Delhi's Battle Against Bribery

Delhi's Battle Against Bribery - SUBCONTINENTAL - Current Intelligence

When Arjun, a Delhi-based photographer, was attempting to relocate his family overseas earlier this year, he found himself breaking a cardinal rule he had set for himself.

He had never paid a bribe in his life, but now he needed a ‘Letter of Good Conduct’ from the police that would allow him to apply for residency abroad, and it quickly became clear that this would not happen without money changing hands.

“I’ve always refused to pay bribes in the past,” he said. “But every time I went to the police station, they would tell me that it would take a few more days.

“We needed the letter in a hurry. There was no choice. In the end, I handed over 2,500 rupees before they would give me the letter.

“It was crazy – having to pay a bribe to prove you are a person of good conduct!”

Related articles

• Corruption in India: 'All your life you pay for things that should be free' (guardian.co.uk)
• Indian corruption hits all aspects of life (sfgate.com)
• 'AIIMS wants Rs10k bribe for heart surgery' (kurseonginfo.wordpress.com)

Parents in New India: Abused, Abandoned, Betrayed - a global dilemma?

Parents in New India: Abused, Abandoned, Betrayed - New America Media:

His mother was sitting in the outpatient waiting area at the hospital for hours - did she not have a ride? No, her son and his wife were at work, and did not want to pick her up till they got done...


Shocking? Not really? In India? Possibly...but this was in the United States...


Is our instant-gratification society making us shy away from what is inevitable for all of us?  As the article linked below comments, elder abuse is rampant - and we still bury our heads in the sand..."Countless adults are victims of abuse through self-neglect, and institutional abuse often receives the most media attention; however, by far the most common abusers of the elderly are family members, especially spouses and adult children. The low reporting rate of elder abuse therefore makes unfortunate sense: Victims would often prefer to endure the abuse rather than risk the loss of independence, being removed from their family, or possibly being forced to move into a nursing home.


Americans' inattention to this issue has many causes, and high among them is fear -- the fear of seeing ourselves in the victims, of facing our own inevitable future of vulnerability and death. With its focus on youth, consumption and productivity, and living for today, our culture is complicit in this turning away. The tragic result is our inability -- or unwillingness -- to imagine ourselves in the distant future, potentially alone and unprotected. So we don't see that helping protect the elderly today helps protect us tomorrow..."


We have talked about this issue in the Tribe Desi newsletter before - and we asked for suggestions, or how South Asian Americans across the country are coping with this issue - and didn't get very many responses, except a Indian retirement community in NJ...comment below if you know of any good initiatives...


 "Not everyone is pushing their old mother down the stairs. But we brush older people aside in ways we don’t even realise. A survey from the Agewell Foundation in New Delhi found that 87 percent of elders in the 70-80 age group complain of isolation. And that happens even when they are living with family, at home. They just find themselves shunted off to the back bedroom.

In 2050 400 million people will be over 80 all over the world. 48.1 million of them will be in India. That doesn’t mean India will become a sea of grey. The median age of Indians will still be only 38. But 48.1 million people can’t be shoved into the back bedroom either."

Related articles

• William Mapother: Elder Abuse in America Today (huffingtonpost.com)
• Elder Abuse: Attack on the Vulnerable at Life's End. (erasetheneed.wordpress.com)
• Cops: 3 abused elderly woman on cross-country ordeal (msnbc.msn.com)

Indians agape as monkeys marry

Indians agape as monkeys marry - World news - Weird news - msnbc.com:

"The tale, set in the forests of northwestern India, had all the ingredients of a perfect Bollywood love story: emotion, celebration, star-crossed lovers and a nail-biting climax..."

Related articles

• High drama as monkeys wed in India (calgaryherald.com)
• It's a monkey invasion! (seatoshiningsea.wordpress.com)
• Photo of the day - A no-good monkey in India (gadling.com)

Yoga guru’s political foray has India in a roil

Yoga guru’s political foray has India in a roil | Asian Correspondent:

"Followers plaster his photograph on their cars, pay thousands of rupees (hundreds of dollars) for front-row seats at his appearances and are known to light incense sticks in front of their TVs during his shows.


And in keeping with his rockstar-like status, he evens owns an island."

Related articles

• Drama erupts in India as yogi tries his hand at politics (thestar.com)
• Yoga Guru Leads Thousands in India Protest - New York Times (news.google.com)

Road rage in India growing along with economy - Connecticut Post

Road rage in India growing along with economy - Connecticut Post

Along with the previews post, makes interesting reading on how things are getting out of control with overburdened infrastructure and the number of vehicles. In cities like New Delhi, where more and more houses are being converted into 4 or 5 flats, and each occupant having one or more vehicles, fights over parking are a common sight...

Related articles

• Analysis: India is new top stop for world leaders seeking (reuters.com)

India's city-dwellers get angrier as society changes

India's city-dwellers get angrier as society changes - Yahoo!Xtra Entertainment

Interesting perspective...

Related articles

• India's Toilet Shortage Costs More Than $50 Billion (businessweek.com)
• New Arrivals Strain India's Cities to Breaking Point (nytimes.com)
• Indians Hold $462 Billion Illegally Overseas (blogs.wsj.com)

India: Where have all the young men gone?

India: Where have all the young men gone? - thestar.com

Interesting article - deals with several issues, primarily focused on Punjab, but could be anywhere in India. Immigration - legal or otherwise, youth moving to distant lands to find better opportunities, empty nesters, migrant workers, and the deep divisions which exist in society.

Add to that the state of elders who move abroad to be with their children and their families - and you have a very complex situation. There is no easy fix - but I'm sure the community would like to know if there are any successful models in places like UK and Canada...

Fire in the Hole - Foreign Policy

Fire in the Hole - By Jason Miklian and Scott Carney | Foreign Policy

"But plenty of Indians have missed out. Economic liberalization has not even nudged the lives of the country's bottom 200 million people. India is now one of the most economically stratified societies on the planet; its judicial system remains byzantine, its political institutions corrupt, its public education and health-care infrastructure anemic. The percentage of people going hungry in India hasn't budged in 20 years, according to this year's U.N. Millennium Development Goals report. New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore now boast gleaming glass-and-steel IT centers and huge engineering projects. But India's vast hinterland remains dirt poor -- nowhere more so than the mining region of India's eastern interior, the part of the country that produces the iron for the buildings and cars, the coal that keeps the lights on in faraway metropolises, and the exotic minerals that go into everything from wind turbines to electric cars to iPads..."