Globalization: An Opportunity to Fight Inequality in India

India just might be the economic and technological epicenter of Southeast Asia. As this video clip, I Am India, shows: Indian society has become increasingly western. Before I began this blog, my understanding of India was extremely incongruous. I was acquainted with India’s rich history, legends, and landmarks: Marco Polo, the Taj Mahal, the Silk Road, tigers, Hindu temples, karma, and saris. I was also familiar with Indian pop culture like Bollywood and the nation’s technological achievements. Yet neither of these images meshed well with my understanding of the poverty and inequalities that plague Indian society. Frankly, a society that classifies a subsector of its population as ‘untouchable’ did not bear any resemblance to the immerging superpower that I also saw in India. After a semester of research and blogging on India, I still predominately see the contradiction that is India. While I have not been able to reconcile these two sides of India, much like a coin; I see how they can both be present in the nation. However, I do not believe that this dichotomy can sustain India’s bolstering economy for very long. India lacks the foundational backbone that it needs to truly emerge as a top competitor on the global scale. Since India wants this status, reforms may become more concrete in the upcoming years and the equalities and rights spelled out in its Constitution may become reality for thousands who currently live in poverty and segregation. In the mean time, the phenomena of globalization affords an excellent way for people outside of India to indirectly boost this process along and alleviate those suffering under India’s institutionalized discrimination.

One such example of institutionalized discrimination is India’s Caste System. As previously stated in my blog, the Indian Constitution outlaws all discrimination based upon caste. However, while de jure discrimination is outlawed, de facto caste discrimination is a daily occurrence in India. The lowest caste, the Dalits or Untouchables are cruelly discriminated in various degrees throughout India. In the BBC documentary: The Broken People, reporter Ramita Navai exposes a wide array of injustices committed against Dalits throughout India. In many areas, Dalits are excluded from public places, transportation, and even temples. They may only live in certain areas of cities and often are not allowed access to the city’s water supply. Since they are seen as inferior, the most menial and disgraceful jobs are reserved to them. In one city, a Dalit worker, manually cleaning a blockage in the sewerm, fell in and died because he was allegedly overcome by the fumes. Employing manual scavengers, or those who clean waste by hand, is illegal in India. The authorities who Navai interviewed claimed the man was not a manual scavenger. However, as the documentary shows, thousands of Dalits are forced to into the repulsive and humiliating trade that is manual scavenging because they have no other means of survival.

In addition to all of these social ills endured by the Dalits, these people also suffer from crime. Neither the police nor the justice system are proactive in finding perpetrators of crimes against Dalits. Many Dalits will not venture far from the safety of their homes for the fear of violence and some have even fled their homes to find a safer region in which to live. In essence, because the Indian government and authorities are not willing to actually enforce the law, in relation to Dalits, the injustices of the Caste System are not only allowed to persist but are endorsed by their inaction. This institutionalization of the evils of the Caste System is a trademark of corruption; not the democratic, superpower that India aspires to be on the international scale.

Since the Caste System is the source of such injustice, it begs the question of why the government unofficially permits such discrimination to occur. The answer is that the system is socially useful. There is so much poverty in India; forty-two percent of the population falls below the global poverty line – over one third of which are Dalits. Such a high percentage is both alarming and discouraging; especially for a country who seeks international renown. It is much easier to consider the poor as inferior – hence untouchable – and therefore worthy only of the lowest habitations and work. No one would willingly choose the job of manual scavenging along with its low wages, so it is helpful to have a suppressed portion of the population who has no other alternative to earn a livelihood. Furthermore, the ideology of the Caste System removes all guilt from those who do have a better lot in life than the Dalits. If by birth they are lowlier than the rest of the population, there is no ethical problem with segregating and suppressing them. In essence, the Caste System dehumanizes them so that their deplorable living conditions and any crimes committed against can be overlooked.

With its Hindu roots, the Caste System is just one example of an institutionalized religious practice or lifestyle that has negative consequences to the nation and equality of the people. Another example is India’s interesting spin off of federalism that allows for personal or religious law. This constitutional provision states that every religion may exercise its own order of law in the realm of property and family law. This institutionalization of religion basically annuls any claim of India to a secular system of government because its legal system is committed to backing these diverse religious decrees.

Not only is this arrangement a problem for the justice system and democracy itself, but it also contributes to religious discrimination. Once born into a particular religion, an individual is legally bound to it if he/she hopes to one day gain any inheritance or own property. Regardless of personal faith, an individual must succumb to the religious nature of property and family law in order to own, inherit property, litigate, marry, obtain a divorce, etc. So it is not just a difference in faith that separates people; but these differences are institutionalized and thereby individuals are legally bound to the faith they were born into: it becomes inseparable from their identity in every aspect of life without the individual’s consent.

Education is another huge issue in India. In 2007, only sixty-six percent of the Indian population was literate. While education is available, much of the reason for such low literacy rates is discrimination. As The Broken People shows, Dalit children are cruelly discriminated against at school: often they’re denied assistance from their teachers, bullied, served poorer food, and segregated. Because of these hardships surrounding school, by the age of eleven, seventy percent of Dalit children have dropped out of school. The injustices encompassed in the education system further the vicious cycle of Dalit poverty because the children remain uneducated and then have no choice but to assume the most menial of jobs. The statistics show this to be true, as nearly ninety percent of Indians who have successful careers within the booming multinational economy are of higher castes.

Not only is there a disparity in the education system in regards to Dalits, but women suffer from educational discrimination as well. In 2009, literacy rates for Indian women were less than fifty-five percent while men’s literacy rates were much higher by a margin of over twenty-two percent. This translates directly into economics, as seventy-three percent of India’s poor are women and children. Traditionally, Indian women were viewed as inferior to men and, with such a discrepancy in gender literacy rates, no drastic change has occurred.

Plagued by discrimination, segregation, and poor education and quality of life: life itself in India is rather dismal for a large sector of society. While, on the international scene, India enjoys an escalating economy and basks in its newfound corporate achievement: if this prosperity does not translate to the very base of the country how much success can really be credited to India? With institutionalized injustice plaguing the lives of so many, the prosperity of the few seems to lack any translation to the destitute. Perhaps it would be unfair to deem India’s government corrupt, but I think I could safely say that the nation’s very institutions of law and society lend themselves to corruption and the mistreatment of a large portion of its citizenry. Since the government has made little to no effort to instigate institutional change, and with the understanding that such change would be both challenging and gradual, what can the rest of the world do both to propel India toward widespread equality and directly assist those who currently suffer?

The first and easiest step is to simply increase awareness. Many of those who think of India, much as I once did, have an understanding of Indian poverty and its arising economic power. It is true that these two qualities are not synonymous, which is why the situation in India is so disconcerting. However, the recent international success of India may mislead people into believing that the country’s domestic problems are improving at an equal rate. If people in the West come to an understanding that nearly half of India’s population is below the poverty line and suffers daily persecution and discrimination; maybe it will incite people to act.

Awareness can be raised in many fashions – one such way is right before you: a blog. Among the effects of globalization is the far reaching growth of the World Wide Web. Blogs are an excellent tool to engage readers from all over the world at a much larger scale than ever before possible. Non-profits and NGOs also play a key role in both raising awareness and opening avenues for people to put their concern into action. Taj Online is a website listing credible charities and NGOs that operate in India to assist the poor. These organizations provide information concerning the needs of their beneficiaries both to increase overall awareness and incite action via donations.

While charities are currently necessary in India to alleviate the sufferings of the poor, they cannot provide the wide spread and long term answers to institutionalized discrimination and persecution. Such a solution must entail a complete reworking of India’s institutional setup; making it no longer socially and economically useful to discriminate against others based upon gender, caste, or religion. The downside of such solutions is the difficulty involved, the gradualness of such change, and that such endeavors really lack compelling research and promotion.

One example that I found in my research involved India’s cotton industry. Cotton growers in India are largely illiterate; which has translated into a problem with pesticide use. Retailers are selling farmers pesticides that cotton worms are immune to, as well as chemicals that have been outlawed because of their toxicity. Because they cannot read the pesticide labels, cotton farmers are unaware that inhaling these chemicals is extremely lethal and they proceed to spray their fields without any protection. This has caused many premature deaths due to poisoning and cancer. Also, because they are often buying chemicals that no longer work, farmers are susceptible to losing their entire crop and falling into debt. In an attempt to save their crops, farmers tend to overspray their fields, which pollutes the cotton with pesticides that remains in the fabric that we buy at the local clothing store.

So what is the solution? Definitely education is key: if the farmers understand the dangers of pesticides: which ones work and how to properly spray their fields, mortality rates will fall and there will not be dangerous pesticides in our clothing. Aside from sending experts to India to educate the farmers, how can the everyday person help this situation? Boycotting cotton clothing made in India is not the solution: this would only drive the farmers further into poverty. Rather, consumers should support Indian farmers who grow organic cotton without the use of harmful pesticides. In this way, it will become more profitable for cotton farmers to switch to organic methods of farming which will not poison them or expose us, the consumers, to toxic chemicals.

The globalization of our world has afforded a remarkable and unprecedented opportunity for everyday people to make a positive impact on a global scale. The first step is to increase awareness, for; how can people respond to a problem if they are ignorant of its existence. Once aware, the globalization of the world economy and market has given great power to the individual consumer. Every consumer can espouse his/her ethics and values by what he/she chooses to support with each purchase. For instance, choosing to buy a shirt made with organic cotton may make a huge change in the life of an Indian cotton grower. Globalization has also corresponded to an increase in the number of international NGOs which have the ability to assist the suffering through education and providing basic necessities. Globalization has truly aided Indian corporations and its large scale economy and, with the help of informed and motivated people around the world, globalization could also be the means by which India’s national economic success might be translated to all corners of society through institutional change.

Gender: Another Source of Inequality

The fact that India has seen many positive changes and improvements in inequality and religious conflict cannot be disputed. However, demographically much more is necessitated to bring the country up to the level of its economic competitors. While the country’s constitution promotes equality and tolerance, Indian society still has a huge amount of poverty, discrimination, and violence. An excellent case study of this fact is yet another form of disparity: gender-based inequality.
Historically, Indian women were limited to wholly dependent and subservient roles. Society dictated that women must always be under the complete subjection of a male authority in their lives: whether a father, husband, son, etc. Additionally, male children were deemed more valuable than females.
Today, many things have changed in India. First, India’s constitution provides for gender equality in its preamble. Women do hold esteemed positions in Indian government such Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, and Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Indian National Congress Party.
Yet, while so much success is seen in the women’s rights movement, there is still much gender-based inequality in India – especially in rural and poorer areas. Much like there is an extreme disconnect between the wealthy and impoverished in India, this same phenomena is seen in women’s rights. Demographically, more than three hundred and sixty million people or 36% of the population in India lives beneath the global poverty line. Of these millions, seventy-three percent are women and children. These statistics are attributed to many of the fundamental remnants of Indian belief left over from earlier times.
For many Indian women, much like their predecessors, they are viewed as inferior to men. This perspective affects every aspect of these women’s lives. Because women’s healthcare is not a priority, India accounts for twenty-seven percent of the globe’s maternal deaths. In childhood, female deaths exceed male mortality rates by a staggering six hundred thousand each year. In fact, one in every six infant deaths is due to gender discrimination. Additionally, women commonly suffer from malnutrition and a lack of access to healthcare.
As well as physical suffering, many women are extremely limited in options for their future. Under constant subjection to an authoritative male figure, many Indian girls are given as child brides. Although the practice was made illegal in India’s constitution, UNICEF reported in 2009 that forty percent of child marriages occur in India. Women also suffer from lower literacy rates than Indian men, especially in rural regions. Landownership is also predominately restricted to males. While laws do exist which endow women with property rights, in practice these laws are inadequately enforced – making women increasingly dependent upon men.
Undeniably India has seen much change and improvement in women’s rights in the past few decades. In 1950, Women gained suffrage and currently make up eight percent of India’s parliament. Yet, suffrage and holding political office have not wrought significant change to many of India’s women. If only women residing in certain areas of the country experience a positive change in women’s rights, India’s pro-women reforms can only be deemed symbolic. Inequality in India is a compounding issue not only because of its prevalence but also because of its vast demographic effects. Not only is there a vast disconnect between the wealthy and poor, but this same disconnect transfers over to a disparity between male and female. Poverty is not a simplistic subject in India: it contains many variables and facets that delve farther into society – penetrating areas such as caste, birthplace, gender, and education. India’s past progress must be accompanied by further still institutional changes before a true democratic society may emerge.

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15 Links to Further Reading

1. Social Inequality Threatening India's Economic Stability
This article presents the argument that India cannot maintain its economic growth or become a true force in the world economy as long as such disparity remains within its country. Using statistical evidence and anecdotes, the author creates a compelling case that domestic improvement must precede any notable role in the international realm.

2. Reducing Poverty and Inequality in India: Has Liberalization Helped?
In this study, by Raghbendra Jha, the effects that liberalization has had on poverty and inequality in India are assessed. From his research, Jha concludes that India has seen an increase in inequality and only a minor decrease in poverty since liberalization.

3. Gender Inequality
This article examines yet another aspect of inequality in India: gender inequalities. The article provides historical information regarding the origins of these inequalities and the status of women in India today.

4. The Hunger Project
This website is home to a non-profit organization with the goal of stopping world hunger. On the site are news updates from countries around the world, including India, where most of the world's poor reside. The site also draws connections between the stopping inequality in India and ending hunger.

5. CIA World Fact Book
The CIA World Fact Book is an excellent resource for general information on India as a whole. The site provides a wide variety of facts ranging from subjects of government to demography to transportation.

6. Incredible India
This website hosts excellent photographs of the scenic feast that is India. The site is geared towards tourism and gives a different spin on India tailored for potential visitors. A perusal of the site would give a viewer no knowledge of the extreme poverty of India - only the beauty and pleasures that await those who can afford them.

7. Ensuring Secular Harmony in India - Searching for Some Answers
This article presents a history of historic violence and tension between Indian Muslims and Hindus. The article argues that, in order for peace to be achieved, the Indian government must truly embrace a pluralist society, not just in word, but in deed.

8. Ethnic and Religious Conflicts in India
This article gives historical background into why India has experienced and experiences so much conflict between religious and ethnic groups. This is an excellent source for a better understanding of the diverse background of India and how this background shapes today's realities.

9. Christian Persecution India
This blog provides news updates on the status of persecuted Christians in India. It is a helpful source to determine what religious atrocities are currently occurring.

10. The Caste System in India
This site gives general information on what the caste system in India is and how it works. The site does an excellent job of explaining how all these facets of the system affect Indians' lives.

11. The Castes of India
This blog gives helpful information on the levels of the Indian caste system and how these pertain to life in India. The author describes the historical basis of the caste and focuses especially on the lives of the untouchables.

12. Caste and Inequality in Healthcare
This blog draws a connection between level of caste and quality of healthcare. This connection outlines yet another disparity in India linked to its institutionalized system of inequality.

13. Hunger and Poverity in India and Pakistan
This blog explores the severity of hunger and poverty in India and preventitive measures to combat these issues. The author goes into great depth and has many rich insights.

14. India's Problems
This article delves into India's vast array of social problems from inequality to education to poverty. The author argues the root causes of these issues and the proper response the world should have toward them.

15. How to Help India's Poor
This article gives useful strategies that we as consumers can employ to help increase the quality of life for the impoverished in India as well as decrease inequality.

India's Caste System – A Socially Useful Fallacy

The caste system of India, rooted in the Hindu concept of Varna, divides society into four main groups: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra (Sagar, 1975: 38). Once born, the caste system dictates many facets of an individual’s life from occupation to diet. For instance, Brahmins, the elites, are traditionally priests, Kshatriyas are warriors, Vaishyas are farmers and merchants, and Sudras are laborers. Beneath all of these groups and completely excluded from the distinction of ‘caste’ are the Dalits. Dalits are considered defiled and thereby 'untouchable' because their work traditionally involved hunting or disposing of animal carcasses and the disposing of human waste: the lowliest functions of society. As they are considered defiled and lowly, traditionally untouchables were excluded from religious sites, public places, and education: even contact with an Untouchable's shadow was deemed tarnishing.

India’s constitution bans discrimination based upon caste, yet discrimination continues. Antidiscrimination laws against untouchables are hard to enforce since much of the discrimination is an act of omission rather than commission (Rothermund, 2008: 170). For instance, it is much easier to identify discrimination when it means forcefully keeping Dalits from a public good. However, discrimination that entails avoiding Dalits or excluding them from events is much harder to restrict. While the government has instigated several affirmative action programs to benefit the Dalits, too often these good intentions are futile because an official of an upper caste, who oversees the program, purposefully hinders its implementation (Rothermund, 2008: 171).

The inequality of the caste system, especially toward the Dalits, begs the question of why it has persisted. Under Varna, as outlined in Hindu religious texts, castes existed but individuals were not confined to a particular caste for their entire life. While the system still upheld a high degree of inequality, with good Karma an individual could rise from a Sudra to a Kshatriya or a Dalit to a Vaishya, etc. However, when the British ruled India they used this system of Varna to conduct censuses and to establish social order (Sagar, 1975: 69). Because of this system of rule, caste – as the Bristish called it – became a fixed definition of an individual’s worth.

This misconception of Varna - the caste system - has endured because it is socially useful. The caste system delegates the uncomely jobs, poor dietary options, and deplorable living situations to a select group of society. Furthermore it assigns a social stigma to the Dalits: that they are defiled by birth with only the hope of a future reincarnated state that will be more favorable to them. Since Dalits are conditioned to believe that their state will improve in a future life if they conform to the inequality encroached upon them, they provide a work force for India which only requires the basest of benefits and pay. Furthermore, the religious and permanent nature of the caste system places no obligation upon those of higher castes to assist these designated poor and inferior members of society. In short, the caste system allows these people to be viewed as disposable.

So while the Indian government has laws and even policy in place to prevent caste-based discrimination, the truth is that the concept of the ‘Untouchability’ is incredibly useful for the short-term building of the nation’s economy. However, as India’s economy grows and the divide between the wealthy and the incredibly poor becomes widened, India is continually placing herself at a greater risk of social uprising and disaster while her antidiscrimination policy remains virtually unseen in reality.

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Bibligraphy:

Rothermund, Dietmar (2008). India: The Rise of an Asian Giant. London: Yale University Press.

Sagar, Sunder Lal (1975). Hindu Culture and Caste System in India. Dehli: Saraswati Printing Press.

Religion-Based Inequality in India

More Hindus reside in India than in any other nation of the world. Similarly, India is also home to the third largest Muslim population in the world. Yet, demographically, 80.5% of Indians are Hindu while only 13.4% of the population is Muslim. Christianity is next on the list, composing 2.2% of the country’s population, followed by other religions which, combined, account for the remaining 3.9% of Indians.

In January, 1950, the Constitution of the Republic of India was ratified. The constitution acknowledges these demographics and India’s past of religious-centered violence with distinct descriptions of the republic’s features, such as: “secular” and promises of “Equality of status and of opportunity” (Nussbaum, 2007: 122) . However, this provision of equality within a secular society has become rather symbolic due to the provision for personal law and the quota system.

The fact that India’s Constitution provides for every religion to practice its own personal law, which includes property and family law, seems to undermine the government’s secular intent (Nussbaum, 2007: 141). With each religious population legally exercising its own practice of law in these areas, the Republic of India essentially commits itself to the enforcement of these religious standards. Also, with a separate legal code, religious populations are formally distinct and judicially unequal. Additionally, once born into a particular religion, it is nearly impossible to separate one’s self from it because religion entails both a spiritual and legal identity. While it is possible for religious parents to claim a secular identity for their child, since property law is included within the provision of religious personal law, the child will suffer disinheritance from any familial property.

To battle the country’s high rates of economic inequality, India has instigated a system of affirmative action. However, while this system of affirmative action claims to provide job assistance for Dalits (or Untouchables) and women, the quotas created by this policy distinctly omit Muslims and Christians (Nussbaum, 2007: 137). Demographically, the Islamic and Christian sectors of society fall below the poverty line and suffer high rates of unemployment. By excluding them in this affirmative action policy, the government is structurally denying these two subgroups equal opportunity of employment.

So while India espouses the ideals of a secular and liberal democracy, institutionally it discriminates against its religious minorities. A reflection of this is seen in incidents of religious violence. A relatively recent example of religious violence is the Gujarat Genocide in 2002. In the state of Gujarat, India, a massacre broke out in response to a fire, allegedly started by Muslims, which killed fifty-eight people. While nearly all these victims were Hindu, there is no evidence of foul play on the part of Muslim extremists. Despite the lack of evidence, over the course of the next few weeks two thousand Muslims were brutally massacred. Surprisingly, the local authorities were ordered to do nothing in response (Nussbaum, 2007: 2). At this time, the government was under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which espouses Hindu nationalism. In response to the genocide, many of India’s high-ranking government official actually rationalized the atrocities. In fact, the Chief Minister of the BJP, Narenda Modi, stated that the acts of genocide in Gujara were “natural” and that those living in Gujara have “criminal tendencies" (Nussbaum, 2007: 26). This validation of violence against the innocent within a religious population displays the discontinuity between the ideals within India’s Constitution and reality.

The BJP party lost the 2004 elections and, since then, religious inequality in India has improved. While it may be easy to optimistically associate the country’s rising GDP and global integration with a decrease in disparity along religious lines, the reality is that religious minorities are still endure discrimination and persecution. The 2007 incident in Orissa, India and the attacks on Muslim villages in 2005 are both evidences of the continued state of persecution in India. Even more disconcerting is that, through legal provisions, historic precedent, and Hindu extremist groups, this persecution has a certain amount of structural provision in Indian society. If India is to continue along its path of global success, it must address its institutional framework that permits religious inequality.

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Bibliography:

Nussbaum, Martha C. (2007). The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s Future. London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

History of Inequality and Religious Violence in India

Indian history dates back thousands of years; encompassing many dynasties and wars. The region’s first induction into the international spotlight centered on the spice trade. Yet it was not until 1497, when Vasco da Gama of Portuguese became the first person to circumnavigate around Africa to India, that India's spices truly became a European icon. This new trade route opened the door for increased trade in India. By 1764, the East India Company ruled the country and enjoyed a complete monopoly on Indian trade. In fact, it was not until after WWII that India secured its independence from a war-wearied Britain.
Since independence, India has become increasingly globalized. Today, India boasts the world’s largest democracy, the second highest population count in the world, the world’s twelfth largest economy, as well as the thirteenth fastest growing economy in the world. In light of these national achievements, India is even petitioning to be included as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Like western democracies, the Constitution of India guarantees its citizens the rights of equality and freedom of religion. Yet these rights are not always evident in practice. While religious violence and inequality were historically present in India, their continued presence in the country is disturbing.
Perhaps the best known example of Indian inequality would be the Caste System. In essence, the system was a method of stratifying society into four groups. Once born into a particular caste, individuals cannot change castes - unlike in western societies, for instance: where one can move from the lower to the middle class. Historically, those in the lowest caste, the Untouchables, experienced severe discrimination and inequality. During British colonization, the Caste System was unofficially embraced by the governing authorities. The British equated the Caste System to their own system of classes, despite the fact that the Indian Caste System is based upon birth and not social and economic standing. Under their rule, the British conducted a census of India using their faulty understanding of the Caste System as its structural basis. In a way, this census only served to legitimize and further the discriminatory and unjust attributes of the Caste System.
Upon independence, the brand new Republic of India banned discrimination based upon caste. Yet centuries of its presence as well as the encouragement of the system during India’s colonial period have caused this caste-based discrimination and persecution to last. The World Bank estimates that 42% of India’s population falls below the world poverty level - over one third of which are Dalits (formally known as Untouchables).
Religious violence has also had a long history in India, yet its prevalence today in India’s bolstering economy is disconcerting. Demographically, over 80% of India’s population is Hindu while Islam makes up approximately 13% and Christian about 3%. Historically, Hinduism was well established in India when Islam was first brought to the region via Arab traders around 600 A.D. Christianity was brought to India in the first century, however it did not experience significant growth until during British colonization. This was not without its problems though, in 1857 the Indian Rebellion broke out against the British because many Indian soldiers working for the East India Company feared forced conversions to Christianity. More recently, in 2002, the Godhra train was burned by group of Muslim extremists and fifty-three Hindus died as a result. This event erupted into many riots and massacres in which hundreds of Hindus and thousands of Muslims perished. While these two events stand out, many acts of religious violence regularly occur in India.
As a nation, India represents quite a success story: swiftly globalizing and rising out of its colonial roots to become an economic power. But does the nation hold a secure position in the developed world? Home to a third of the world’s impoverished, blatant inequality, and festering religious violence; India, in many ways, is still far behind the nations she would like to call her peers. As India’s economy and influence become increasingly globalized, these issues will also become increasingly apparent and impeding.

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India: Inequality and Religious Violence

The Taj Mahal and the Himalayas are just a few things that come to mind when the word ‘India’ is mentioned. Doubtlessly, these well-known sites have contributed to India’s growing tourist industry. In fact, India is the forty-first tourist destination in the world: hosting over five million international tourists each year. In 2008, India generated nearly twelve million US dollars from tourism – a large portion of its overall economic revenue (http://incredibleindia.org/Tourism_Stastics2008.pdf). In fact, India’s economy is the twelfth largest in the world and is ranked among the globe’s fastest growing economies (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Mr_Rupee_pulls_India_into_1_trillion_GDP_gang/articlearti/1957520.cms). All together, India’s tourist industry, agricultural sector, and industrial growth have boosted its economy onto a track to overtake the U.S.’ own economy by 2050 (http://www.usindiafriendship.net/viewpoints1/Indias_Rising_Growth_Potential.pdf).

Yet despite the country’s progress, India falls behind many of its economic competitors in areas such as poverty levels, citizen equality, literacy rates, and religious tolerance. For instance, while its overall gross domestic product has risen by an approximate seven percent each year, India is home to forty percent of the world’s poor (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/anupam-mukerji/social-inequality-threatening-indias-economic-stability). So while it is flourishing in some key areas, the country’s progress has not produced any substantial benefits to a large portion of its citizenry.

After considering these facts, I have decided to devote my blog to exploring social issues in India: namely inequality and religious violence. I find these issues especially interesting in the nation of India because of its rapid and ongoing transformation into a world power. This blog is for a university course that centers on the topic of globalization and inequality. In many ways, India is a perfect case-study for this topic because there seems to be no positive connection between its globalizing economy and its citizens’ quality of life. In writing this blog, my hope is that I will gain a greater understanding of the disparity between India’s international success and the life of the common Indian citizen.