of the speakers have described it.  Anyone who left the ship saw it.  It is everywhere. 

Why, in a country that is now one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world, is poverty so prevalent?  There is not a simple answer, and I don’t pretend to know why.  But I will share what I have learned. 

First, there is the caste system that still exists in India.  While it used to be more of a social issue, it is now becoming more of a political issue.   Someone said that the lowest caste (the “untouchables”) toil their lives away in bondage to their landowners.  This lowest caste is considered impure and defiled – and even if their shadow crosses your path, the upper caste could be defiled.  They have been denied access to schools and temples.  They are not even considered as a “human being” by many.  While this situation is improving, it still exists.  Plus, the Indian population is exploding, and there is just not enough space for everyone.  In Mumbai alone, 3 million people live on the streets.  It is disturbing and depressing to see, but there doesn’t seem much that can be done at the present time – it is so prevalent. 

I can describe it, but until you see it, it’s just words.  I will share some pictures to give a small sense of what it is like here.

And this is only four pictures of the many we took – tried to give a sampling of the different kinds of conditions we saw from living basically without shelter in an open field to some kind of basic structure.  And I did not include the mothers with infants begging for food to feed their babies to the young three and four year olds who begged for food – or anything you would give them.  They would literally touch you and then point to their mouths like they wanted food.  We did learn that a lot of this is a scam, but there were just too many people living in squalor to only be a scam. 

While it was a very depressing sight – the dirt, litter all over the ground and along the street – the people in dirty rags living under a tarp at best, etc. – India has a character that is compelling.  While we know that we could not make a difference in anything we tried to do, we do feel like we have a better understanding of this country and its people – and we would like to return to see the parts of India we were not able to visit on this trip.