The life of a nomad is clearly tough. In a time of increasing modernization and the build-up of infrastructure in a country such as India, nomads are finding it harder and harder to make a living. They travel constantly, and from the pictures that Cat provided, look more like gypsies and a traveling circus. Their carts are the only thing of great value they posses, other than their own family members. It seems that these nomads are finding less open country to travel, as India becomes a country defined by extreme economic, social, and structural growth. Nomads can live on the income from selling spoons, or performing their entertaining acts, but cannot compete with the speed at which every other social class is climbing the socio-economic ladder. I would think that nomads would be the best people possible to raise livestock, yet their governments haven’t given them the means to do so. It seems as if the Indian government is focused on building up the cities in which most people will see in pictures, movies, and in travel brochures, while leaving the nomads to fend for themselves as they have done so for generations.
Other groups of nomads that I know about include the Bedouins of the Middle East and the nomadic tribes of Mongolia and Tibet. Talk about a census count, approximately 40% of the ethnic Tibetan population is nomadic or semi-nomadic. Mongolia’s nomadic people range in the 3 millions. I think that what it really comes down to is that it depends on the country itself. Countries like Mongolia, Tibet, or Yemen are not currently experiencing double digit economic growth. These countries are not receiving billions of dollars in foreign investment. These countries do not have traditional, modern educational systems. There is a lack of basic tools to facilitate socio-economic growth in these countries. India and China have these systems in place, and as a result, they are modernizing and throwing out the traditions and people that once pervaded its land centuries ago.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A Comment to Gold Rush of 2009
The large purchase of gold by India from the IMF can be quite a shock to people who are not familiar with the ties India has with gold. Through generations of conquests, wars, and political and social change, gold has been a constant. Gold has been used as currency in India dating back thousands of years and has been used as a constant measure of wealth over that time span. This relationship goes even deeper. The god of creation, Brahma, is said to be the one born of gold (Hiranyagarbha). Gold is used in all sorts of cultural and traditional ceremonies from weddings to births, birthdays, and even for offerings to Indian deities. It is so ingrained in Indian society that gold is sometimes willed to unborn children and to those who will be married in the future. This purchase should not surprise most Indians, as one person puts it, “Gold to us Indians is that ultimate love object… not only does it adorn our bodies, it also acts as a good investment… Gold is ancestral”. This affinity for gold will last as long as Indian culture and tradition persists. So when you see all those “Cash 4 Gold” commercials on your TV’s, at least you can be comforted in the fact that a whole subcontinent is investing in gold as well.
Indian Railways making Olympic Dreams Come True
Thank you for the shout out Catherine! Go Sports seems like an amazing idea, capitalizing on the athletic talent that India has to offer. I hope to learn more about them, and since they are headquartered in Bangalore, might just have to drop in and observe. I think that a country like India has the potential to become a sports powerhouse, yet the lack of financial backing is what is really holding back the progression of their athletes. I have never heard of a system where a business employs athletes to train, while using the threat of full time work schedules as motivation to train harder. This is quite unique and seems like a legitimate way to incentivize athletic performance.
The low output of Indian Olympic athletes has been a trend over the years. In the Summer Olympic Games, in Athens in 2004, India sent 73 athletes, in 2008 in Beijing, they sent 59. In comparison, America sent delegations of 619 and 594 respectively. When it comes to Winter Olympics, it gets even more dispersed. In 2006 in Turin, India sent 4 athletes, and recently sent 3 to Vancouver, while America sent 211 and 216.
Many of the powerhouse sports nations spend hundreds of millions of dollars training and preparing their athletes for competition. This can be due to the social and economic history and development of each nation too. India, as Lindsay mentioned, is a very young nation and as India keeps growing economically, they will have the resources to spend on athletics. This is a great goal to aspire to, but won’t come to fruition for a while; it will take time for India to build up its athletic resources. It should be interesting to see how these athletes perform against the best in the world, and hopefully they can win some medals!
The low output of Indian Olympic athletes has been a trend over the years. In the Summer Olympic Games, in Athens in 2004, India sent 73 athletes, in 2008 in Beijing, they sent 59. In comparison, America sent delegations of 619 and 594 respectively. When it comes to Winter Olympics, it gets even more dispersed. In 2006 in Turin, India sent 4 athletes, and recently sent 3 to Vancouver, while America sent 211 and 216.
Many of the powerhouse sports nations spend hundreds of millions of dollars training and preparing their athletes for competition. This can be due to the social and economic history and development of each nation too. India, as Lindsay mentioned, is a very young nation and as India keeps growing economically, they will have the resources to spend on athletics. This is a great goal to aspire to, but won’t come to fruition for a while; it will take time for India to build up its athletic resources. It should be interesting to see how these athletes perform against the best in the world, and hopefully they can win some medals!
Winter Quarter Original Blog Post : What's Mao got to do with India?
It seems that the political, social, and economic goals with which Mao Zedong ruled China with from 1943-1976, still resonate strongly today. Except this has nothing to do with China, I’m talking about the Maoist rebels of India. These rebels have been fighting the Indian government for over 40 years, with the newest batch of radical Maoists springing up in 2004. Although these rebels use deadly force to help get their points across, they believe in many of the same ideals that the Chairman himself espoused. These insurgents can be found in 20 of the 28 Indian states and the size of the group is estimated around 20,000. Violence has been ongoing for decades, yet the Indian government and military forces have been unable to put down this “terrorist organization”.
Just as recent as the 16th of February, 24 policemen were killed in an attack on police forces by rebels wielding machine guns on motorcycles and trucks. This attack took place 105 miles south of Calcutta and similar attacks have taken place in the rebel stronghold of Northeastern India. The insurgents and the military forces have been in constant back and forth battles, with each side suffering casualties. These rebels are targeting officials such as military, police, and political figureheads. The Maoists are trying to fight for what they believe in, but isn’t using deadly force just invalidating their political legitimacy?
After learning more about the Maoists, they have certain points that they believe in the following:
• Land to the poor and landless. Later on cooperative farming is to be established on voluntary basis.
• Forest to the tribal people.
• End of the rule of the rich and the upper caste in villages and the uprooting of the caste system. Uproot all discrimination based on gender and religion.
• Seizure of the ill gotten wealth and assets of multinational corporations and their local Indian partners.
• Self-determination for the nationalities, political autonomy for the tribes.
• Establish a state by the poor and for the poor, where the present day exploiters would be expropriated.
• Participation of people in day to day administrative work and decision making. Democracy at the true grassroots level with people having the power to recall their democratic representatives.
The Maoists are mainly comprised of the extremely poor citizens, including Dalits (untouchables) and tribal peoples. They want to ensure freedom and equal rights for everyone, regardless of religion, social, economic, or geographic status. Albeit their cause seems noble, violently killing the people that could possibly help them in the long run seems like the wrong way to act. There have been small instances of violence all around the country, and as we prepare for our trip, every precaution must be taken to prepare ourselves for any and all skirmishes. How does a country like India solve a crisis that has been going on for over 40 years? Is there another alternative to fighting?
I do not want to sound like the harbinger of bad news or the one who is overly worried about security issues; I only want to highlight current events that are taking place in India. I’m positive that every precaution will be taken and that we will be taken nowhere near any form of violence. With that said, I am looking forward to an excellent and safe adventure in India.
http://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/who-are-the-maoists-and-what-do-they-want-by-rita-khanna/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35407477/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
Just as recent as the 16th of February, 24 policemen were killed in an attack on police forces by rebels wielding machine guns on motorcycles and trucks. This attack took place 105 miles south of Calcutta and similar attacks have taken place in the rebel stronghold of Northeastern India. The insurgents and the military forces have been in constant back and forth battles, with each side suffering casualties. These rebels are targeting officials such as military, police, and political figureheads. The Maoists are trying to fight for what they believe in, but isn’t using deadly force just invalidating their political legitimacy?
After learning more about the Maoists, they have certain points that they believe in the following:
• Land to the poor and landless. Later on cooperative farming is to be established on voluntary basis.
• Forest to the tribal people.
• End of the rule of the rich and the upper caste in villages and the uprooting of the caste system. Uproot all discrimination based on gender and religion.
• Seizure of the ill gotten wealth and assets of multinational corporations and their local Indian partners.
• Self-determination for the nationalities, political autonomy for the tribes.
• Establish a state by the poor and for the poor, where the present day exploiters would be expropriated.
• Participation of people in day to day administrative work and decision making. Democracy at the true grassroots level with people having the power to recall their democratic representatives.
The Maoists are mainly comprised of the extremely poor citizens, including Dalits (untouchables) and tribal peoples. They want to ensure freedom and equal rights for everyone, regardless of religion, social, economic, or geographic status. Albeit their cause seems noble, violently killing the people that could possibly help them in the long run seems like the wrong way to act. There have been small instances of violence all around the country, and as we prepare for our trip, every precaution must be taken to prepare ourselves for any and all skirmishes. How does a country like India solve a crisis that has been going on for over 40 years? Is there another alternative to fighting?
I do not want to sound like the harbinger of bad news or the one who is overly worried about security issues; I only want to highlight current events that are taking place in India. I’m positive that every precaution will be taken and that we will be taken nowhere near any form of violence. With that said, I am looking forward to an excellent and safe adventure in India.
http://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/who-are-the-maoists-and-what-do-they-want-by-rita-khanna/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35407477/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
Research on Global Warming's effect on India
Hey everyone. For the Cal Poly MBA trip, I was requested to perform some research regarding Global Warming and India. My findings can be found on my virtual portfolio. Please use the following link to get to my research paper.
http://sites.google.com/site/jasonsilvervitrualportfolio/
http://sites.google.com/site/jasonsilvervitrualportfolio/
Winter Quarter Book Review
For the Winter Quarter, I read "The Elephant and The Dragon" by Robyn Meredith. Please follow this link to the the review, which is in PDF format. Enjoy!
http://sites.google.com/site/jasonsilvervitrualportfolio/
http://sites.google.com/site/jasonsilvervitrualportfolio/
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