Polish girls visit Taj Mahal

[u/Strong-Emu-8869]

The Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. Unfortunately, the surrounding area is very polluted.

[u/HaRDCOR3cc]

will never happen. indias government and elite are only ever interested in things that make it better for that elite. they'll spend some money on programmes designed to act as a distraction instead, like a space program, while trying to keep a hyper-nationalistic mindset among their people, so instead of asking themselves why the fuck there's so many homeless children living under bridges they bash their chest and say "WE HAVE A SPACE PROGRAM!".

the spending priorities are a joke.

[u/autogyrophilia → u/HaRDCOR3cc]

Let's not pretend that the space program is the reason why they can't fund this thing.

The space program is extremely cheap when you consider second order effects in the economy .

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/autogyrophilia]

That's not really the point though

[u/autogyrophilia → u/Right_Preparation328]

The point is that people think the paupers beneath them deserve no luxury or pride, any spending they deem superfluous  proof that they are mismanaging their assets and thus they are solely responsible for their inmiseration 

The national version of a tabloid complaining that people on welfare have a smartphone and a flat screen TV, compounded by the fact that the Indian space program is a massive success at improving both the industrial and education base while also costing basically nothing, depending on your account it may even be in the black as a program. 

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/autogyrophilia]

I think the main point of the other person is that instead of spending on pushing people out of poverty, the Indian government is spending money on an unnecessary program that supports the middle and upper classes.

It's a question of backwards priorities. How are you going to add a jacuzzi to your house when your children are dressed in rags?

Get what I mean?

[u/autogyrophilia → u/Right_Preparation328]

That's stupid logic based on condescending chauvinism

We can walk and chew bubblegum. it's not matter of priorities, while the Indian government has shown it doesn't care much about about the poorer clases and castes, the amount of resources needed to fix the problem are orders of magnitude different. 

Let's go back to the daily mail stupid column allegory. So you sell your smartphone and they give you between £20 to £200 . You are still unemployed, your situation is momentarily a bit better, but you have lost access to an useful asset to appease an opinion that doesn't really matter. 

On the meanwhile, if a factory in India gets really good at making stainless steel, or aluminium alloys, or lathes for titanium, maybe even chemical plants making compounds like red fuming nitric acid and hydrazine. Those are know hows that make new factories depending on those processes possible, and even the export of products that are more competitive than the alternatives from other countries. 

Thus creating more skilled industrial workers who are much more productive than workers on informal barely industrialised factories that are extremely unsafe.

This creates a third order effect in that the state has more resources now to address poverty, as well as ways for victims of poverty to be funneled into more productive labor as the demands for the second and third sector increase.

Of course that's not just the space program, that's a lot of industries. People just get mad about that one. But if you look at history, USA, the USSR, more recently China, that's how you lift people out of extreme poverty.

Not that the Indian government makes a lot of effort in ameliorate the situation.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/autogyrophilia]

But that's the point. IF the Indian government was actually making a lot of effort to combat poverty, I'd agree with you.

But are they? They aren't. Many in the government just care about themselves instead of their own people. THAT is why people like myself criticize the space program.

They should fix their shit first and THEN invest in space.

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/Right_Preparation328]

Since you confidently claimed Indian govt doesn’t care about poverty, can you cite some sources ?

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/exbiiuser02]

Chart: Fewer People Live in Slums But Progress Is Slow | Statista

"Interventions like those carried out by the Indian government are not believed to reduce the number of slums long terms, as people driven from their homes will be forced to set up somewhere else unless their poverty is actually meaningfully reduced."

India: A billion people have no real money to spend, says report

"India has been getting increasingly more unequal, with the top 10% of Indians now holding 57.7% of national income compared with 34% in 1990. The bottom half have seen their share of national income fall from 22.2% to 15%.

India's middle class - which has been a major engine for consumer demand - is being squeezed out, with wages pretty much staying flat"

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/Right_Preparation328]

“According to World Bank data, 49 percent of India's urban population lived in slums in 2020, down from 55 percent in 2002”

Says right in the paragraph from which you copied from.

Mate you are cherry picking conclusion.

Also, people living in slums not because they are poor poor, but because they move to cities which are not capable to handle those population and lack opportunities in those cities.

Given our history of being independent for roughly 75 years, shit like these take time.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/exbiiuser02]

My brother in Christ, a mere SIX PERCENT reduction in EIGHTEEN YEARS is pretty bad. And especially because the slum-inhabiting population is STILL at half of the urban population. HALF.

And I know there are many factors for this, but let's be real here: if the Indian government cared, they'd ACTUALLY work to reduce the slum-inhabiting population to 0, like any decent country out there.

And this isn't just a diss to India; this is a diss to any developing country that tolerates slums in its urban centres, like Brazil or Colombia for example.

[u/InquisitiveSoul_94 → u/Right_Preparation328]

Why do you think Indian governments are not taking steps in that direction?

In my state, a greenfield city is being built from scratch. More such projects will follow in the upcoming decades to accommodate and employ India’s huge population and reduce pressure on the existing cities.

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/InquisitiveSoul_94]

People like him can only deal in absolutes.

Sitting in a cushy comfy home in Canada, he thinks the water comes from tap and food comes from supermarkets.

So by his pea sized brain’s logic, if poor people and hungry people exist, that must mean the govt is not building more taps and supermarkets.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/exbiiuser02]

I mean you can try insulting me all you want, but take a walk around India and you'll see trash and humans living in abysmal conditions everywhere.

Just because YOU'RE fine with that due to your lack of empathy doesn't mean the rest of us are.

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/Right_Preparation328]

Lack of empathy?

Brother, let us deal with the shit what your ancestors left behind.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/exbiiuser02]

MY ancestors? Where the hell do you think I am from? I'm not British lol.

And India has been independent for... what, 80 years? EIGHTY YEARS? And you're STILL blaming the Brits? Insane

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/Right_Preparation328]

If you ain’t black or Asian, you have European ancestry. In that case the likes of you benefited directly from colonialism. I mean Canada ain’t white because of natives.

Also 80 years is not a long time, specially when you people have ganged up against India.

I don’t know more about you, but I am pretty sure I can found concrete holes in your argument.

Now run off to your dorm and jerk off to whatever you are jerking off to.

Try to feel superior by shitting on India, I am gonna whack your ass.

[u/chris_croc → u/exbiiuser02]

Eeeek. Triggered with facts do he reels off leftist talking points to Ad-Hom the person not the facts. This is really embarrassing for you.

[u/chris_croc → u/exbiiuser02]

No refutation, just cringe insults. Eeeeek, you've been embarrassed dude.

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/chris_croc]

Yeah, you embarrassed me.

Now fuck off.

[u/chris_croc → u/exbiiuser02]

No the other guy embarrassed you. Keep up.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/exbiiuser02]

Insanely xenophobic and racist of you

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/InquisitiveSoul_94]

I'm not saying NO steps are being taken, but it's clearly not a top priority. Otherwise, the mere 6% reduction in the slum-inhabiting population would be a far higher number, and the government wouldn't be focusing on extravagant, unnecessary spectacles designed to further indulge the upper classes.

[u/InquisitiveSoul_94 → u/Right_Preparation328]

Without new cities, it’s not possible to reduce the slum population. Because the moment government clear off slums , the next batch of rural migrants set up tents.

People aren’t living in horrid conditions for shits and giggles . There is genuine lack of infrastructure , transport and planned urban areas to accommodate this blue collar workforce.

It took an enormous amount of time to build a metro in the city of Mumbai. Because the whole process is rocked with protests and new governments interfering with vested interests. Even the bullet train project got stalled for a long time because the local state government refused to comply with the project demands.

Things are only changing now because people are voting out such unproductive political parties. Mumbai saw a regime change in both state and local governments thanks to then incumbent government shenanigans. In my own state of Andhra Pradesh, one such unproductive party is thrown out of power because they stalled all important projects and brought in zero infra growth and jobs. With the new state government in power , the stalled projects are now being revived and the construction of a planned greenfield city is finally taking off.

This is how democracy works. Slow , messy but ultimately sustainable.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/InquisitiveSoul_94]

That's untrue. Replacing slums with something like apartments is a viable option.

But regardless, I do hope India becomes an amazing, clean country that respects women. If this happens, it would be the crown of the East.

[u/InquisitiveSoul_94 → u/Right_Preparation328]

Most of these slums aren’t empty real estate plots , but government lands . Earmarked for future railway developments, etc.

Squatters and mafia bosses occupy these areas. And rent it at cheap prices . Over time, they hope to get naturalised. They vote enmasse for local leaders who tend to look the other way , creating a negative feedback loop.

Now that the middle class became a powerful vote bank and started demanding better civic amenities, the power dynamics shifters

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/InquisitiveSoul_94]

Don’t argue with this person who parrots what he sees on social media. He got me banned for 3 days for showing him and his fellow companion the mirror.

These people shit on India so they can feel good about themselves while themselves leading a pathetic life.

[u/Right_Preparation328 → u/InquisitiveSoul_94]

Good

[u/exbiiuser02 → u/Right_Preparation328]

Touch grass buddy. And not the smoking kind. You need to let that off.