Modi the last hope for poor people of India. Bharatiya Janata Party is 10000 times better than Congress Govt. The undeveloped region in India is due to 70 years of Congress Govt due to their eagerness to steal money from poor people. All the congress leaders are looting poor people.The then Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi told in Parliament that out of one Rupee only 15% goes to poor and the rest is looted by leaders and party workers. This article I read and nothing found any serious problem during Modi era. In 2019 Modi must return with a huge support and become again PM.
2
In 2014 Modi campaigned on development plank hiding the hardcore ' Hindutva' agenda of his 'mentor' organization the Rashtriya Swamsewak Sangh ( RSS ) founded in 1925 for creating a 'Hindu Nation '.During ninety years of its existence the RSS and its political wing the Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP) founded in 1980 ( from 1953 to 1980 called Jan Sangh ) could not muster more than ten to fifteen percent approval by Indian masses who are essentially 'secular' believing ardently in brotherhood of all faith ,including Muslims which constitute fifteen percent of a total population of 1.3 billion Indians .
Once Modi gained power with absolute majority in Lok Sabha ,his tone and tune changed dramatically . He, though remaining silent unleashed hardcore Hindu fundamentalist agenda intrinsic in Muslim bashing bordering Muslim hatred. This he has experimented successfully in 2002 in his home state Gujarat where a pogram,under State patronage, massacred more than a thousand Muslims and displacing about 200,000 Muslim community from their home and hearth.
Thus, all his promises for a better days ' Achhe Din' generating 10 million jobs in a year were disdained. Coupled with his ill conceived demonetisation and botched GST ( tax regime ) shattered the economy to its lowest abyss.
In addition all the statistics whether it is GDP number or unemployment ( lowest during the last 45 years ) have been fudged and a rosy rhetoric continued .
Masses are up against Modi and his policies.
4
Large parts of India are underdeveloped. Resources to develop all of them at once are limited. Therefore, the development efforts of Modi, or whoever is in power, will naturally be limited. The more realistic question to ask is whether Modi utilized the resources available to him efficiently. My answer is yes.
Another question to ask is whether Modi's opposition in Parliament, especially in the upper House where he does not have a majority, facilitated or obstructed him. The answer is: they obstructed him, somewhat akin to the sustained and determined obstruction by Republicans against Barack Obama' s programs.
8
Mr Modi is the Mr Trump of India. A snake oil salesman, a huckster, if I remember what I read in the NYT on Trump.
Mr Modi never stopped campaigning, even at the expense of ignoring his duties as PM, brought in right wing hate mongers, and turned a blind eye to all the murders and lynchings carried out by extremists in his vote bank.
Being a big talker, he managed to sway crowds with his promises of a Hindu State and by selectively abusing his opponents with catchy phrases.
Why so many comments supporting him on all media (including those right here)? A well funded propaganda machine with thousands of trolls touting his brilliant "successes" and his near total suppression of the free press. Anyone questioning him are immediately labelled "enemies of India”, "Pakistanis".
Mr Modi has been the most foul mouthed Prime Minister of India so far. His current campaign has only one staple ingredient - abuses.
I am sure he was trained by the same people who created Trump and Erdogan.
After this election, India will need decades to recover from his destructive actions. I only hope Indians have learnt to recognise his kind, as the opposition parties themselves have been playing the same game, though none as brilliantly as Mr Modi.
15
Modi watched Gujarat burn for six months in 2002, giving speeches that incited violence and parading bodies to fuel hindu mob anger and violence. He made divisive speeches during the bihar elections, saying that muslims would take away benefits from dalits. His supporters include many islamophobes who claim that muslims are being 'appeased'. His party and it's leaders orchestrated and fueled the violence and loss of life in ayodhya in 1992 by destroying the babri masjid mosque, and are 'fine' people, much like the white supremacists in charlottesville . A muslim was dragged out and killed by a hindu mob for supposedly eating beef. BJP leaders said muslims should stop eating beef or go to pakistan or bangladesh. Modi was silent. Modi made many false promises in 2014. He has delivered on none. Unemployment is at the highest since 1947. Modi's demonitization was a disaster and caused untold misery to many millions of poor people. If Modi's party had not opposed the GST, Manmohan Singh would have got it passed much earlier. Modi made lots of foreign trips that produced nothing. His 'make in india' remains a slogan. Modi's 'strike' against terror camps in pakistan was a total failure if it ever happened, and the loss of an aging MIG fighter only caused concerns about the million man indian military's unpreparedness for war under Modi. India's GDP has grown by 3 or 4 percent in terms of the the pre-2013 estimations. In comparison it grew at 10 percent under Manmohan Singh.
11
Most all our problems would be much better without overpopulation...that's why I have no kids.
5
Modi's many false promises in 2014 including bullet train. Five years later, tracks are the ones built by the British in the pre Indian independance era. Too many indians have fallen prey to his empty hindu nationalism. The elections wont end with this one. With 20 percent unemployment, frustrated Indians will wipe the BJP off the map in state elections
11
Polarization is the policy of BJP and Mr Modi and his cohorts.
Indians should ask how alienating 180 million Muslims and 20 million Christians can contribute to India's progress and security.
And Indians should stop harping about British exploitation of India and look to themselves for lack of progress or rather slow progress. Several countries were reduced to ashes after WWII but are far ahead, there are other countries which too were colonies of Britain, France, Netherlands but they do not cry like babies and try to put blame on others.
Indians must also stop blaming Congress for lack of progress. The middle class you see and those glistening towers, car ownership, home ownership, all came under Congress rule. Of course, they could have done better and we cannot absolve them from corruption as well but to blame them is like naming Amitabh Bachan a Kathakali dancer.
And keep in mind British at least left railways, postal system, administrative system, court system and brought all princely states under their umbrella which made relatively easy for Nehru, Sardar Patel and other founding fathers of India to forge one untied India.
And with regards to vilification of Nehru, I urge Indians to know what is critical thinking and embark on reading articles authored by neutral third party westerners and India scholars.
10
“The railway system is the same one built by the British.” Wow, that system must be pretty good because the British left a very long time ago, and so, would it be politically incorrect of me to conclude that India functioned better under the Brits?
8
@Isle
Just prior to the British taking control of India, India was responsible for about 24% of global GDP. When they left in 1947 India's share of global output was .3%. So, I think that is the answer to your question. There seems to be a pervasive belief by many that colonizing countries were good for the colonized. They were not. Colonizing countries colonized to extract the wealth out of their new territories. The founding fathers of this country talked about seeking freedom from the British. What they were correctly seeking was economic freedom and a freedom to control the wealth and resources of this country from foreign plunder.
35
@Isle not political incorrect, but just incorrect and ignorant.
15
Let's not forget history. The British installed the Indian Railways to make their revenue collection more efficient, which the Congress didn't change. The British impoverished one of the richest nation, which is now rebuilding itself slowly, steadily, and painfully. Modi can't repair, what the British managed to cripple over couple of centuries, in just few years. But he would certainly do a better job of recovery than the British spawned Congress Party, who looted the nation just like their creator.
17
Reading a bunch of comments on the article and the rationalization of Modi, I tend to ask a deeper question: “Why do educated people in American and India support a clearly religiously biased person like Trump or Modi?”.
This is a major debate outside the scope of the column but let us address the Indian perspective.
Support for Modi is mostly from Northern and Western India where Hinduism is looked as a ‘defense’ against Islam - predictably because of history. This has produced a tendency to ‘homogenize’ Hinduism, like Islam.
This has made the Modi-worshippers de facto Muslims under a ‘Hindu skin’.
The social assertions the Hindu Right makes can be traced back to the Shariat. Especially opposition to men-women dancing together and drinking alcoholic beverages.
Fortunately, the East and the South reject this interpretation of Hinduism with contempt. Being largely immune from Islamic invasion, their interpretation of Hinduism and the debates are confined within the Six Schools.
The question is whether the victory margin of Modi in the West and the North can be erased by his loss in the East and the South.
5
@Deep Thought
I think you process a lot through the prism of religion. So, any positive action to you seem like a religiously motivated action.
Modi is not Hindu, nor Muslim. He just wants India to prosper. Unfortunately, many cannot see beyond religion due to their lack of full understanding of the problem and solution.
4
@Deep Thought
I think you misunderstand the support for mr. Modi. One of reasons is the rairly biased reporting. There are for sure blind supporters and indeed hindu extremists will support modi but to characterise and lump together all modi supporters as ignorant or extremists is a mistake and displays ignorance. Modi is percieved by many as the only chance for ensuring that dynastic politics does not prevail or corruption either. You may want to go back a few years to see what happened with india under congress rule with rampant corruption, rule by one family without accountability. A very large number of well educated people have weighed this against modi’s weaknesses and chosen him. To characterise these people as religious zealots and blind followers is why people from abroad often fail to understand why modi is popular.
4
@DJ
Incidentally, Modi is losing because of "It is the economy, Stupid". Unfortunately, he is not losing for the reasons I want him to. His policies area failure and rural unemployment went up.
Modi comes to Bengal and his goons destroys a statue of a Hindu religious leader.
... on that point you are right. He is not Hindu.
One more anti-Modi article from NYT without naming the alternative/solution? Fine to criticize, but needs context.
The biggest gain for businesses and trade in general under Modi's governance has been reduction of red tape to historical lows. efficiency and transparency as never seen before in this 1.2 B democratic behemoth. Taking up social programs long forgotten / just plain taboo such as cleanliness, insurance for low income citizens, bio-metric trail for govt. funded entitlements, road / highway laying at record speeds, introduction of high speed rail etc. Anyone who has grown up / lived in India can attest to the near impossible task of rolling out any of these social programs over a decade leave alone in one term!
Yes, execution of demonetization measure left a lot to be desired and the right wing nutjobs need to be reigned more effectively. The Indian voter is not as naive as perceived in these articles, to be caught by ideological/religious slants - they look for the best hand in the cards dealt - for now its Modi all the way.
15
The “ardor of the Indian masses” has never meant much good for the people of the Indian Himalayas; for Modi the region is a pilgrimage destination for Hindus from other parts of the country, its residents service-providers and temple-priests for the same... oh and “terrorists.”
Modi is all about slogans-"development
with all and for all". where is it? GDP
data exaggerates the growth rate.
Technically speaking, India has a large
informal sector with no data. It measures the formal, organized sector and apply the same rate to informal
sector. This is a huge assumption, probably wrong. Informal sector
employes 80% to 85%. If the
unemployment has increased to the
highest level in 45 years it is because
the informal sector is in poor shape.
Modi devasted it with his ill advised
demonetization( withdrawal of cash overnight). However, GDP paints a
rosy picture which should be taken
with a fistful salt. Indians posting here
are are disinegenous complaining
NYT biase. Listen to discussion on
Indian TVs and columns in Indian
liberal newspapers, the criticism of Modi
is much sharper. This is the reason,
Modi doesn't mention his record
in the campaign. He is posturing as
a security hawk who took on Pakistan.
People don't have any evidence of
what happened in Balakot, Pakistan
which India penetrated and dropped
couple of bombs. Pakistan claims
the damage was to the forest and
death of a crow. Modi claims devastation and deaths of terrorists.
People can't verify, so anything goes.
This is how Modi is seeking his second
term. Anyone who disputes his claim
of success in Pakistan is labelled as
anti-national and pro Pakistan. His second term might prove a disaster
for India not just for economy but
for social divisions and damage to
democracy itself.
4
@s.khan Yeah Modi is all about keeping India safe from Pakistan and we support him.
2
Mr. Khan - Every corrupt politician, black money holder, terror group and anti-nationals are all feeling insecure because of Modi's anti-corruption policies, let it be demonetisation or the linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts or pan-card, etc. By linking a new base (Aadhaar No.), one million poor disappeared in Maharashtra. More than 30 million (30,000,000) fake LPG connection holders have ended. 195,000 fake children list that used to get scholarships from the Islamic Madarasas disappeared. Over 1.5 million fake ration card holders have disappeared.
Modi has closed more than 300,000 fake companies. About 40,000 fake NGOs have been closed, so the owners of these NGOs are cross. Over the e-tendering process, some contractors have also got angry. So far, the 12 million people who have come under the income tax scanner have become angry.
With the introduction of GST system, the business people got annoyed, because those people have come into the automatic payment system where they can’t hide unearned money. Fake currency dealers are on the edge. Similarly, terrorist organisations and their funding are under stress.
If nothing happened in Balakot, why lock down the area for 43 days before arranging a carefully orchestrated journalists visit?
All Modi haters have joined hands to form an alliance to make sure Modi doesn't get a second term. Now, it's for 1.25 billion Indians to decide whom they want to lead - we will know by 23/May for sure!
2
@s.khan arm chair analysis at it lowest. Pakistan is obsessed with with India. Not the other way around. Modi acted decisively against Islamic terrorism when it was necessary and returned to other more useful contributions to the Indian economy. Remember, Modi was voted in by the majority of INdians, who appreciate all he did, and who will vote him into power again on the 23 of May.
1
I wish there were one article about India where NYT doesn't quote someone from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is the preserve of ultra left wing economists, historians and idealogues. It is akin to quoting the Heritage foundation sources for every economic or political article in the US (albeit from the opposite end of the spectrum).
20
This paper fails to speak about the 70 yrs of the CONGRESS partys control of India. Huge amount of corruption during this period. Modi cant fix in 3yrs what the CONGRESS party did to India for 70 yrs. However he is doing an amazing job! This article is obviously politically motivated cuz anyone that has spent any amount of time in India can see what Modi is doing. Self Pride is at an all time high. Made in India has become a priority for Modi's government, creating alot more new jobs. Fighting back agsinst terrorist is something new to India, Congress for some reason never went hard after the terrorist. Even after the Mumbai massacre at the Taj hotel. Modi cant be bought. He truly wants whats best for India. He grew up as a tea-boy, so he has a heart for the lower classes and wants to bring everybody up! Im an amercian but its easy to see whats going on in India if u travel and see for yourself. If all you do is read articles like this one, your a very uniformed person.
23
@Michael
Well said.
I am a US citizen who lived most of my life in India, and I spend 2-4 months a year in India. I almost never read the NYT's reporting on India because it is so biased, projecting an inaccurate picture of India as backward and a mess. Numerous Indians of my acquaintance, both in India and in the US, have noticed this bias. Modi's government is certainly not perfect; no government is. And, in case you haven't noticed, no politician fulfills all his/her promises once in power. However, there have been significant accomplishments: 1. a scheme whereby those who can afford it do not take the government subsidy on cooking gas, and that money is applied to an account opened for a poor family's fuel. Under this scheme, millions of women now have cooking gas. 2. Electrification of villages. 3. NYT dwells on a few criminal Hindus killing Muslims, while ignoring similar murders of Hindus by Muslims. NYT fails to notice that there has been no Hindu-Muslim riot under Modi's government; there were major riots virtually every year under the Congress - Meerut 1987 was one example that I investigated as part of a women's team.
32
Those various riots you mentioned under Congress were in fact orchestrated by the BJP and its allies who are now in power, so your claim of no communal violence by the BJP is a bit rich!
6
@Sunnysandiegan
So on that note, all violence under BJP is orchestrated by Congress? All violence under any ruling party is by the opposition? You claims are equally rich if not richer. Congress held on to central power for over 50 years in independent India and much of India's ails and accomplishments are under Congress's direct ownership.
6
@reader
BJP engineers riots when they are not in power. They did in UP in Sept 2013 keeping 2014 election in mind
95% of riots in India were started by RSS and their affiliates and Jan Sanghani, now defunct.
Gujarat riots of 2002 were encouraged by BJP ruled state under Modi to perpetuate BJP hold over the state electorate.
BJP’s favorite weapon and strategy is riots where they do not rule. They have tried very hard in Karnataka and other states but governments there have been very vigilante.
3
India has waited for over 72 years now, mostly under past Congress and other corrupt administrations for infrastructure improvements and better days. And now we expect all the past sins and lapses to be corrected within a matter of 5 years? Seems a bit rich to me. Maybe people are starting to feel nostalgic about the past quota raj and sops for special interest groups that encourage ineptitude and corruption.
26
@Shanker you hit it bang on! A lack of understanding of subcontinent politics and history makes these ‘armchair thinkers’ write poorly researched articles that only serve to further ignorance! India has made more grassroots progress oriented towards todays globalization in the last 5 years than it has over last 67 years under the Congress led governments of the past!
4
Yet another article from NYT for BJP and Hindu bashing.
The old clunky train could be considered a heritage train. Nothing wrong with that. Here in San Francisco, the cable car dates back to 1902. Clunky, but works. Everyone loves it. So, do these heritage trains. The british were no saints. They built it for the rich lumber. Indian law doesn't permit cutting trees on a large scale. So, how do you pay for a new shiny train line? Also, China like grabbing the land from people doesn't work. The person who wrote the comment about North-East corridor trains is clueless. He is comparing a corridor connecting large cities in US, with a rural train in India.
Modi is no saint. But, the other choice is totally corrupt. Including the so called dalit (oppresed class) leaders.
Modi at least tried to clean up the cash hoarding. It was a failure, his failure. But, the previous Congress party, just doled out cash to cronies. There were many, many riots, hindu-muslim clashes during the congress. In the city of Hyderabad, the Congress leaders manufactured hindu-muslim clashes, just to pull down the other congress leader who is a chief minister.
I question the journalists who write these articles. Do they even do their homework? How much time do they spend on researching or make one visit and write a biased article. Or, is it a broader game of psychological warfare?
22
@Sam You are right. That is indeed one of the heritage trains in India. Seeing the interior of the compartment and the dress of the passengers, I'm pretty much sure that it is "kalka-shimla toy train" and it's 2nd class compartment which is generally crowded by local daily passengers.
Well, the article has truth but which governments in the world have been able to do all they have promised in campaigns. Be it Bush, Modi, Obama or anyone. Every party has an agenda. In India as a government you are dealing with many national and state parties who have their own agendas. It's not like 2 parties like in US and with 2 US government struggles solving major issues like gun control, education, jobs despite the fact that dollar is the trading currency and can print money when there is a crisis. Modi has done certain things which will reap benefits in few years if the next government continues the good work. The reason for notes ban was lot of stashed cash by politcians from previous government politician business men and others stalling economy and making it stay with rich. Now we have reduced corruption in offices like registrar offices etc. So yeah we cannot get everything but Modi is trying and not like other government s which failed us. Congress is all about dynasty. Please no Congress...
8
In South Asia, India has been an ideological laggard, 50 years behind its erstwhile neighbour, Pakistan.
Pakistanis have always been the socio-economics trend setter and flag bearers in South Asia. Neighbour India peeps into its living rooms, and apes it, but always comes bit too little too late - some 50 years behind Pakistan.
Here are some Pak firsts:
1. Free Enterprise - Pakistan 1947, India 2000
2. Free Trade - Pakistan 1947, India 2000
3. Alliance with the West - Pakistan 1950, India 2000
4. Friendship with China - Pakistan 1960, India 202?
5. Distancing from Socialism - Pakistan 1947, India 1990
6. Distancing from dying Corporate Capitalist West - Pakistan 2000, India 2050?
7. Talibanization and decline - Pakistan 1977 with Zia, India 2014 with Modi.
8. BRI/New Silk Road - Pakistan 2013, India never?
Pakistan's economic burst of activity was in 1950's and 1960s, but then it began to slide that continues to this day. Similarly, after rapid growth 2000-2015 India has begun to slide too, a slide that will continue for 50 years.
In due time India will catch up with Pakistan in violence, religious extremism, ignorance, poverty. One is divided by caste, the other by sect. It was this perennial divisition that invited foreign rule for past 3,500 years - Aryans, Greeks, Arabs, Afghans, Persians, Turks, Mongols/Mughals, Christian Europeans. Expect China to take over India once she completes her colonization of Pakistan.
5
@Syed Abbas
Is that why Prime Minister Imran Khan is making the rounds of IMF and China with a begging bowl in hand?
11
@Syed Abbas I recommend you. You must Visit India once and see the actual India instead of believing in baised articles. India is 50 years ahead in banking and IT than west.
Lutens always potraite India in bad light for vested interest.
5
@Pramod @Shekhar
Born in India and have visited it since.
I agree with you. Modi's India has always been far ahead of the West. She had mastered space travel 3,000 years ago, and plastic surgery too that put elephant trunks on human beings. Wow, what greatness.
But that was past. The point I am trying to make is that India learns nothing from the experience of Pakistan, and repeats its mistakes, and will end up like her, after 50 years.
And that the disunity of South Asia will invite foreign rule, as always.
2
The NY Times mostly writes it story from India, based on visiting and interviews in northern States and it normally ignores rest of the country.
In order to write an impartial news article, its India-based reporters should travel all over India and should conduct interviews with various people.
3
No respect for human rights too much corruption at the top level all the right wing criminals are free and they are contesting on BJP tickets.
8
A very apt article. Rahul Gandhi is entitled and therefore no votes for him.
The PM did ask for 10 years, when he sought elections in 2014. People are responding to this thought.
Yes, Demonetisation was a disaster, so is no slaughtering of cows POLICY (based on religious thought). Now farmers are overrun with cattle. :-) Dumb.
But then he has introduced the GST, stabilising it in 1 yr. He has recapitalised banks by about $15bn (twice), after our RBI (the Fed), insisted on strict compliance to bad loan provisioning. He has introduced a Chapter 11 like Bankruptcy Law called NCLAT, thus allowing failed businesses to seek change in shareholders (who were entitled thus). The % Income Tax payers has tripled in the last 5 years (mostly due to GST and Demonetisation).
People will vote for him in expectation of his vision as communicated in 2014. But then that is the only rope given. There will be no Honeymoon this time.
5
I was in India when Modi redid the GST (general sales tax). It was chaotic and poorly communicated. The level of confusion and pain it caused the economy is difficult for us to imagine here in the US. However, Indians are a supremely resilient people and they got through it, as they did with the currency devaluation.
Lack of funding for infrastructure has always been an issue but somehow things have been accomplished in the past. If the claim is that there isn't money for infrastructure projects, I respectfully inquire where the funds for BJP's project to build the world's largest statue came from - a huge white elephant placed in the middle of nowhere. Great publicity, no value. Seems like the Modi/BJP theme.
13
@Melanie S I was in India during the currency devaluation, and I can attest to the massive chaos and suffering that ensued from that disaster.
10
@Melanie S spreading too much negativity without knowing anything. I am business man and I am very much Happy with roll out of GST. Intially we faced some hurdles but now it's best change Modi has implemented in India.
Do compare transferring money in India and USA. India is 50 years ahead of India. You can't deny it. I stayed in USA for 3 years so I know the reality in both the countries.
3
More wishful thinking by the NYT re Modi Fail.
One of many reasons things don't get done inIndia:
1. Roads don't get built because acquiring land is well nigh impossible. No eminent domain like in the US with swift resolution. Takes years and many 'payments' and compromises.
2. Water. No irrigation/water project is without its own branded NGO led opposition. To protect a few 'tribals' and subsistence farmers, the opposition will hold millions in urban areas hostage.
3. Electricity is no longer the issue it once was. What is at issue is whether people are willing to pay for it. Ditto for trains. Airfares are kept so low, airlines go out of business.
4. Jobs. No company wants to hire because they can't fire. Labor laws are draconian. Indian states fight efforts to create a national market for goods and a uniform labor market.
Against such odds, Modi has done a fantastic job. He has overcome 60 years of misguided top down Fabian socialism imported from Britain by Nehru to change people's mindsets.
Finally, remember that India is the only country in the history of this world which from day one had universal suffrage. NYT readers may have seen the pains to which the election machinery goes to reach one or 20 voters.
There is no alternative to Modi. If you look at what's out there—Rahul Gandhi the 'family business' guy with a huge sense of entitlement exceeded only by his lack of accomplishment.
36
@Cosby
There has to be a balance with infrastructure. You are either for clean water and a public traveling system, or you are for financing the ultra rich or the banking system.
There is no in between. For infrastructure to be a priority, it needs to be viewed as the government's property and financed by the government. The ultra wealthy and the banks have no concept of the support required for infrastructure to be successful.
In other words, greed destroys that great income the ultra wealthy think they have.
6
@Cosby - very well said. I hope Modi wins with a majority in the parliament. His style of "authoritarianism" is exactly what is needed. There can be benign strongmen, and he is one who can make India a better place in many different ways.
3
@Cosby, any alternative is better than Modi. Modi has done India any good and could tear the social fabric of India.
I find a lot of Indians like Modi because they make them feel good about India (while they themselves sit conveniently in a western country) and their own hindu identity. Their vocal opposition to any objective facts is a testimony to the above.
1
Mr. Modi won the elections last time on a two-legged stool of religious fanaticism and economic liberalism. The delicate balance was destroyed by an overwhelming tilt towards Hindu upper caste tribalism, which alienated the Dalits, Muslims, and other minorities. It remains to be seen whether religious fanaticism is sufficient to win elections. Hopefully, because of th multi-party system, even if he wins he may have to tone down the rhetoric and control the extremist elements of his party. In the end, Indian democracy has power and will not continue to tolerate a demagogue.
15
After seeing the images out of India, I never want to hear or read about how the US's rail system is antiquated.
These pictures make the Northeast Corridor rail service look like the best thing since the invention of fire!
3
@C.A. Scozzari Himachal Pradesh is not the Northeast corridor, it is more like Montana? Mountainous and thinly populated (by Indian standards). The closest counterpart to the Northeast corridor would probably be the Bombay to Delhi (through Gujarat) leg, which is served by the "superfast" Rajdhani https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai_Rajdhani_Express The Rajdhani has A/C coaches, a pantry car, plush seats, etc.
What I've always found interesting is that in India, the little narrow gauge railways are still used. Look at that train - every single seat is filled. Pretty sure you can't say the same about small towns in Montana because small towns in Montana don't have train service.
7
I have bee visiting India since 2003, each time staying for 3 to 6 months at a time, touring the country from north to south and' presently there are a couple of observation I could share here.
The country has changed on a grand scale - although mostly in the cities only. Streets (2003) were filthy with trash - no more. The country has had no tax base to finance improvements, but as of now there is one and it is working just fine. There is plenty of produce in the market - in season.
I could go on and on, but there is a need to remember that the country population is at an estimated 1.25 Billion. If one decides to count as fast as one could until reaching a billion, how long will it take, counting 24/7 to reach a billion? You, dear reader throw a guess, then use your calculator ! (or scroll down here"
12 years !
19
I love the "heritage trains" of India. It is too bad that they are slow and people can not commute effectively on them.
I loved the light rail in Amsterdam. I actually miss the 19 and the 17.
What really matters is why some countries have effective mass transit and others do not.
4
@Kuhlsue, Heritage trains are cute and nostalgic. But in situations where livelihood and development is at stake, the officials need to be pragmatic. Nobody has fond memories of the British Raj that built this railroad. It is a rickety train that is probably kept together with duct tape and barbed wire. There is so much opportunity in India to make progress, even with small initiatives, it boggles the mind that they get caught up in such nonsense...
2