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As an emerging global powerhouse of the early 21st century,
the subcontinent of India is home to over 1.2 billion citizens of the
world. Despite a flourishing economy and
a growing commercial empire, India continually fails to feed its poor, making
it home to the hungriest people in the world, superseding China, the world’s
most populated country. A variety of
factors can be attributed to the cause of hunger and poverty in India, but it
is evident that economic failure and bad investments, coupled with a severe lack
of political will are two major issues that lead to starvation, disease and
death within Indian society.
Despite housing one of the fastest
growing global economies of the world, India is home to half of the world’s
malnourished children. A factor of this
growing crisis can be attributed to the fact that India fails to invest in
agriculture and small farms, and instead focuses on western industry and
business (Gethin). A clear influence of
the British Raj in India, it is evident that the British’s own insistence on
westernizing their former colony led to its current focus on industry and
business and its failure to invest in the small farms of its country. The
failure of the government to invest in the small farms of its country leads to
the inevitable failure of these farms and a cycle of debt arises that puts
these farms out of food, eventually leading to starvation and death (Gethin). Reports by BBC News indicate that “"Despite
years of robust economic growth, India scored worse than nearly 25 sub-Saharan
African countries and all of South Asia, except Bangladesh.” The Indian
failure to focus on the agricultural sector of the economy is one of the major
factors that leads to the continual starvation and death of its people.
A lack of political will is also one
of the central reasons for the poverty and death within Indian society. Statistics by the Indian government itself
indicate “around 60% of more than 10 million children in the state were
malnourished” (BBC News). The Indian
government is clearly aware of the situation of its people, and fails to
properly address it. The Indian
government lacks the will to provide for the hungry citizens in villages, and
focuses primarily on big business cities such as Mumbai. For example, when the Supreme Court of India
directed the government to release 2.5 million tons of grain to feed the poor,
the government cited high transportation costs as one of the reasons it could
not carry out the mandate (Shreyasi). A
government that lacks the will but has the resources to provide for its people
is clearly one of the primary reasons for the poverty that plagues Indian villages
such as Mritigand, India (Shreyasi).
Despite promises of a new food security bill to provide cheap food for
the poor, there continue to remain starving people in villages. A lack of political will is one of the main
reasons for disease, death and starvation in India.
Stacy Castillo
ReplyDeleteRadhika although I agree with the points you are making, I believe you fail to look at the social issue that is also a huge cause of hunger India. In India, as we have studied, the people are divided into the caste system and the classes are increasingly growing further apart from each other which adds to problem of hunger in India. Failure of the lower class, which has grown to become the majority of the country, to get enough money to get food is a huge cause to the hunger (Trishla). The lower class live in the slums of the country and barely have even the opportunity to make their life better and to at least make some money which causes the hunger in India.
Work Cited
Gupta, Trishla. "Hunger in India — A National Shame." Youth Ki Awaaz: Mouthpiece for the Youth. 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 May 2012. .
I believe your points are valid; the government has the power and is the sole authority over the country’s decisions. They are not focusing enough on their agricultural standards. The country relies on exports rather than the self-sufficiency from growing food within their country; failure to regard the importance of farming and productivity results in a food deficiency for future generations, resulting in more starvation and poverty for India’s people (Mittal). The state has the capability to aid the people, but would rather spend effort on foreign markets. A report from Global Issues state that “countries like India are polluting their air, earth, and water to grow products for the Western market instead of growing food to feed their own people” (Shah), for the government economic profit is more important than the living conditions of the Indian people.
ReplyDeleteMichael Messana
ReplyDeleteRadhika, I completely agree with your statements on the problem of hunger in India. The main problem is that the government is not helping the people to afford to put bread on the table. Also, the Indian government has been unable to support their public distribution policies for the really poor. The fact that 10,668 tons of grains just rotted away in FCI(Food Corporation of India) storage facilities demonstrates the government's inability to support its own policies (Trishla). However, I must point out the problems of hunger in comparison to the women of India as a social factor. Indian women are considered inferior to men in Indian society, and this results in women getting less food during distribution, "even when they are pregnant, giving birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle..." (Coonrad)
Works Cited
Gupta, Trishla. "Hunger in India — A National Shame." Youth Ki Awaaz: Mouthpiece for the Youth. 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. .
Coonrad, Carol S. "Chronic Hunger and the Status of Women in India." Empowering Women and Men to End Their Own Hunger. June 1998. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. .
Stacy, I believe that your point on addressing the social issue is very good. The caste system, dominant still in villages all over India, continually deprives members of the lower class from the health and nutrition necessary for survival.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, your further input on the political corruption on India cements the idea that political corruption is the primary reason for the mass amount of starvation in India. Historically, India has been decentralized in authority and shifted under various authorities of power. This continual change in power has left the Indian government in its infancy, still exploring new ways to become a completely centralized authority. Your input from the Global Issues Report also adds to the idea that India keeps attempting to westernize itself, and neglects to focus on the agricultural sector of its people.
Mike, it's especially interesting to see that the Indian government just let all that grain rot away. It is evident that they lack a proper distribution policy, a result of a lack of action by the government. Political neglect is an underlying theme as the cause of hunger in India. Your point on the social aspect is also interesting, especially since women in India do make up a majority of the hungry people in India and coverage on pregnant Indian women in research studies remains minimal (BBC News).
AS I ASKED IN CLASS EARLIER TODAY, PLEASE MAKE ME A CONTRIBUTOR TO YOUR BLOG SO THAT I MAY POST THE RELIGION QUESTION. YOU REQUESTED IT EARLY, AND NOW I CANNOT DO IT, BECAUSE I NEED TO DO IT IN A TRADITIONAL POST. jwilson@paramus-catholic.org
ReplyDeleteThe primary question yet to be resolved for political governance in India is whether market economy is good and preferable over the social economy since both are in conflict with each other. Strong and mature political mindset is essential to solve the conflict.
ReplyDelete