My New Letter Series – Dear Western Press, Especially BBC, A Look At Today’s India, From Your Eyes

While education is becoming “mandatory”, to succeed in that country, we have more and more of the younger generation dropping out of school in the US of A

Kumar Sridhar

May 13, 2023

While education is becoming “mandatory”, to succeed in that country, we have more and more of the younger generation dropping out of school in the US of A

Dear Western Press,

India, from what I remember AFTER reading YOUR “reporting”, was always the land of snake charmers. Innocent children, I suspect paid by the various magazines/ newspapers, would be photographed dancing naked on the streets, in pouring rain. I also suspect that, at that time, the political leadership didn’t really carry too much weight, as far as the West goes. What I mean by that is the leadership was more inclined to the USSR, which automatically made India, and Indians, fair game for the West, to ridicule.

To be fair, India didn’t really do much, economically and otherwise, to belie these assumptions. One needs to be honest. Survival itself was a VERY BIG ACHIEVEMENT, at the time. You DID find people walking around with flutes and mysterious baskets, waiting for Westerners to entertain. One also saw people, presumably homeless, taking leisurely naps on the streets.

We then saw the Emergency happen in 1975. While not much could be reported, you did manage to say that it was a Black Period For Democracy. And, IT WAS!! National Leaders were in jails around the country. Some emerged as future national leaders while others perished. The then PM’s younger son, Sanjay Gandhi was killed in an air crash a year or so after the emergency was lifted. That was the 60s and 70s. We had, for a brief period of time, a coalition government, The Janata Party, comprising some excellent leaders like Mr. Vajpayee and some who were in the ministries for unknown reasons, like Raj Narain. The PM himself was not the brightest of leaders. It didn’t look like this government would survive, you predicted. You were right. Within a very short period of time, the government collapsed. In the new elections, the government was formed by the Indian National Congress, led by Mrs Indira Gandhi.

Cut to 1983-84, and there was so much turbulence in India, what with the Golden Temple Fiasco, the assassination of Mrs Gandhi, and the KILLING of innocent Sikhs, in its aftermath! The question in most young minds, at the time, was whether India could survive as a nation! Remember, we were young. We didn’t know the relevance of an army that, unlike Pakistan, didn’t want to interfere in domestic issues. Your reports decided to show the riots, the assassination of the Prime Minister, and the sickening aftermath, in all, its “full glory”, as was your want. Yes, it WAS TO BE reported, you HAD EVERY RIGHT to report this, and you did report this. No arguments there, whatsoever.

You then gave some coverage of the late Prime Minister’s son being sworn in as the new Prime Minister, as well as his assassination. To be fair, your reporting was good, given the different situations existing in the various countries around the world. Sri Lanka was a mess, Pakistan was surprisingly doing well economically, although it still was an artificial economy (with the US of A pouring in billions of USD), India was in the IMF asking for loans (and putting 50 tonnes of gold to secure this), Israel was, once again, facing severe attacks from its neighbors. Oh yeah, before we forget, the US of A itself was in economic doldrums along with being involved in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Shield). All this happening at a time is probably difficult to cover, but ALL Y’ALL did an admirable job with covering this.

Now, let’s talk today. India’s economy is thriving. It now ranks in the Top 5 economies in the world. The country is involved in all economic transactions going on around the world. Be it the IMF, be it the World Bank, or any other noteworthy entity. You have, probably, observed the people in the leading organizations of various Multi-National Companies, AKA MNCs, being Indian. The Vice President of the US of A is of Indian origin. The Prime Ministers of Britain and Ireland are also of Indian origin. The World Bank chief is of Indian origin. The CEOs of most well-known organizations are of Indian origin. Should I continue?

Education, within India, has now become synonymous with development. The various educational institutions that exist in that country compete, and in a few cases, surpass the elite institutions within our beloved US of A. While education is becoming “mandatory”, to succeed in that country, we have more and more of the younger generation dropping out of school, here in the US of A. However, more of that for a different day.

India’s neighbors, to the West, are economically strapped (and I am being very liberal in saying strapped. Some reports, from that country, say they’re on the verge, if not already there, of bankruptcy). Your coverage of this country has been, well, lacking! Is it because they were former “allies” of the US of A? Or is this because of their religious affiliation? The administration has distanced itself from this country, so we are left with one option: their religion. They are an Islamic country.

Children, and that’s what they are, in that country want the destruction of the West, while at the same time applying for a visa to get here. Their educational qualifications leave way too much to be desired. Most of them have graduated from the madrasa system, and those that have had formal education wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation with anyone here in the West. And yet, your coverage doesn’t want to touch this issue. You don’t seem to have too much time on your hands, what with covering the “atrocities” against the Muslims in India. Let me give ALL Y’ALL a glimpse of what their education level is.

Listen to some of these “geniuses” talk and you begin to wonder what education they’ve gotten. To a question about why India succeeded as an economy, their immediate answer was: there are 1.4 billion people and that’s why! In that case, why is Bangla Desh doing well, was asked by the interviewer (is that a word?). The answer had nothing to do with the question. The answer given was, the Pakistani army created mayhem in that country and therefore that country was formed! All these answers came from educated people in that populace!!!

Let’s be very clear about this, and I’ll put it in words that would be easily comprehended by you: Ain’t No Atrocities Being Done Against No Muslims!! People, from Pakistan, want to migrate to India. Does that tell you something? Will India allow this migration, you ask? My counter question would be: Would the West want an additional 300 million radicalized and illiterate migrants to come to their countries? I think you know the answer.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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