India Arriving--Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Rural India

This chapter was very eye opening for me. I am continually confused it seems by India. From one chapter I will come away with the reading and think in lines of poverty, "India isn't that bad off...they are making major improvements." As soon as I think this I read another chapter and understand the dire situations and poverty that exists in this country. I am becoming more and more aware that there is no black and white answer or way to describe this place. It is very complex. India isn't just poor. It isn't just religious. It isn't just service oriented. One word or a sentence can not be used to describe this vast and changing place. This chapter focused on rural India. While I enjoyed reading the chapter, the majority of what the author discussed was in the form of examples. This isn't really easy to "blog" about without restating exactly what the author had to say. The author did provide some statistics and information that I found to be extremely interesting and awakening.

When it comes to rural India, 1/3 of Indian children are born malnourished. Fifty percent of the rural children below five years of age are underweight. The poorest 1/3 of the population, mostly rural, consumes about 1,600 calories per day from various sources. The general undernourishment is nearly twice as high in India as it is in sub-Saharan Africa! This was particularly shocking to me. I mean, clearly India is poor, but when people tend to mention the poorest/most malnourished people I honestly think of Africa first. While this may hold true in some senses, India is still very poverty stricken, especially among the rural people. It is easy to get caught up in understanding the economics and how businesses and such work, but most of this occurs within the city limits. Outside the city, in the rural areas, people are living in dire situations. While I might not have very much to "blog" on in regard to this chapter, I feel like I learned a lot from this chapter and have come away again with a deeper understanding of the Indian people and the complex society it truly is.