[QUOTE=Surya Deva;51157]Neitzche, the poverty in India is there on open display for everybody to see. I think you might be in denial how poor India is overall. You are not going to convince me or anybody really that most Indians are not dirt poor. There was not a single place I went to in India, where I did not find rampant poverty. Yes, I did find pockets of wealth, but right next door to the pockets of wealth, there was seas of poverty.
The reason I bought up the multiplex vs single screen and Mcdonlads vs street vendor example was to show the difference in living standards between those living in the West and those living in India. In the West, almost everybody in the country can afford to regularly go to multiplexes, shop at malls, eat out at fast food chains, go to bars and clubs. In India, about 70% of the population cannot afford it. Ironically, what wealthy middle class Indians enjoy in India, is what the average working class enjoys here.
In India eating out at Mcdonalds/pizza hut/sub way etc, going to TFI fridays etc is a sign of prestige. You can see those wealthy Indians prance about like gods, completely oblivious to the seas of poverty that surround them. Their class can be recognised by their Western clothes, appreciation for MTV and Hollywood and their English speaking. I recall when I walkled into an Indian mall in Delhi, everybody was walking around speaking English and even the shop announcements were being given in English. What was most shameful was to see these wealthy Indians eating out in Mcdonalds at 8pm with their rich and spoilt kids running around.
India is going to become just as debauched as the West is, if not more. It is already apparent in the lifestyle and behaviour of the middle class. Now you find that sex before marriage is on a rise amongst the next generation Indians, the local media often includes articles on sex and lifestyle(like the West) and Indian girls are often found drunk and collapsed in the big cities like Delhi and Mumbai(like the West) So if by 2020 50% of Indians are going to be middle class, you can only expect this behaviour to become even more and more common.
India is on track for becoming America no 2. It is nowhere near at this point to returning to its spirituality. America, on the other hand, is on its way to becoming India no 2(prior to the colonization) You are wasting your breath and energy on India, Indians want what America has and America wants what India has. If there is any place in the world where spirituality will be embraced it is in America - the West.
You seem to be completely out of touch with the new age movement and how much it has proliferated and penetrated into Western society. I have been involved in it, and still am to an extent through my association with the Theosophical society and Gnostic groups. Practically all my friends are new-agers. My aim is to abridge the Western new-age movement with Hinduism and bring the torch of Hinduism into the West, so that eventually the torch of Hinduism become globalized. This is what our risis said as well, “Make the whole world Aryan” You are too blinded by nationalism to heed their request. But you are wasting your time with India, trust me. Indians WANT capitalism and it is clear you do too.[/QUOTE]
Yes. I disagree with the statistic but not on the fact that India is still massively poor.
Wait, thats isn’t even what I want convince someone of. I just want to point out that though there is rampant poverty, it is declining fast and isn’t as bad anymore as the West has exaggerated it to be.
Again, can I see where you found the statistic? Yes, I agree with you though.
That’s saddening. But can you tell me where in India you visit? I want to know. It definitely seems like somewhere in Northern India. In Hyderabad, the conditions aren’t nearly as bad. I see pictures of Hyderabad several times throughout the year and input from creditable sources to know that this is the case.
Is that so? What scope of experience do you have which indicates that is the case with middle class Indian girls? As for sexuality, I can certainly believe that. Then again, in America, it isn’t unusual to find the typical porno magazine stuffed under any kid’s bed. I remember a time when I was playing wall-ball with some of my friends by using the door the of the garbage can as the wall. Eventually, the ball landed in the trash can and some of my friends went to get it. They ended up staying there for so long that the rest of us went to see what was going on. Let’s just say that I glanced and beat it out of there. Luckily they were too busy gawking at the dirty material to notice and call me “gay” (circumstances like these are where my confusion about the term arose). Nowadays, you find gigabytes of porn in the average American kid’s computer. I had to distance myself from so many friends of their dirty minded nature, that I was lonely for a while.
The same was said of America back in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. And change did come not only because of the “magic wonders” of capitalism but because individuals cared for the welfare of their country and took the initiative to better the lives of the unfortunate. You, on the other hand, have simply seen the worst of the country and based your opinion of it on that. I can relate. I too have seen and experienced the worst of America to the point where I could care less about the welfare of this damned nation. You can scorn my decision for trying to use my education to better my country but I am sticking by it. That’s final.
You know, India didn’t become independent because Western educated Indians despaired about the future of India. If you are so glum about India’s prospects at its zenith in these times, then I can’t imagine what you would have thought about India in pre-Independence times.
I think you are as foolish for siding with America as you say I am for siding with India. America is failing and dying. It will never again be what it once was. The conservative parties are on the rise and the people are becoming increasingly ignorant, chauvinistic, and nationalistic. Recently, the Republican party wiped the floor in the House of Representatives to the point where all Washington can do is debate and not act. Anything the Democrats want is getting vetoed. The intellectuals here have much the same sentiments as I do, in that they despair about the future of this country. For example, things like this this are what is on our news channels nowadays.
Because it is nowhere to be found here, at least on levels deeper than the nominal. For heaven’s sake, no one here even knows what “New Age” is! Trust me, if there was such a society, I would have immediately joined it and FAST.
And you are blinded highly idealistic goals. Of course, you could say the same of me. But I have lived in the U.S for 11 years and my parents have been here for 30+. They have lived ALL over the U.S. Despite that, my parents still have a VERY low opinion of most Americans. They frequently tell me of how much shit they received while living here, which includes, but isn’t limited to, racism, ignorance, threats, and etc. I of course, can tell you much the same. Even here in the upper levels of society, the people are incredibly ignorant. They are blinded by far too much intellectual idealism and dogmatism to learn anything; that I can guarantee you. Even in my AP World history course, I could remember my teacher scorning the (lack of) history of India and Hinduism. I remember even my best “friends’” constant scorn of Hinduism and India, friends who have received national recognition in many areas. You are wasting your time with America. Trust me. America LOVES itself too much to care about anything else.
