Project Mumbai Makeover: Casualties of Development

The visceral reactions to the author`s rather obvious left-leaning tendencies are only to be expected. There is enough of a case to be made that Nehruvian socialism destroyed whatever chances India had of making it as a great country in the first 50 years after independence. Whatever we do now is too little too late.

But all that`s been eloquently put forward by Gurucharan Das and others of his ilk and a few posters on chowk are not going to say anything earthshakingly new or different.

So, move on then to the actual article and what it talks about- how progress affects the poor. Answer- badly. Come to think of it, practically everything affects the poor negatively. So, at the end of the day, if a certain move is going to benefit more people than it harms, why not go ahead with it?

There are people- good people, people who work hard for a living and a better life for themselves and the generations to come- who live in Mumbai, and would like to be proud of Mumbai and have a stake in its development. They`d like to think that someday, not in their lifetime sure, but in the distant future, amchi Mumbai will be spoken of in the same breath as London, New York and Paris, instead of being the dirty, smelly, crimeridden hellhole it is widely perceived as today, not without good reason.

There is nothing elitist in hoping that someday soon Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport will be clean, efficient and well-connected, none of which it is today. Just because we are a poor country, does that mean we do not deserve the best? It`s precisely that kind of defeatist thinking that stops us subcontinentals from delivering up to our potential. Maybe we can choose to move out of that mindset.

Having said that, indulging in our favourite pastime of ``labeling`` is helping nobody. The author, whatever her motives may be, makes valid points about slum relocation and a neta-builder nexus that is eating away at available resources. It serves nobody`s interests to have a tonload of poor people, worse still that they`ve been recently deprived of the roofs over their heads, which will only make them more dangerous. ``Firm but humane`` seems to be the right way out. One hopes we can someday achieve that.

Dalit is from India definitely. An enlightened progressive intellectual leftist , no doubt. These people hate India more than even the Pakis. And lot of such people are making their presence felt in this particular thread.

Kunal...Kerala has 100% literacy , 90% sick industries and 80% unemployment. Most Keralites migrate out of Kerala to other parts of India or abroad to earn their livelihod for they will starve to death in their enlightened communist state. Jai Communism !!

Re: # 45

I think we indians should be magnanimous and allow the paks a little leeway in the `india bashing` game , as they have been at the receiving end lately, terrorism, sectarian violence, internicine quarrels, a failed economy(9.8 % inflation), false projections of growth rates and growth targets(KSI market correction of over 3000 points), failed telecom strategy, faulty infrastructure et alia notwithstanding.Let us turn the other cheek.Ofcourse, `dalit` is a Pak.No second thoughts.

#42 by kunal on July 11, 2005 4:54pm PT

[Satyamvada,

Your ridiculous reply doesn`t merit a response, but please check your facts before you ride on a frenzy of imaginary anti-communist, anti-socialist nonsense. For your information, Kerala has the best education(100%literacy), best health care system in the country. And yeah, just check the achievements of Cuba and their progress before enslaving yourself to this mainstream media fed diet of ``Jai Capitalism``. ]


There is a saying ``When you are young, it`s only natural to be a Communist, and when you grow up, it`s very natural not to be a Communist`` (paraphrasing)

What Communists don`t realize is that non-Communists are not necessarily bad or intellectually stunted. We all understand about the ``equal opportunity`` ideal. But it`s an unrealizable goal, and has to be always enforced by dictatorship. Wheras market Capitalism tempered with some enlightened humanism seems to work best. Because it can happily co-exist with human nature.

Grow up.

Re: #44 by Dalit

Well good, don`t ever set foot on Indian soil. Or watch Indian movies. Or listen to Indian music.

I always suspected this Dalit guy to be a Paki/Muslim hiding behind a ``Dalit`` tag.

Is it India or Slum-dia?

Seventy percent of all city dwellers live slums.
barely 10 per cent of all households have life insurance cover
Only 2 per cent of households have credit cards.
the refrigerator, exists in only a sixth of all households in the country
(just as it is completely abnormal to speak and write in English -- only about 6 per cent do that).
half of all the TV sets sold in the country are either black and white, or small (i.e. 14-inch)
According to a UN Habitat report, one in every three human beings could live in a slum by 2030. Many of them Indians.

Number of homes damaged by the tsunami in Nagapattinam: 30,300. Number of homes destroyed by the Congress-NCP Government in Mumbai: 84,000

The war between have-nots and have sh1t….

http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/jul/02ninan.htm
http://www.counterpunch.org/sainath02052005.html

Enjoy…

“It is a shock to discover, for instance, that despite the evident emergence of a strong middle class, barely 10 per cent of all households have life insurance cover-- And medical insurance is available for barely 1 per cent of all households!
There is worse to come. Only 2 per cent of households have credit cards (so much, then, for the vaunted advent of plastic money). Even that basic item in a middle-class household, the refrigerator, exists in only a sixth of all households in the country (probably because only a third of rural households have a domestic electric connection!).
It might be as much of a surprise to know that half of all the TV sets sold in the country are either black and white, or small (i.e. 14-inch) colour sets.
The only items of truly mass consumption remain daily consumables like cooking oil and washing and toilet soaps (which should really be classified as necessities, not options), followed some way behind by shampoos.
Among consumer durables, the ones used most often are not the stuff of contemporary middle class legend, and are either table/ceiling fans or bicycles. The first category sells about 37 million each year, the second about 25 million.
In other words, what appears a normal lifestyle to the average city youngster working in an office is completely abnormal for the majority, in both towns and cities (just as it is completely abnormal to speak and write in English -- only about 6 per cent do that).”

Why do they hate poor in India? all are dirt poor anyway!
Poverty Republic of India!

Re: # 42
Kunal
Agreed that kerala has the best social indicators among all the states in India. But I doubt, if the commie rule can be given credit for that. There are other social factors like the huge christian presence and the remittances from gulf that helped the state. Look at the economy from industrial development point of view. It is a disaster. Same is the situation in WB.
As long as these two states keep sending commies to the parliament, the economic development of the country will be slow.

Satyamvada,

Your ridiculous reply doesn`t merit a response, but please check your facts before you ride on a frenzy of imaginary anti-communist, anti-socialist nonsense. For your information, Kerala has the best education(100%literacy), best health care system in the country. And yeah, just check the achievements of Cuba and their progress before enslaving yourself to this mainstream media fed diet of ``Jai Capitalism``.

jbhullar,

All the commie nonsense has been tried !! (look at that pit called West Bengal ,
look at that communal hell hole called Kerala - where every politicial action is
based on religion, and people fleeing to other states at the first chance)
Look at nationalization of banks, rent-control, production-control, subsidizing of
public sector.
Corruption is ``because of too much Govt`` and lack of competition.

Give people decent property rights and there will be enough supply of decent housing
for everyone. When Govt involves itself and tries to ``distribute`` - that is the recipe for
corruption.

People like yourself (bhullar and shivali) are the worst kind of hypocrites. You are
unwilling to give up your own property rights, but want `others` to give their own property
up. Let us see you give up your own sites for other squatters before you lecture
others.

BTW, do read up on what Hernando De Soto writes on property rights. Do not revel
in your ignorance.

Re: # 21
...abay tujhe tou raat ko khwaab mein bhi isi ke agents nazar aatay hongay...;)

Re: # 31

``Do you know of any politicians in India who don`t aspire to higher political posts? What`s your point? ``

given a set of circumstances, even mulayam can become p.m. He did become defence minister not so long back. We had other socialists like v.p.singh as prime minister too who let the country burn for social causes.

``so don’t worry about refreshing my memory. ``

i was refreshing your memories about mulayam (as a socialist) not commies.

Mike

What non-rotten country do you come from?

You sound like a mixed-breed mutt without a sense of self so you try to lift your self-esteem by smearing others.

A more precise assessment would be ,

Commie = brain-dead if not evil

#34 by kunal on July 11, 2005 2:02pm PT



Any attempt to be critical of the system in India is always discarded as ``commie or paki``.


the system in India is commie...Anyone who criticizes the system is anti-commie...The shivaji airport leading to the shivaji highway leading to the shivaji chowk at shivaji park are all dumps because of the prevailing commie system.....

Let`s face it, democracy without free markets is simply communism with elections..in that respect, India is communist....socialism is sooo 20th century..

Let me sum all this up for you in terms that even you will understand....

Commie = YOU
Anti-commie = person who is against the commie system i.e. ME

The system in India is commie...atleast was so for 45 years. Even today the commie stink remains. No wonder India is such a rotten country and so many Indians are poor. Everything the comminists do or say is blatantly anti-India.

And counterpunch is a silly leftist website.