Countries are made by people. People themselves are the biggest problem in India. Those who have got a chance to go to US, would appreciate that US citizens are the most law abiding citizens and they try to be good to others.
RE:People
by Bharadwaj on Jun 26, 2006 01:09 AM Permalink
Thats bull. People in US are not most law abiding! Well they certainly enforce the law better than we do. Also they just have a better civic awareness than we do. So is with most europeans.
RE:People
by Ajay on Jul 04, 2006 09:29 AM Permalink
hi Nitin,
I am sure you had never been to US or UK.... becos if u wud have been here you would have never said that. I must apprise you of the fact that the criminal activities is highest here in US. Ya one thing that i appreciate about Americans is that they wont talk rubbish about there country, they dont feel inferior about there country.. this is one thing we should learn from them.
You are very lucky to share ur thoughts about how to develop india...I too had many ideas, about things that developed countries have, and which india could implement with minimal cost....I tried writing a letter to our CM's office about the same and could only manage to get a automated reply....I don't know how some of these good ideas reach the top level...guess rediff.com has to do something (may be open a program that takes people's suggestions and pass it on to the higher officials)..
RE:Hello--nice thoughts
by rahul g on Jul 03, 2006 10:52 AM Permalink
jay u r right.such messages need not be posted here..i blv rediff has a process of censoring the messages..but somehow this one got away..
although this guy has every right to put forward his views...but then this is the case of 'truth hurts the most'..such attitude has cost us where we are today...or else we could have been much much above on the world map..
RE:Hello--nice thoughts
by regina on Jul 29, 2006 11:58 PM Permalink
Like someone pointed out, claude has covered everything in his 10 points-so what is there to like about living in India??? Frankly speaking, if there are so many negatives on our country, why would he still be living here? It boggles my mind! Thank God for India being a democracy!
RE:Hello--nice thoughts
by Navin Chand on Jun 24, 2006 02:05 PM Permalink
I fully agree with the suggestion of Mr Madan and applaud the efforts of Rediff.com for its contribution in bringing thoughtful persons closer to each other. But the problem is that thoughtful concerned socialite persons forms the minority and the unconcerned,antisocial elements demanding more and more in exchange of their votes forms the majority. The government--whichever party it may be-- is duty bound to rob 5% noters to feed 95% voters. Navin Chand
RE:Hello--nice thoughts
by Mansur on Jun 26, 2006 11:46 AM Permalink
hey guys, it is very easy to ignore the truth. First we should accept the problem then only we can be able to find the solution. Be Brave Man....
Please behave in a polite manner, thats the first thing you should do make our country a better place...
by Swaroop on Jul 12, 2006 01:33 PM Permalink
We are supposed to be a cultured country. You have all the rights to disagree, but do so politely. For starting learn to improve your language. For the writer, yes I agree on all the counts, and I also know about similar problems dogging other countries. We are not here to draw parallels. We are talking about problems and no one can deny any of the points. These are the problems nevertheless. In my view only solution is EDUCATION at every level.
RE:Hello--nice thoughts
by gnans on Jul 01, 2006 08:49 PM Permalink
mahesh, the author missed your name in his article...it's people like you with negative mind frame who has to be sent out of the country..grow up!
After having cried abt all the bad things in india.. u cherish ur stay in India. Dear friend how many countries have u been during ur life time.. it easy to point finger at a system .. how much have u contributed to the welfare of India.If u hate India then get the hell out of here.
RE:Why the f*** then r u crying abt it...
by Akhil Kommadath on Jul 25, 2006 04:23 PM Permalink
Ur remark against Mr.Claude is quite unwarranted and disproportionate. It is not as if he starkly criticizes everything about India, but instead, on living here for 30 years, (and continuing to do so) , he has just expressed matters of his genuine concern , which are justified nevertheless, and are something that even we true-Indians don't bother to raise our voices about. If we can't do it , we shouldn't stop someone else for doing it on our behalf. The country needs to change for sure. Lots of things to be improved here.
RE:Why the f*** then r u crying abt it...
by Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay on Jun 29, 2006 06:37 PM Permalink
Your subject is so dirty that it is not probably appropriate to reply. We, by birth Indian (according to Mother Teresa, it is just an accident), curse everyday our motherland. Then that is not a problem. When somebody by his/her own choice living in this country for 30 years, then I think he/she has every right to comment on India. Because now India is his/her motherland.
At least the author is correct at least in one point, (8) Neglect for the environment. Because of this negligence, Rediff has allowed you to post such a unhealthy, dirty, polluted comment.
You nailed it down Claude. Nice way to go. But India has been governing like that for decades and as it is said it is difficult to teach old dog new tricks.
I would say the most important point that you have is the last one and that is corruption. If corruption becomes negligible (somehow) then some of your points would automatically go away.
Pretty much everything that is dislikable in india is mentioned in this article even though he just said 10, I guess everything got covered here. His final point everything else is great and haven't regretted a day of settling here sounds very good, but that leaves the question what else is good, he has already summarized the major points that everyone, every citizen, any person, any status, goes through this in their day to day life. Outside this I dont see anything good, except a good culture or unity in diversity (to some level).
Each country has its positives and negatives. The people living in that country get used to the negatives and cherish the positives. The negatives 'SEEM' to be just 5% to them.
On the other hand, if you are from outside or go outside from your own country, that is when you tend to find the worst aspects of it bothering.
An objective analysis is difficult but possible. The bad things mentioned about india wouldn't constitute 5%. It would be a lot more than that. And also, what about the social sickness in India. Communal feelings, Caste system, Rights of women.
India has got SOME lovely things. Unfortunately, I dont think these lovely things constitute the majority
The article on 10 things i hate is a good summary of the present day india. The electricity board cutting of power monthly once between 9 am to 5 pm for preventive maintenence is horrible- it is not known how the business community will transact their business with out power for such long hours? the ebs wont think about this.Yet the business community doesno t protest. They have learnt to live with this .Yet you will have power cuts off and on for such trivial reasons viz cutting of obstructing trees! The chief eneineers and their minions wont bother about the community.. the other things of hate are also valid and none would bother about all these! sundaram
RE:10 things ihate mr ciaude
by gowri on Aug 21, 2006 04:46 AM Permalink
I wish people like Karthik will grow up-what does it matter to have a Water gate scandal? We are talking India-can we gracefully accept the views of those fronm other countries? Why wont I throw a cigar butt on the road in Singapore?bec I am s...t scared How often I wish that India had the rule of Singapore-where bec you will be thrashed 'men will behave themselves what this country lacks is discipline of any sort-and when pointed out we crib We are also one of the most badly behaved crowds-and tho' like many I fought with others who said so-today I agree I heard two guys tell each other in Changi airport "that counter is def for India"and the other said "why?"how do you know?' and he said look at the queue . I did look We were all bunched together and around the counter and unfortunately across the aisle was a flight to Shanghai-where there was a single file of queue and no shoving Why do Indians behave like barbarians-beats me hollow We are seen as crude,badly behaved bunch In a forum like this it would be good to discuss how we can change this image the world has of us
I should say the author of this article has a deep insight in the Indian system. He made a very consice note of the major issues ailing the system. We need to address these areas. Developement is not only the growth of the economy. I have been living in the USA for the last 5 years. I can say that the developement you see in USa and developed world is the evolution of the society in various domains cluding the political system, beaurocracy, education, civic amenities, environment and law. The most important thing which makes the difference is EDUCATION.
RE:Great observation
by ab on Jul 03, 2006 12:22 PM Permalink
Well.. I too agree that we must not crib.. .or lets put it this way.. not just to crib. You can crib and make a contribution yourself. You have the right to crib then.. else.. its just useless
RE:Great observation
by Ans on Jun 25, 2006 08:01 PM Permalink
Yes Vidya I fully agree with you, this policy of denial is not taking us forward, I am myself living abroad and travel extensively abroad, we Indians have a typical mindset which we for some unknown reasons are not able to forego. Why is it that we obey the laws of the country we are in abroad while not doing so in our own country? I still feel lot of people who are going abroad are changing their mindsets while for most unfortunate others they are still tied up with the typical Indian mentality. I earnestly feel we have this habit of finding shortcuts (be it gaining power, making money, earning fame, etc), being too obsessed with politics & politicians is what is keeping us backward. One just needs to go abroad to see the technological and other advancements that those countrries have made thereby increasing the quality of life of its citizens.
RE:Great observation
by Rajeswer Naidu on Jun 26, 2006 01:43 PM Permalink
Hi, I have not come across people from other countries complain about their problems. Every Indian knows about the negative side of India. How many of us come-up to solve them? We people are good at just talking (or defending) about ourselves. How many of us face and try to correct a problem (at least a small one around the place where you live in)? I do spend my valuable time to solve problems of the co-members of my housing society. If everyone contributes in a small way, we can certainly shape-up our country.
RE:Great observation
by Prakash on Jul 05, 2006 10:32 AM Permalink
Having just seen this interesting dialogue on India , i can't but react to statements by people like Vidya who seemed thave been floored by the fact they live abroad , therefore everything is nice and fine there.Having travelled all over the globe and seen for myself how the west works ,the US and other nations have no doubt made rapid technological advances ( which is appreciated) there is a flip side to all this. They have the biggest footprint on the globe which effectively means that all the well being and high quality of living there is coming at a price at the cost of we Indians,other developing and vulnerable countries. The western model of development !! has today proved to be completely unsustainable thanks to their high consumptive style of living .
Unfotunatley many of us are madly following this path ( see the horrible way our big cities have been transformed into urban monsters through ,malls, decadent pepsi /coke culture etc.) .
Vidya, the US is using more water,energy,natural resourcess in percapita terms than any other country to attain that high quality of life that you are talking about. Certainly not an equitable world !!!
RE:Great observation
by Sandeep on Jul 03, 2006 11:57 AM Permalink
"ASK WHAT HAVE YOU GIVEN TO YOUR NATION 30% of my salary every month as Tax ( not counting the VAT). Do you think it is less?? Many peoples are criticizing author for saying bad things for India. Some are claiming he is unpatriotic. In my view he is patriot of highest order. How long we will hid our miseries behind the slogan of Mera Bharat Mahan. I wish some high authority of govt read these and try to correct these. I know my wish is a utopian dream. Greatest curse of India is bureaucracy. There is one line in every govt official lips. Rules doesnt permit us. And when those rules are made??? Well somewhere in 1926 and ask why it has not been changed?? Answer is We have requested for change but you know in Govt things happen little slowly. Dont you think taking 60 yrs is too slow.
RE:Great observation
by Karthik on Jul 09, 2006 09:01 PM Permalink
Hi Sameer!
You are absolutely right. These so called intellectuals who go abroad and come back will cry like this only. They will not smoke a cigratte and throw that in a road in singapore. They will Park only in the allotted areas in newyork. But when they come to india they will spit in the road violate red signals and they will talk in length abt foreign modern technology and other things. I am asking the writer, where is the famous "Watergate Scandal" took place? is it in India or in US. We Indians never get into any other countries internal politics and make profit out of that like US and UK and other G8 countries. They invaded Iraq because they want to get hold of petrol wells so they can rule the entire world..
RE:Great observation
by Asokan Prathip on Jul 02, 2006 01:29 AM Permalink
In response to the comments from "Vidya" :- it seems your points reflect very clearly how people living in US accept the existence of their social problems and find solution. How about this? You are an living example, who born in India and capable of looking at our problems with acceptance and having the ability to sort it out have MOVED TO UNITED STATES FOR YOUR PERSONAL BENEFITS. And now you look back and critcise the way of life you were brought up in. Though I am not justifying that we should deny our problems, I must let you know that you are "the least entitled" to talk about. I believe we living in our own motherland are far better judges of how and what should be made of our Nation.
I just can't understand your nature about India. many of the problems that you have talked about are there world over. 1.Regarding elctricity, you would cribe that it was not cut off if someone died and blame the authorities, if it is cut off again you cribe. 2.They charge congestion charge in London, because of the traffic congestion, and when the same thing is done in India you will crib about it. 3.Tell me one country in which the politicians are not corrupt! 4.How much energy do you consume per day in terms of petrol, electricity etc etc. and why balame on others. Leave a life and show that you are not dependent on these and then you will gte a moral right to criticise others. 5.When people are struggling to manage the size of UK with 6.5 crore population, you are talking about 110 crores and many times the size of UK.Dont cribe, get on with life, if you can make a useful contribution make it otherwise keep quite.6. Tell me where there is no officialdum. It takes many weeeks to get your account opened in other countries.7. Mind you that India has not looted from other countries to make itself rich, it has been in fact looted for 300 years.It is still not cribbing
RE:hello/comments
by baishali on Jul 27, 2006 05:13 PM Permalink
Wait a min...i would not consider an NRI...ie one not holding an indian passport an indian citizen at all...so if Aditya you are an NRI, technically you are not an Indian...and there's no reason for you to go to lengths speaking "enough Hindi" to convince people to let you enter at a fee that's menat for Indians...have some respect for your Identity and please pay the correct entry fee meant for "foreigners" the enxt time you visit an Indian monument..please don't let the world see that you are a cheater!
RE:hello/comments
by Sunny on Jun 30, 2006 02:33 PM Permalink
You are correct sameer and there is no question of attitude here but what is mention in the article says that only India has this trouble its totally wrong a wrong impression is created here. I agree we should fight for making India a better place.
RE:hello/comments
by Vidya on Jun 23, 2006 08:15 PM Permalink
You know Sameer, this is the very attitude that Indians and therefore the country refuses to move forward. It is this attitude of denial, the very reason why we are not as developed as we should be. Having lived in the US for 6 years, I can clearly see the differences in both the countries. Apart from the technological adavancements and the quality of life (which is obviously no where near comparrison with India's), its the attitude of the general public thats different, and to me this is the most fundamental difference between these 2 counties. In the US people are not afraid to accept problems in their society and look at measures to rectify it, we on the other hand are always finding excues, like the ones you just gave. Its true, we have a huge population and so on and so forth, but that cannot be an excuse for development. Infact we should be more charged about development than any other nation, coz a billion people wanting to move forward must defenitely be a much stronger force than a popultion of 300 million wanting to do the same thing! As far as the author's points go, I think he is 100% right. Infact he has been too soft on his criticisms.
so .
by Vijaya Kumar on Jun 23, 2006 07:33 PM Permalink
>I just can't understand your nature about India. many of the problems that you have talked about are there world over.
RE:hello/comments
by TC on Jun 28, 2006 03:10 AM Permalink
Your kidding right? 10 things? Wow, did you let them get off cheap. How about defacating in the streets/fields in front of everyone. How about SPITTING with or without tobacco. How about the flem squirting MACHINEs, DEAR GOD they NEEd SHOT! How about "traditions" "culture" have you seen the stuff we have in the name of that. Oh My God! Pot bellied women and men, they achieve that by 30!!!. There are many states that need FLUSHED! If that wasnt enough do you KNOW how many of these shits come online into chatrooms typing "hello I Want Sex" in 32 point arial bold!!! WTF is that??!!. What we need isnt education we need AIDS/HIV or something that kills many in large numbers!!! Of course one more is rediff censorship which assures that letters like this are rejected cause Indians love "free speech" hahaha
RE:hello/comments
by Anand on Jun 26, 2006 02:46 PM Permalink
I agree with Vidya. The major problem with us is attitude. We do not accept that we have shortcomings. We shirk responsibilities and find excuses that justify our short comings.
RE:hello/comments
by Bush on Jul 03, 2006 06:14 PM Permalink
Its not a matter of taking side of Vidya/ Sameer or for that matter any one. Are we finding a way out or will just go on criticising without realizing.
RE:hello/comments
by Jayendra N Bandyopadhyay on Jun 29, 2006 06:22 PM Permalink
Dear Vidya, You are right that we dont accept our shortcomings. Actually we dont have many things for which we can feel proud, except our glorious distant past.But at the present world, all the developed countries can feel proud about their most of the things.Therefore it is very easier for them to accept some handful of shortcomings.
You have also mentioned that Americans always try to rectify problems of their society.In this point, I am partially agree with you.I think Americans try to rectify any problem only when that problem affects themselves.They are least bother about what their government doing against other countries.It is now very much clear that US attacked Iraq because of its oil source.Their soldiers miserably failed to bring back democracy, peace and normal life in Iraq what initially claimed by US government.So in my opinion Bush himself is a problem.But unfortunatley, Americans brought him back to the power for the second time.Hence it is clear that Americans are only concern about their internal shortcomings.They show their selfish character when others are suffering due to their government.
But our problem is that we least bother about our own drawbacks.
tourists in India
by deb on Jun 30, 2006 10:26 AM Permalink
To balance the profit level by increasing the entry fee for foreigners is not the right process. It is an easy to implement way, like reserving seats for OBC. Foreigners are not attacted to India, mainly because its lack of infrastructure, communication problem, chaotic system, hassles in almost everywhere. There are so many attractive places, with so many varieties, but bad system discourage people to come to India, specially those who wants to tour safely and smoothly.
RE:10 thing I hate
by Brinda on Jul 13, 2006 09:38 PM Permalink
I have thought about this rate difference being applied to foriegn tourists too and have also heard the anguish of our foriegn guests several times. Similarly, I have not seen this rate discrimination in Europe. There is some merit however in the argument that the Government is hard pressed in not raising the rates for the common man and instead has to burden those who can pay. This price discrimination is something we see too often in business (especially online transactions, though in different ways). There is a solution though. The Government has to ensure that foriegn tourists at least get their money\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s worth. There could be value added services which are bundled with the ticket for the foriegn tourist. Some examples are - a free guide with the ticket/ a free audio guide system, mementos, photographs, discounted tickets for other locations..the choice is limited only by the creativity and the desire of the Government to make the foriegn guest happy, while loosening his purse.
RE:10 thing I hate
by Naveen sunkada on Aug 23, 2006 10:17 PM Permalink
Its fun to read some of the explanations given by chaps to cover up crap in India. In reality, its these guys who support cowardice. Those who believe india is the best should stay in India since our politicians cannot survive without these guys.
RE:10 thing I hate
by Usher on Jul 08, 2006 09:15 AM Permalink
I simply believe that every person have the right to place their opinion on any issue(India being democratic). So I respect the author's comments which comes as no surprise to any Indian.The one's really concerned about the issue must stop commenting and take initiative to rectify certain mistakes that we have been making. No point blaming someone else. We are the citizens of this great nation, we know there are flaws, so lets do our best to rectify them to some extent within our capacity.
Earlier comment style from Mr.NRI simply shows what a bad representation he is for our country. I too am a non-resident but truly Indian. I take a sense of responsibility over the issues and am already working on measures to improve the scene within my capacity.
RE:10 thing I hate
by Ashwani on Jun 27, 2006 07:30 PM Permalink
Why english r charged more? - We r just trying to bring back some percentage of gold stolen by english during the 200 yrs of gora raj... Kudos to Indian govt. for this wonderful act...
RE:10 thing I hate
by satya on Jul 03, 2006 12:24 PM Permalink
The write should visit nearby Thailand where the ticket is priced at almost 10 times for the foreigners. I don't see any wrong in charging a premium to foreigners which is minuscle.
RE:10 thing I hate
by Ab on Jul 03, 2006 12:15 PM Permalink
I completly agree to Mahanty, the reason is clearly the fact that these monuments require high maintanace and fees are comparable to about a few hundred rupees for entry. Are the Indians ready to pay that 500-600 INR for entries??.. Do you want to deprive indians themselves the entry to their own historical monuments
