Revisiting Mother India gripped by endemic, widespread corruption and religious superstition
Barry Nirmal
I visited India, the country of my birth and the land of my dreams for the second time this year, during September and October of 2011. In this report, I present my impressions of India. Even though India has made rapid progress during the past decade, it has not reached its full potential and is lagging far behind China, a country with similar characteristics e.g. large population and recent history of backwardness. The reason behind India lagging behind China lies in its rampant corruption and religious superstition.
Corruption, lies and fraud
Corruption in India is rampant. It has become a way of life and earning money with corrupt means is not considered a bad thing. In fact people who get rich using corrupt means are considered successful and people like to get their sons and daughters married in such families.
I had an opportunity to witness the deep-seated corruption that encompasses all activities of the land registry office in Bihar. The registrar was sick so the DM (district magistrate) had to act on his behalf. I was told by my source that the clerk from the registry office who had gone to invite the DM had promised to give him so many rupees per registry document that he would sign. Then the senior clerk and the junior clerks got their share of the bribe. So, even though the government gets say Rs. 5,000 for one land sale, the clerks and the officers get say another 2,000 as bribe which is a hypothetical figure. The buyer has to pay Rs. 8,000 to the registrar who deposits 5,000 with the government while 2,000 is given as bribes and the businessman who prepares the documents and who is a point of contact for the buyer and seller keeps 1,000 as his fees.
I asked, “How do the ministers make money?” His answer was that when an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) gets appointed as the top officer in the land registry office, he has to give a set amount as bribe to the minister who has the authority to make such appointments.
So, even though Sri Nitish Kumar as CM (Chief Minister) of Bihar has done a great job of developing Bihar that had been badly neglected during the rule of the previous regime, he has not and is not taking any steps to tackle the deep-seated corruption in the government machinery, from top to bottom.
I also found that Indians also lie much more, compared to Americans and Canadians. Of course I met some Indians who were very honest and some who lied a lot. People who lie too much do not realize that when their lies are caught, people stop trusting them. But those who have acquired the habit of lying cannot stop because as they say habit is the second nature of man.
Praying too much
Indians also pray too much. They pray to get boons from God for more money and more success. But they may also be asking God for forgiveness for using corrupt means and for telling lies and using fraudulent means to amass wealth.
What really surprised me was that even people who live in great cities like New Delhi are superstitious. (I can understand if a man or woman in a remote village is superstitious.) I found that some people who live in Delhi or Mumbai, when they have problems like falling income in son’s business or a baby born in the family with a handicap, instead of analyzing the problem in a scientific and rational manner, run to the astrologers for advice. These astrologers prey on such gullible people and make money by making promises and giving advice that have no scientific basis whatsoever.
Trip to Mussoorrie, UK
We took a train (air-conditioned coach) from Delhi to Dehradoon. In this train they give you lots of food and drinks, more than you need. At Dehradoon, just outside the train station, we took a taxi to Mussoorie which is a hill station. In September there was less crowd there because the schools across India were open. So, hotels were not too expensive. The weather also was nice, neither too hot nor too cold. The scenery of the mountains was georgeous.
Below is a photo of scenery at Mussoorie
We took a taxi to Kempty Water Fall where we went down in a lift to view the Water Fall. We also went to see a Buddhist Temple and two Hindu temples. We also went to see a huge park at Dhanoulti. This park has great walking trails and is beautiful.
Below is a photo of Kempty Fall near Mussoorie
Trip to Haridwar and Rishikesh
On the way back from Mussoorie we took a taxi and soon arrived at Mohyal Ashram in Haridwar. They had very good lodging facilities. Food was included in the daily room rent. There was lift that worked well and the rooms were clean. (Unlike other Indian hotels, there was no rust to be seen in the plumbing in bathrooms.) In Haridwar we joined in the evening Aarti at Hari Ki Paudi which is the main ghat at Ganga river.
Baba Ramdev, the Yoga Guru, has a huge ashram at Haridwar but we did not visit it.
Opposite Mohyal Ashram is Shanti Kunj Ahram which is a sprawling complex. It is an ashram for poor Indians who come as pilgrims to Haridwar. It was founded by Sri Ram Sharma and his wife who were truly great people. They established such a fine, huge institution that serves the spiritual needs of poor Indians.
Visit to Mall in Saket, Delhi
We visited Sky Walk Mall in Saket, near Delhi which is a very big and beautiful mall. Lufthansa had a show in this mall where they were promoting their latest airplane. This plane had a bathroom for business class passengers which was so spacious. There so much space outside the bathrooms where you can sit and read your newspaper, as if you are at home. I was amazed that if you have money you can fly in planes that have huge spacious bathrooms.
Below is a photo of City Walk Mall in Saket near Delhi
Getting my own mobile phone
I got my own mobile phone with Idea at Delhi (in a friend's name) and again at my village in Bihar in the name of a friend but Idea disconnected both of them after a weeks or so. They did it for security reasons but it caused me lots of hassles. I lost the money that I had stored in the phone. Next time, it would be better to use SIM of a friend.
Train to Muzaffarpur
I travelled in 2-tier AC and went from Delhi to Muzaffarpur. In the train, I met a girl from Sitamarhi who was studying medicine in Nepal. She was travelling alone and was full of self-confidence. It is always refreshing to see young people who are bubbling with self-confidence. I thought she would a good match for one man I know in USA.
But though I gave her my contact info, including my e-mail ID and Facebook info, she is yet to contact me. So, it seems this friendship made in the train is going to die soon.
Poverty is widespread in India
Delhi is full of rickshaw pullers mostly from Bihar or Bengal. (Near my hotel one night I saw around 8 PM, one rickshaw puller was spreading his bedsheet to sleep on the pavement.) And though they are much better compared to twenty or thirty years ago, they are still poor. These guys do hard labor just to make a living. Then you have so many beggars, it is heart breaking to see them.
So many people in India are struggling just to survive. And the rich are living it up. They buy land and property which skyrockets in price.
I guess I felt lucky to be living abroad so that I could afford to always take three wheeler and never having to take bus. Riding a bus is so bad. It is jam packed with people.
Where to shop in Delhi
Shopping malls have come up in large numbers in New Delhi. As mentioned above, we visited one mall in Saket. This mall is bigger and better than Galleria mall or Katy Mills Mall in Houston and it is packed with people especially on week-ends.
Near every metro station there is a shopping mall. Near Janakpuri Metro, the City Center has a store where you can buy movies and songs and games. Near Rohini Metro, there is a nice shopping plaza. Of course V3S Mall or City Center Mall in Laxmi Nagar is a great place to shop. In fact Delhi is full of great shopping malls.
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