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Published: April 28th 2009
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Not really but it's a great image! So why did we choose these three concepts to highlight in this blog? Bicycling because we have been amazed watching the array of activities carried out on bikes every day in India. Elections because India is in the midst of an election with non-stop loudspeakers and rallies under layers of threats, violence, and malaise. Gandhi because he can always put everything in perspective so we can focus on what is most important in life. So why not? India is filled with contrasting ideas, sights, and happenings competing for our attention. And so this blog entry will be in keeping with this experience.
As many of you know, Margaret really likes bicycling and did a lot of recreational biking back in the USA. Margaret has not had the guts to bike on Indian Streets because the street traffic is so chaotic and overwhelming. So the next best thing is to watch other folks bike around. Biking here is utilitarian. Not too many folks bike for recreation when it is 110 degrees out and humid (that's been the weather the last four days in Orissa). Bikes are used to accomplish just about every activity of
daily life: transporting heavy construction materials, moving ladders, selling street food, delivering propane gas tanks, and hawking pots and pans or whatever else you want. Every morning, bikes go up and down residential streets selling vegetables, fruit, rice, milk, and other food products directly to the consumer. Then of course, there are the bike rickshaws that taxi folks around town. The majority of residents of the town we live in use the bike to go to work and school. The widespread usage of bikes is more a function of the economic status of the users, rather than a conscious environmental choice. But it seems to work. However changes are on the horizon with more motorcycles and low costs small cars coming into the streets. Tata (the biggest corporation in India) is selling $2,000 cars, the Nano, like hotcakes. This is an environmental nightmare in the making. I say, "Keep the bikes".
Next up Elections. Campaigns here are short and intense. There is only about 3 weeks from the time the candidates are announced until the election occurs. Therefore, candidates do not make personal appearances; rather, the different parties campaign with loudspeaker trucks that constantly blare Indian music and slogans,
and local offices that give away free food. There are so many parties (about 700 registered parties in India) and candidates that a lot of folks do not even know who is running. This is a typical newspaper quote from a rural villager about elections: "I do not know what an election is. All I know that around this time, people give out rice and food. I am for whoever gives out the most food".
There is also a fair amount of tension and violence surrounding the elections in India. Maoist groups orchestrated a campaign of threats and violence leading up to the elections in the rural and tribal areas of central India - killing officials, bombing polling places, blowing up factories, and threatening to cut off the hands of the first person in the village who voted. About 60 people, mostly officials and rebels, were killed in the weeks leading up to the election, and 20 were killed on the first day of voting. Due to these activities, repolling has to take place in about 18 polling places in Orissa. Despite the threats of violence, the turnout was still in the 50-60% range, which was quite remarkable.
Lastly, there is the cloud of corruption and hooliganism which hangs over the electoral process. Some candidates are convicted felons who served their time for taking bribes and money and are now running again. Many of the candidates are arrested for making hate speeches. Issues are not mentioned during the campaign - it is all about personalities and power. Hey, this sounds like the USA? The middle class for the most part has abandoned the electoral process. It's a wonder that anyone gets elected. At the national level, no one party is expected to get a winning number of votes so that a coalition government will likely be formed. Official results of the election are due May 16th.
Now to wrap everything up - Gandhi to the rescue. But could this be the India that Gandhi envisioned when he dreamt of an India where everyone was equal and poverty was eliminated? We were moved when we visited Gandhi's Smriti which is a memorial to Gandhi’s life and was the spot where he was assassinated. During the riots that followed the partition of India, Gandhi pleaded with Hindus and Muslims to live together peacefully. On January 13, 1948, he undertook
a successful fast in New Delhi to bring about peace, but on January 30, 12 days after the termination of that fast, as he was on his way to his evening prayer meeting, he was assassinated by a fanatic Hindu.
The memorial site e is serene allowing one to soak up the greatness of a holy man in this world. In the midst of all the darkness, it is good to find some light for inspiration. The quotes of this man showed the great wisdom he had about humanity and the humility with which he approached his life’s work of non-violence:
"If there is to be a great change in society, how will that change be wrought? By war, or revolution? Or will it come peacefully?...I answer not only out of belief but out of conviction. The world of tomorrow will be, must be, a society based on non-violence, that is the first law; out of it all other blessings will flow." M. G
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