Agra Reflections
This weekend’s trip to Agra proved to be awe-inspiring. Yesterday was definitely a birthday I will never forget. The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri were all breathtaking, but they weren't what left the biggest imprint in my mind.
Instead, this is what I concluded: This country is...frustrating. I’m trying hard to understand why Indians - or any people, for that matter - allow the majority of their population to live in unimaginable poverty. For all of its technological advances, don't let tourist guidebooks fool you: India still has a lot of “developing” to do.
The 4-hour drive to Agra was one of the most unsettling experiences of my life. It may actually top the list. We passed through dozens of tiny villages and towns including Palwal, Hodal, Kosj, Chhata and Mathura. Once you exit Delhi, there is no highway - just one two-lane road surrounding by farmland. When you pass through a town, you literally have to drive through its marketplace. Pathetically skinny cows routinely make a habit of crossing the street. Children scamper in mud while their mothers bargain for scraps of fruit. Men battle wind gusts while trying to warm themselves over a tiny fire. And through all this, you can’t help but wonder.
How can a country’s leaders watch their people go hungry like this?
I was talking to some locals here. It's not just that the government is short on money (they are, but even Delhi has government services such as garbage pickup, which is clearly useless), it's that corruption runs so rampant that nobody cares.
Yesterday, I was scolded by one of my housemates when I wondered aloud how a society could allow this to happen. "Don't be so judgmental," she said. And at first I thought, "Maybe she's right. As a Westerner, what do I know?"
But I've since thought better of it: Injustice is injustice. Don't try to call it "culture". There's nothing "cultural" about letting children grow up in filth while police stand idly by. There's nothing "cultural" about forcing women to be sold into prostitution so that men can pay their debts. And there's nothing "cultural" about children learning to beg before they can walk.
There's something wrong when lepers are forced to grovel at the feet of tourists at the Taj Mahal.
Instead, this is what I concluded: This country is...frustrating. I’m trying hard to understand why Indians - or any people, for that matter - allow the majority of their population to live in unimaginable poverty. For all of its technological advances, don't let tourist guidebooks fool you: India still has a lot of “developing” to do.
The 4-hour drive to Agra was one of the most unsettling experiences of my life. It may actually top the list. We passed through dozens of tiny villages and towns including Palwal, Hodal, Kosj, Chhata and Mathura. Once you exit Delhi, there is no highway - just one two-lane road surrounding by farmland. When you pass through a town, you literally have to drive through its marketplace. Pathetically skinny cows routinely make a habit of crossing the street. Children scamper in mud while their mothers bargain for scraps of fruit. Men battle wind gusts while trying to warm themselves over a tiny fire. And through all this, you can’t help but wonder.
How can a country’s leaders watch their people go hungry like this?
I was talking to some locals here. It's not just that the government is short on money (they are, but even Delhi has government services such as garbage pickup, which is clearly useless), it's that corruption runs so rampant that nobody cares.
Yesterday, I was scolded by one of my housemates when I wondered aloud how a society could allow this to happen. "Don't be so judgmental," she said. And at first I thought, "Maybe she's right. As a Westerner, what do I know?"
But I've since thought better of it: Injustice is injustice. Don't try to call it "culture". There's nothing "cultural" about letting children grow up in filth while police stand idly by. There's nothing "cultural" about forcing women to be sold into prostitution so that men can pay their debts. And there's nothing "cultural" about children learning to beg before they can walk.
There's something wrong when lepers are forced to grovel at the feet of tourists at the Taj Mahal.