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Introduction
The notion I am going to deal with is about « The Idea of Progress ». The Idea of Progress can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change (technical, scientific or social advance) which contribute to making the world a better place.
India, which had been a British colony, is now the largest democracy in the world.
After a long period of poverty and financial difficulties, India is now growing. With around 1,2 billion inhabitants, which represent 17,5% of the world's population, this country is the second most populated country. India is also the seventh largest country in the world. This booming / thriving country rich of diversities, hasn't developed the same way everywhere in its territory. Traditions still remain in India, the world's largest democracy, which had to cope to the inequalities and try to
reduce them.
Has progress been enough important and significant in India to considerate that it is now a contemporary and progressive country like others developed states ? Is today's India a modern country ?
We are going to show that even if India has been technical, economic, political and social progress, this country of diversities, contrasts and inequalities still can make progress and improve in some ways. In the first part, I will come back to Indian History, from India was a
British colony to the largest democracy in the world, then, I will talk about different aspects which show that India is a modern city which has made advances in several field, to last with the progress which still can be made.
Part 2 : India is a modern city which has been made advances in economic, political and social aspect
1. The technical and economical advances
Even though a lot of Indians are very poor, India's economy is currently changing
rapidly.
a. The booming Indian economy
India has a very important Gross Domestic Product GDP (Produit Intérieur Brut PIB) : about 7 or 8 percent per year. The high-tech cities grow everywhere in the country. These high-tech cities such as Bangalore look like they are from science-fiction. India is at the center of the computing communication revolution. Graduates are confident in the development of the communication technology sector and want to work in these cities. India is currently
a
country with great engineering and managerial talent with a highly
entrepreneurial spirit among its citizens. It's a country on the march because
its economy keeps transforming thanks to the rapid development of high-tech
sector.
b. Mumbai, a megacity, sign of the modernity and booming economy in India
Mumbai is a megacity in the same way as Tokyo, Beijing, New York... , with over 10 million inhabitants. In this thriving Indian city, there are international financial center
and marketplaces, which participate to the increasing economical Indian development. Mumbai can be also considerate as a multicultural city, with diversity of languages and culture.
c. The microcredit system
In India, the concept of microcredit seems to have changing the country. This system consists in granting small loans to people who can't get loans from traditional banks because they are too poor. Microcredit has enabled many Indian people, even the women and the Dalits (or the
Untouchables), to start their own enterprise. It contributes to Indian economic expansion and has even been helped some poor people and their families to extricate themselves from poverty.
2. The political and social advances
a. The discriminations against Dalits had been becoming progressively less important
The India society is divided : the various group are rigidly defined and one's member ship is determined by birth and hereditary. Even if discrimination against Dalits still exists
in rural areas, it has largely disappeared in urban area, it has largely disappeared in urban area. The Dalits situation has a little bit improved since the XX century. Indeed, the Indian constitution, the article 15 affirms that all Indian citizens had to be on an equal footing in front of the law and the article 16 had abolished the untouchability.
b. Poverty seems to have been progressively falling
The poverty seems to have diminished progressively in India. Indeed, in 1981, 60% Indian
people were living below 1 € a day whereas around 20 years later, in 2005, they were 42%. Moreover, a very strong middle class is emerging in India, which is a sign of improvement of Indian livings conditions.
c. The steps of the government to stop gendercide
India is the second most populated country, with around 1,2 billion inhabitants which represent 17,5% of the world's population. However, India is becoming an increasingly male-dominated society. Indeed, India's 2011 census show a
gender imbalance as there are only 940 girls for every 1 000 boys. In the Indian dowry tradition, the bride's family must give a dowry to the future husband's family on marriage in order to compensate the cost of the education of their son. This tradition which still remains in this country could explain, in part, why many parents are eager to have sons than daughters. Consequently, Indian families are desperate for sons as they are financially far more attractive and each family wants to have a
son at least, because he could look after the family business, who can look after the family name and who can look after the parents when they are old. This problematic situation resulting in a rising number of gender selected abortions.
In India, the government had been trying to stop gendercide. Sex-selective abortions and finding out the sex of a baby before birth had been becoming illegal.
Part 3 : The improvements which still are possible
1. The
economical improvements which still are possible
2. The political and social improvements which still are possible
a. The caste system in India
Although the caste system has been officially abolished and even if the government implements affirmative action policies toward the Dalits (or the Untouchables), there are still many inequalities between the different groups and discriminatory traditions against Dalits (or Untouchables) still prevail. Today, less than a third of the 170 million
Dalits in India are literate and well over 40 percent survive on less than 2 dollars a day. It's one of the most prominent form of discrimination among citizens in India.
b. The poverty
Today, the World Bank estimates that about 800 million people, two-thirds (2/3) of India's population live below two dollar a day and, more than half of them over 400 million people survive on less than one dollar a day. In 2005, 42% Indian people were living below 1 € a day. Poverty in India is still very
high and concerning.
c. The literacy rate
In India, the literacy rate is around 74%, which represent almost three quarters (¾) or three fourth (¾) of the inhabitants. It means that more than 25% or a quarter (¼) of the population doesn't know reading and writing in this country. As for the birth rate, the Indian literacy rate is not the same for men and women. Indeed, it is higher for male (around 83 %) whereas it is lower for females (65 %), because the access to studies is harder to
Indian women than to the men. In India today, less than a third of the 170 million Dalits are literate.
The illiteracy rate in India is high, compared to others developed countries like France where only 1% of the population is illiterate. According to the areas, the literacy rate can be different. In some poor cities like Patna, located in eastern India, the illiteracy rate is high because of the dearth of teachers and the lack of proper infrastructures. As a result, the literacy rate and
the access to studies in India could depend on the gender, the caste and the area where people live.
d. The women's rights and livings condition
Indian women are often underprivileged or disadvantaged and they don't play an important role in society.
Even if the government has taken many steps to stop the practice of gendercide, it is deeply rooted in Indian society. The two-child policy encouraged by India family planning program, which the aim is to control birth rate, had the
consequence to reinforce the sex-selective abortions and the gender imbalance.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can say India is a booming (or a thriving) country which had made a lot of progress in several field in economy, politics and social aspects. India can be considerate, in a certain sense, like an advanced and modern country. However, India still has some way to go before all these people are on an equal footing, even if the government takes more steps
to reduce inequalities like to stop the practice of gendercide. Despite the fact that the cast system is now officially forbidden, inequalities and discriminatory traditions still prevail. Socials gaps between Indian inhabitants, especially between poor and wealthy people and between men and women are also still very important. That is why we could say that India is not a modern country under all aspects, because inequalities and socials gaps still remain very important, especially in the social
field.