A land of contrasts

One mode of transportation at Amer Fort

My first impression of India was with all my senses, sounds, smells, sights and crushing crowds. Since Taj Mahal and Jaipur have always intrigued me, I signed up for a tour titled "Trains, Palaces and Elephants." The title of the tour should have included "Airplanes, Buses, Jeeps and Rickshaws.

The fact that we were to fly on non-direct or connecting flights and had to travel for hours by motor coach occurred to me, but I thought with the help of a knowledgeable tour guide, those hours would be filled with information.  Not so. Our guide was tight lipped and hard to understand, despite spending time in the UK. Even though it was not on our itinerary, he kept taking us to co-called "artisan centers" where I suspect he might get a cut from our purchases. Later, when we complained to our field office, we were told India is notorious for this.

We often hear of India's stellar economic growth, and the country has developed dramatically in the last two decades. But age-old social problems persist. 

The castesystem segregates the population according to skin color, income and religion. Arranged marriages are the norm. India's record on women's rights is poor, even though some females hold government offices, work as doctors, engineers and more. India has made headlines lately over the "epidemic' of gang rapes and the number of female newborns abandoned in garbage cans and roadside stands. There were four reported cases in Jaipur alone within two weeks.

The Times of India on Friday, March 8, had an editorial called "Living Longer." Studies  show India lags even its South Asian neighbors in key health parameters.  Life expectancy, at 65.2 years, is lower than other developing countries such as Brazil and China. It is even lower than Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Pre-term birth complications, respiratory diseases, intestinal problems and heart disease are the biggest cause of early death. Contributing to bad health were dietary risks, household air pollution and smoking. 

"Though the 4.1 % of GDP used for healthcare is higher than most of its neighbors, the share of government spending is the lowest in the region," says the editorial. "Consequently health infrastructure, including the availability of doctors and nurses, remains inadequate.  Matters are made worse by polluted water, poor sewage facilities and the widespread of use of firewood stoves, all of which contribute to ill health. Bad dietary habits, which typically ignore the needs of pregnant women and the young, cause further damage." 

Diseases, rarely found in other parts of the world, such as dengue fever, malaria (both carried by mosquitoes), leprosy and tetanus are prevalent in India.