The Brotherhood

Sometimes I go walking in "town park," Faridabad's central park, with Rakesh and two of his buddies, Nagesh and Huda sahib. Being a walk, it is a perfect time to talk about the previous days happenings and let loose of any stress that may still be bottled up inside. For me, the topic often swerves to things Indian and the experiences that I have yet to untangle.

One day, as we were done with our walk and in the car for the return ride back home, the conversation turned in the direction I wanted. I believe I started out by complaining about the whole tardiness thing. Perhaps it was tardiness, perhaps it was corruption, it should have been corruption because the explanation that followed was eye-opening enough to warrant a equally lofty complexity, but in all honestly, there is not much one needs to say to inspire Indians, or probably all South Asians, to pour out their opinion on you. Nagesh is no exception, and in providing his succint and clear explanation of all that was puzzling to me about India, he secured my enlightenment not far from being obtained. He said,

"See, Rishi - Indian people don't care about the law. We are not western, we are a brotherhood. If my friend is in trouble, and he needs my help, I will help him, even if it against the law, because the law is not more important than friendship." His point, Indians are not western, they are a brotherhood. They do not have the same sense of law, the sense that an ideal can reign more supreme than friendships, your family, and perhaps even more supreme than God.

Being a westerner myself, and a liberal one that is very deeply steeped in the ideals of fairness and the scales of justice, it was quite difficult to wrap my mind around that concept, no, not difficult to comprehend it, but difficult to accept it, my gut reaction was - "How can there be any fairness, anything good, without law???" It is hard to explain how deeply I believe in this, in a concept of right and wrong and a way to make peace a product of that value system, something that inevitably, is culturally based. But I knew it was time to listen, I knew that in my reaction, though I could convince myself of otherwise if I really tried, I would be missing something essential and would always remain far from my goal of really understanding Indian people and their culture.

Rakesh immediately agreed with Nagesh's statement, his jolly manners and consistent doses of warm-heartedness throughout my stay are testament to it's truth. But this concept, hah, a concept - no, this feeling runs deep. Nagesh mentioned it two weeks ago, but reading E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India," and looking back on my 5 visits to India and my experiences here, I can only agree with it more and more. In fact, it's like - excuse the crude simily, but it's like gravity, unseen when looking at the world, but completely necessary for holding everthing together, and essential for the planets steady rotation, not moving forward, not moving backwards, but always moving, keeping everything together in a very fine balance, to quote Rohinton Mistry. The brotherhood is to modern India what gravity is to the solar system.

I believe, if an Indian has a choice between leaving a friend rudely or being late for an appointment, they will be late for the appointment. I also believe, that though I have to wait for the public servant who is supposed to be...serving me, for example, at the police station - yes, though I have to wait for him to finish his impromptu chai time, he actually means me no harm, in fact, for him, it is the only proper thing to do, not only for his own heatlh but for his own sanity. For one must understand, the hustle and bustle of ricksha pulling, bargaining, and building houses must not be an overly stressful one, but one taken in ease, and taken in part of the flow that keeps the universe of India moving, moving, and moving.

I commented of course, I had to, being who I am, and I had to say the words, I tried not to, but I had to, absolutely had to..."What about...JUSTICE." Luckily for me, Nagesh is a sensitive man.

He replied that Indians are happy. I never would have thought so, how can people who have to bargain daily, ride through dirty pot holed roads where the oppressive heat mixes and churns the roads dust with the sweat on your skin into a blackish goo, and some people live in plastic shacks with their children a black string for clothes - how can they be happy? I didn't say all this, but with my presence in the car, he might have permitted himself to take the foreigners eye, and percieive that perhaps things didn't look so happy to an outsider. He acknowledged my non-statement, and only replied, "Well, I've never visited a foreign country, so I can't compare with other countries like you can."

With that, since the car had stopped in front of my house, we shook hands, smiled, and parted.

E.M. Forster is an amazing man. I will do justice to his insight by instead of paraphrasing, directly quoting from "A Passage to India" You can't take Forster's profound understanding of India through his novel without reading the whole thing, but I have found a passage which works a bit. The novel takes place in the early 1900s, and this section is about Adela, a young woman from England who has come to see India, and has recently hurt an Indian, and wants to write an apology letter to him. Another fact which might help in understanding the passage is that Britain often said "Indians need the British, for the administration of law and order" in order to excuse their imperialism.

He replied: 'Our letter is a failure for a simple reason which we had better face: you have no real affection for Aziz, or Indians generally.' She assented. 'The first time I saw you, you were wanting to see India, not Indians, and it occurred to me: Ah, that won't take us far. Indians know whether they are liked or not - they cannot be fooled here. Justice never satisfies them, and that is why the British Empire rests on sand.' (258, 2000)

Forster was incredible, he understood people and their emotions, their spirits, and he was incredibly, incredibly non-racist in a time of racism. It's amazing how a man can be so insightful out of choice, see so fairly and impartially, which is apparent if you read his novels and his descriptions of his characters. He does not see impartially in the way that one views people impartially before the law, but the viewed the human spirit impartially, equally, which is trying, and much more loving. More from Forster, in response to Adela's behaviour, not her letter but another act:

"For her behavior rested on cold justice and honesty; she had felt, while she recanted, no passion or love for those whom she had wronged. Truth is not truth in that exacting land unless there go with it kindness and more kindness and kindness again, unless the Word that was with God is also God. And the girl's sacrifice - so creditable according to Western notions - was rightly rejected, because, though it came from her heart, it did not include her heart. A few garlands from students was all that India ever gave her in return." (245, 2000)

You must visit India and read this book to realize the lucidity and understanding in Forster's words. He was spiritually beyond his time.

I will end with a little bit about what I got from the book, according to my own travels and my own frustrations in trying to understand people and cultures that are different from mine. Forster never sought out what was right or wrong about India, indeed, he did not see what was right or wrong about people, but described them with all their well intentions, and with all their hypocrisy, and with all that which leads them to good and all that which leads them to bad. What I have ultimately taken from the novel is that all human beings are indeed imperfect, and an understanding of that is the only thing that will let you into other people's hearts and trust. The world is not perfect, but as long as there is the brotherhood, or love, it keeps on and will keep on moving forward.

I am alive, religion, poverty, and on the importance of forming queues (God I sound like Oscar Wilde)

Sorry, 1, for not updating, and 2, for not updating after the blasts in Delhi.

A long post. Mostly because it's been 3 weeks, and there are things to write about every day, and I haven't been writing. Why, because I'm wack. I will be more consistent. I have conveniently organized this post into three parts, if you want to read about the recent religious violence in India, please read part 1. If you want to read about the headline that 1/3 of the worlds poor are Indian, skip down to part 2. And if you just want to see how I'm doing, skip down to part 3. I will update the blog more often, cuz these parts really should have been different posts. I wil also bring my camera to the internet cafe, so I can include some visuals!


Part 1


It's actually quite interesting. I'm not going to blog too much about it but while thinking and believing that India was a diverse democracy where most people live in peace, I have been rocked by the violence that has occurred within a month of my arrival. 1st, were erupting riots in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been a long standing problem but which doesn't seem to have tempered as much as I thought, 2nd, were riots that erupted in Orissa, a state in the east of India, where there were mass murderings of Christians and burning downs of churches and houses, and third, were these bombs planted by terrorists in the garbage cans of Delhi. It's amazing, and I can't quite believe it.

In Orissa, a leader of a right wing Hindu organization was killed, which led to escalating violence by the Hindus who have been resentful of the Christian missionaries who have converted the population in Kandhamal, a largely tribal district in the state. The police claim that it is Maoist rebels which killed the leader, the Hindu "terrorists" (they have not been called that by the media but I see no reason not to) think it was the Christians.

The bombs in Delhi were claimed by a Muslim terrorist organization. They killed completely innocent people, something which I just can't see how would help any cause.

And the fighting in Jammu and Kashmir goes back to age old land debates, and once again, is religously fervored.

So what's going on?

I'm surprised, I have never thought too much about it, thought the news certainly reached me in America (I got cut off from the rest of the world in terms of news while living in Japan, my own fault). But being American, I've thought a lot about racial tension because, hey, that's what we are known with dealing with. That's the diversity that we have.

So what is going on? My friend Rakesh, who has basically been taking care of me since I have been here (photos coming soon), and I were chilling in front of a ricksha drivers house, or I should say a ricksha driver's room in an unused dilapidated store where the stores shutter was held up by a steel pot - when a jolly, loud, and hilarious Indian Muslim with a lazy eye called him out and asked him where the hell Rakesh has been for all his life - or at least the last few months. We were soon sipping tea and sitting down in front of his shop, which is basically a refrigerator in which he keeps all of his carpentry tools, obviously the refrigerator is no longer plugged in, but the water bottles are still kept under the hammers. He was Indian, completely Indian, as Indian as Indian can be, definitely more Indian than me. I left thinking, hmmm, the first Muslim I met and talked to in India, but I never would have known if he wasn't wearing a white cap.

The majority of people I see are Hindus, I mean, India is basically Hindu, Muslim, Christian (2 %) and Sikh (2 %) (my father is...was Sikh, my mother is Hindu by the way, showing quite a bit of progressiveness I think by marrying outside of their religion in a country that is still very much traditional and must have been incredibly so when they were born - around Indian independence), so I assume that they are Hindu. Once in a while I pass a mosque and see many Muslims getting out of afternoon prayer, but unless they are wearing a white cap, I would have no way of knowing. Rakesh and the man didn't treat each other any differently, did not act any differently, and there certainly was no self-consciousness between them, and even though this conversation took place before the blasts, it was after recent developments in Kashmir. After the blasts, many people talked about it briefly, but life in Faridabad went on as usual.

I think like always, the actions of a few are creating problems for the rest of us. There are issues between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus who follow their religion's teachings feel very highly about it, and know that Muslims do it differently. In India, my view is that that can become a reason to be resentful. When India claimed for independence, regardless of the politics or ambitions involved with the whole thing, India split into one Muslim and one Hindu country, at least that was the idea. Obviously, there have been serious differences for a while.

I'll leave it at that for right now. The killing in Orissa has to do with the Hindu right wing, power over peoples lives, something which in turns justifies your own existence, your own belief system and way of life. The point is, religious tolerance has a long way to go in India. That being said, I'm glad I hung out with that man, so that I wouldn't let the news be my only source of experience. In the end, no religion condones killing, and anyone who would interpret their text as so has only their own hate and anger to blame for that interpretation.


Part 2


But I want to talk about a different problem.

The headline which jumped out at me when I first got here, and which I should have written about much quicker, came out about 3 weeks ago, namely, India is home to 1/3 of the worlds poor. The World Bank has recently updated its statistics and found that 42% of the population are living below the international poverty line of 1.25 $ a day, the average poverty line found in the poorest 10-20 countries of the world (10-20, that'a big jump!). The statistics are being compared between 1981 to 2005, and the number of people living below this poverty line from 1981 to 2005 went up from 421 million to 456 million. So that's a big increase in India's poor. Of course, India's TOTAL population has gone up, so that means that the percentage of India's population in poverty has gone down, right? Well, right, but there's more to learn about that, first, some more numbers. Right now, the TOTAL population is 1.13 billion, and the number of people loving below the poverty line is 456 million, giving a percentage of 42%. In 1981, the number of people living in poverty is 421 million, and the percentage of the population living in poverty is 60% (http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6487793.html), so with some simple math that gives a TOTAL population in 1981 of about 733 million. So, the percentage of the popluation living in poverty has gone down from 60 % in 1981 to 42 % in 2005.

The arguments is around teh new economic policies from 1990 onwards which differed from the economic policies in the 80s, with the new economic policies being riticized for the displacement of people and other injustices which it has claimed as "sacrifices of development," i.e., we're building a dam here so find some new farmland buddy. The main problem people have with the new policies is that they are not reaching everybody, but helping the middle class while swelling the ranks of the poor, in effect, increasing the already huge divide between rich and poor. So are these new policies good for the nation or not?

Some more numbers. While the percent of people living in poverty has ben decreasing, it decreased faster between 1981 to 1990 than in did between 1990 and 2005. I.e. it dropped 9 percent over the 9 years between 1981 - 1990, and 10 percentage points between 1991-2005. it gives good stead to the argument that the reforms are not helping as much, and that what people are claiming as India's development are actually just a bigger increase in the middle class, which, while it is good that more people can have more, is not good for a healthy nation where all members are a productive part of it's running.

What have I seen? Like I said, I have seen a lot less beggars, and those are the extreme poor. But the middle class is swelling like crazy. Everybody is building these houses, and the differences between the disposable income of the middle class and that of the people who build the houses (making about 3.50 $ a day for the work they get building the house) is insane. Unskilled labor is dirt cheap here. It has been one of the harder things for me to deal with. According to American prices, you're paying a ricksha driver 20 cents for something that would cost 20 dollars in Japan. A plumber charges 60 dollars to enter your house in America, it's staight up robbery, but here is 1 dollar for 1 or 2 hours of work. I do feel bad - it's the going rate, my dad tells me, and I know I'm American privileged born, and I would never say soembody didn't have to work for their money, but I wonder if these rates are a little unfair? It's why the middle class can afford 800 dollar iphones right, and these mansions of houses. I actually spend too much of my time myself worrying about whether I'm being cheated by the rates or not, but there is no doubt that there is a huge difference between the middle class and the poor.

In general policy terms, for those of you who are interested in it, I personally don't think that economic policies, if they lead to short-term suffering, should be allowed. Development must not take the route the tenet of which is "the means justify the ends." I think those people have forgotten that development means improving the human beings situation, and if you knock off a few human beings you are setting on a dangerous path of development, I think you can still reach your goals without unfair and unjust practices (I'm not saying every decision is perfect for everyone, I'm not that simple, but some things show gross insencerity for those who will lose out). Besides, the development of a just system and a peaceful society are just as important as economic development, I don't think development is just economic. How can you develop a nation if your only goal is economic, there is no doubt that India is incredibly more materialistic - and more rude I think too. But that's enough about that for right now.


Part 3


So how am I doing? I wrote this out to another friend so I'm just going to post it here. When I was about 10 years old, my mother told me that most Indians don't eat beef (I loved mickey D hamburgers before that). So I decided to stop eating beef. I was a child of incredible will power, let it be known that I am a man of less. I didn't eat beef after that and I didn't eat it in college. I mean, besides something like...girls, you really can't desire something you haven't had. Every time I have come to India, I have never desired meat. I went 5 months without it last time I came - didn't care.

After my two year stint in carniverous Japan, that just ain't happening. I told my friend it was the sukiyaki. Sukiyaki is Japan's impending gift to the world, impending because it hasn't really been given yet. How do I explain it, it's thinly sliced meat (beef) grilled with veggies, soy sauce, mirin, and the special ingredient, sugar. I love sugar. It is sooooo delicious. Anyways, I ate a lot of meat in Japan, and yes, I did go for chicken tandoori last night, and with the mint chutney and lemony salad it was superb. And 4 dollars for your fill : )

I wish I was a busier, could get things done instantly, and didn't have to wait. I think I'm just going to go to Punjab tomorrow. I need to extend my visa, and I have to do it in Delhi, which is why I haven't left Faridabad since it's close to Delhi, but I had some confusion about whether I could extend this visa here. Whatever, I should have just gone to Delhi and figured it out. I'm will get on the ball now, I promise. Aaaaaah, it's just such a pain, but it would be anywhere these formal and complex procedures are required, right. It can't possible take something longer to get done in India than in other parts of the world. Actually, in Japan, sometimes it did take forever to get things done. I just wish I knew exactly where to go to get something done and I really wish people formed nice little lines when they were buying things, GGGooooood I miss the queue. Nobody knows how to queue up here, it's quite frustrating. Sometimes I just want to fling somebody back when they cut me, actually, for somebody to not cut you, you would need like a mini - metal fortress attacehed to your sides preventing people from sneaking past you. But besides that, it's good, I am having difficulties speaking Hindi, and want to bang my head against the wall because of it. I just want to speak Japanese to people, than I can understand myself and express myself. Can you believe that, two years in Japan...Lots of frustrations since I'm just coming out of Japan, the land of wa, where things are nice and neat and clean, I just need to get out my camera, go to school, and get something more going on. Getting antsy, gotta get some more action in my life.

Peace!

P.s., I am reading E.M. Forsters "A Passage To India." An amazing book, amazing because a man could be so British, but see so deeply into the spirit of people who are different from him, and be so understanding during a time where everyone else was shallow minded scum. I myself thought that it was just another book to lodge in the canon of European Orientalist writing (Orientalist as defined by Edward Said) but that shows my own prejudgement - childish prejudgement because I missed out on such a good book. I love good authors.