South Korindia?

It looks like India and South Korea are close to making some headway on agreements, the topics of which range from aviation and shipping to investments, among plenty of other things. Let’s see what comes of it. Check it out here.

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Social Consciousness and Vogue India’s gross miscalculation

want to dress these kids in alexander mcqueen?

There’s something about this notion of globalization that makes people seem to think that we are not all responsible, as citizens of a nation and of the world, for being socially conscious and aware. Many seem to be blindsided by the rapid progression and economic boom hitting the world, and India in particular, to the point of truly becoming blind to what is appropriate and what is utterly unacceptable.

A friend in London brought this to my attention, and frankly I thought it was a joke.

For those of you who haven’t seen this particular issue of Vogue, take a look at the NYT article linked to in the previous paragraph. When challenged by the NYT, Vogue India editor Priya Tanna told folks to lighten up. She states herself that fashion magazines are not where one should look for social consciousness and “saving the world.” Amen, sister. But here’s the thing. Where do we draw the line? Whom are we allowed to exploit? Who is allowed to do the exploiting? The men and women depicted in the shoot are not referred to by name, merely as “lady” or “man”. I appreciate the egalitarianism, but is there anyone who truly believes that given the choice, if woman is living in a leaky hut with her husband who earns barely enough money to feed her 4 children and not enough to send them to school so only the boys go to school and they eat meat once in two weeks, after saving up, and they all share one 3 rupee cup of tea because they can’t afford milk for the children, she is going to save up for maybe 4 years and buy a Prada handbag? If you’re out there, you lofty dreamer, get in touch with me because I’d love to pick your brain.

I understand the thematic approach: anyone can be pretty, you can aspire to these great heights if you really want to, blah di blah, et cetera, et cetera. But do you mean to tell me that these people that are in these pictures have heard of Gucci? That the children write to St. Nick asking for a Versace backpack for Christmas? I don’t think anyone can be so deluded as to think that the ‘lady’ and ‘man’ and ‘boy’ depicted in the shoot know anything about haute couture. And if they don’t, then why are they the subject of the pictures?

Frankly, I am personally appalled that an Indian can subscribe so shamelessly to a neo-colonial mindset. So now that we don’t have foreign invaders in our country anymore (well we do, but more on that in a moment), it’s time for us to behave imperially towards fellow citizens? Beautiful, Priya Tanna. Bravo. Maybe next time we can show an auto-walla driving a Jag. If Louis Vuitton and Hermes are no longer a rich man’s privilege, maybe Bentley and Ferrari aren’t either. Maybe those of us who still believe that poverty may be holding some people back are living in the history books. Maybe we should open our eyes and look around.

The sad truth is, however, that enough of us are NOT looking at our surroundings with as close an eye as we should. The human beings around us have become part of the landscape. We see them but we do not notice them. They have become important to us purely in a utilitarian manner. I wonder many things about the people chosen to become models for this shoot. How were they compensated? Did anyone really learn their names? Were they treated like other models? Or no because they were amateurs? Or even – maybe – because they were poor? (gasp!)

I think it’s important that we as the residents and citizens of India – nay, the world – owe it to ourselves and our fellow citizens to pay attention to what’s going on. And even more importantly, the media has a strong role to play in this. The first thought I had when I saw the NYT article (after my Britain-dwelling friend sent it to me) was ‘why haven’t I already heard of this, living in India?’ And that is the first thing that is wrong with the Indian social consciousness. If you pick up any well-regarded Indian newspaper, you will see one page devoted to local news, one page for national news, and one page for international news. There’s maybe one page for general human interest stories, one page for business, and approximately 10 pages for celeb gossip and of course there’s the supplement with the society pages and full body shots of hot, famous women. I happen to glance at the papers almost everyday, and I’m online quite a bit. But neither me, nor any of my friends and colleagues who do read the newspaper everyday, had heard anything about it. Why? Because the media believes – rightly – that not enough people care to make it worthwhile news.

It’s time for us to make these things worthwhile. We should know, we should make it our duty to know, what’s going on around us. If we really want to turn a blind eye to the state of affairs, then we are doomed to a very difficult life. The cotton, dye, stitching, and embroidery for the clothing we wear, the raising, growing, harvesting and transporting of the food we eat, and every other kind of handiwork we take for granted, is done by the poverty-stricken people that we so blithely dismiss. Priya Tanna and her cohorts have committed a true travesty by allowing this to happen.

Here’s what I read in The Independent:

“Leading Indian fashion designer David Abraham jumped to the magazine’s defence.

“This kind of juxtaposition is always there in India – the servant who serves a glass of wine which costs more than his monthly salary,” he said.”

True, it’s always there. And I believe we should all be doing whatever we can to narrow the gap. But fine, even if you don’t agree with my brand of egalitarianism, I don’t see the legitimacy of propagating and highlighting such juxtaposition. The tragedy of seeing a homeless man lie, sick and hungry, in front of a glamor-ridden, blindingly minimalist Marks and Spencer store never escapes me. Photographing that image highlights the juxtaposition enough for me. Capture that image, and as an artist, display the dichotomies in our society. I would gladly support that. But what is the need for creating such inequalities and then publishing them for the world to see?

It seems to be an inherent problem in the way we think. The interesting point here is that I don’t think Tanna or her colleagues ever intended to hurt, offend or harm anyone. But as individuals who have the power to reach out with a message to so many people, I think that whether or not they accept it, members of media outlets do have a social responsibility, to be at least minimally aware of injustices and ignorance that are present around them. To me it truly seems reminiscent of old-timey Indian exoticism as “captured” by the British. We should not allow ourselves to be colonialized and imperialistic within our own society. By forcing so-called signs of prosperity onto people who cannot dream of ever being in such a position, I do not think we do ourselves a favor. I do not think it is acceptable for women like Editor Priya Tanna, who should be a beautiful example of the success of the Indian woman, to degrade and exploit her fellow Indian in such a way.

Instead of declaring that fashion is no longer a rich man’s privilege, why not we take the opportunity to share with the public that education is no longer the rich man’s privilege? That is actually something to spread the message about. When India has reached a point where we can say that every person has the bare necessities, food, water, a means of sustenance, a place to live, and if they’re lucky, the chance for an education, then we can move on to bringing high fashion to the masses. Until then, let’s try and keep our priorities straight. When the last little girl has two pieces of clean, whole clothing that she can wear proudly, then let’s start thinking about teaching her fashion and style.

The hierarchical, classist ignorance shown by Vogue India and its supporters is disdainful. I urge everyone to make their views known to the editorial staff so that they think twice before making a similar gaffe in the future.

Everybody Loves a Good Drought, P. Sainath. 1996.

Since I moved to India, I’ve found that public awareness of true social conditions is sorely lacking, in the non-humanitarian circles at least. Thorough journalism and a global commitment to turning awareness into a social epidemic might do something to move us in the correct direction.

I came across a book the other day in which the author attempts to do just this, getting the word out to as many people as possible. P. Sainath, a journalist, received a grant from The Times of India to travel across the country, revealing the hidden injustices that the poorest of the poor suffer in India. He did a phenomenal job, creating a volume that anyone with any vested interest in social work in India must read. His work is investigative journalism at its best, filled with everything from statistics to case studies to thorough, incisive interviews.

The author covers a host of topics, which I’ll list here so that readers can have a better idea of what the book actually contains:

Health Care
Sainath talks about the state of rural health care and the shortage of doctors for the poor. He asks biting questions about why a poor child does not deserve the same care that a better-off child gets. Important reading for any one wanting to go into public health anywhere in the world, and especially in South Asia.

Education
The dismal state of education in India is covered here. This chapter left me feeling that a proper education is vital to the improvement of the state of affairs here in India.

Displacement
It is particularly heartbreaking to read of how adivasis (tribals) are being summarily thrown out of their homes with little to no promise of compensation. The truly dismal part of this is that their homes and villages are being used for weapon testing and target practice by the military. It is shameful and despicable that a nation can treat its own citizens like this. Of course this is not the only place in the world that this has happened, but that does not make it acceptable.

Survival Strategies
This chapter is at once uplifting and tragic, as we see what the poor of India have been doing to improve their lot in life.

Crime
This part of the book looks at what kinds of crimes have been committed against the poor and the utter, shocking, lack of response from the Indian justice system.

Water
This chapter describes the lengths many in India have to go to to find water for daily use and how dependent they are on others for their water supply.

Media
This is a particularly important and especially impressive part of the book, I feel, because Sainath takes a moment to cast a critical eye on the media and journalists, of whom he is one. He talks about how journalism takes a view that is either sympathetic to the government or speaks highly of NGO’s. He argues that neither is helping the poor. He also reveals the sheer number of NGO’s which have been accused of corruption and have embezzled funds donated to the poor.

Overall, Everybody Loves a Good Drought is a true eye-opener, in many senses, and should be required reading for anyone wanting to work for India’s poor or India’s children.  Although it is now twelve years old, I think the examples and causes delineated in the book are still 100% valid. 

I’ve given an excerpt here from the chapter on health and health care, because it particularly hit home with me. I hope that it gives you a good idea of the tone and feel of Sainath’s book.                                                        

“Tuberculosis claims over 450,000 Indian lives each year. It would be lucky to get a couple of columns in the newspapers yearly. If it does, it’s when the country’s distinguished chest physicians, some of whom treat newspaper proprietors, hold their annual congress.

Diarrhoea claims close to 1.5 million infants each year in this country, one every three minutes. The best it can get by way of space is when UNICEF’s annual “State of The World Children’s Report” is released. Then it makes an occasional bow on the centre page. Or, in one of those anguished editorials (hastily written because the one on the Stock Exchange didn’t turn up) asking: “Where Have We Gone Wrong?” After which, it can be packed away to be used in identical form the following year. If no Indian has won a beauty contest that season, it could even make the front page. This establishes that the newspaper has a caring editor, who will soon address the Rotary Club on What Can Be Done For Our Children.

Every fourteen days, over 7.5 million children below the age of five in India suffer from diarrhoea. Close to nineteen million contract acute respiratory infections including pneumonia, in the same 336 hours. Quite a lot can be done for them, but it isn’t.

In 1992, USAID gave India Rs. 12.6 billion to be spent solely on population control in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This program has serious implications. One is that hazardous contraceptives like Norplant will be pushed onto very poor rural women who have little or no access to proper health care. The same contraceptives are not in general use in any Western country.

Funds are much harder to come by for, say, water-borne diseases which account for nearly 80 percent of India’s public health problems and claim millions of lives yearly. These include diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, and infectious hepatitis. Water-related diseases, including malaria, take their toll in tens of thousands of human lives annually.

Yet every third human being in the world without safe and adequate water supply is an Indian. Every fourth child in the globe who dies of diarrheal disease is an Indian. Every third person in the world with leprosy is an Indian. Every fourth being in the planet dying of water-borne or water-related diseases is an Indian. Of the over sixteen million cases of tuberculosis that exist at any time worldwide, 12.7 million are Indian. Tens of millions of Indians suffer from malnutrition. Yet, official expenditure on nutrition is less than one percent of GNP.”

One point that particularly struck me were that only 20% of hospital beds are in rural areas, where 80% of the population lives. I have heard varying versions of this statistic, but it’s always been just as drastically disproportionate as this version makes it out to be.

One particularly biting statement Sainath makes is that the Indian government is trying the ‘trickle down theory – take away from the poor, give to the rich, see how much trickles down to the poor.’ He remarks that the result is that ‘money trickles up, malaria trickles down.’

Overall this book was probably the most well-spent few hours I’ve had in quite a while. I’d love to hear comments from those who have read the book.