My Journey to India

Hindu Bull Temple, Bangalore

The growth of India is not just a number, it can be seen in the crowded streets, the constant construction, the passion of its people, and its ever evolving culture. There is constant transformation and tradition living side by side across the nation of India.

There are many aspects of India’s economy that are thriving, but the country has had some challenges in its developing years. When businesses can't grow because of too much risk in hiring new employees as cost of labor is a high expense, were is there to grow for businesses? In regards to the question I pose, it was interesting to hear a testimony of our tour guide in Bangalore saying, that because of the United States, people can now get let go from their jobs in India, where as before, the legal regulation was too troublesome around firing someone to let go of hired labor. Our tour guide had grown up knowing an economy in which once you were hired, it was very hard to get fired and companies never made lay-offs or labor cuts. Your career was secure and permanent. As the world has seen American culture spread to all of its edges, India began to be influenced by American or western culture and began to model its hire and fire laws more similar to ours. When I heard our tour guide's thoughts about it, I couldn't help but think that, in the United States, that is merely called competition. We seem to thrive off of the idea that we must always push people harder. We must ensure maximum productivity through competition. If you don't preform in your job, you will just lose it and someone else will take it. This made me wonder if our way of motivating people through competition or fear of losing what they have to someone else is the better or worse or just different. The differences in India’s business and economy from what I was accustomed to kept piling up. However, to me, different didn't mean worse until we had the chance to speak with the researches at ORF. ORF opened my eyes to the extreme difference in perspectives between rich and poor in India and to be quite frank, they were astounding.

Oberoi, Bangalore

The economy of India is showing exponential growth, but there is still poverty that we don't even come close to in the United States. As the ORF economist stated, there isn’t a chance of change until the government isn't running the banks. I seem to recall an overarching theme of our class study; things in India happen very slowly. If this is the case, will India’s immense growth rate come to an abrupt end, and is this growth rate really a facade that will end in falsified growth? The idea that it would take a long time for banks to be privatized, meaning businesses could actually expand by getting bank loans and hiring more employees, makes me wonder. These questions I will be answered in time. Until then, I cant help but to wonder if this will end badly for India, as it makes me think that the gap between rich and poor cannot close. There will be more people entering the work force, but not actual business growth as businesses stay at an average size of 10 people. What I mean by this is more Indian businesses will open, but what makes an economy thrive is not just having people in the workforce, but having companies that are revenue generating for the economy. If every business is a small business and more are opening each day, but they can't grow, on paper, the numbers look good. i.e. lower unemployment rates. However, small businesses aren't what drives revenue and boosts true economic growth and global success. Many Indian people see India as a major player in the global economy or feel as if India is close to that level. However, for India to truly compete and contribute to the global economy the way China, EU, US, and other nations are, they must build big business and not just small business. Allowing banks to become public is the first step in expanding India into real economic success and not just a facade of increased employment.

Oberoi, Bangalore

Before I go on with my next statement, I do want to say how entirely grateful I am to have had this opportunity to go to India. However, as amazing as this experience is, I can't help but to wish I came to India sooner. I can't help but to wonder what this looked like 20 years ago even 10 years ago. The country has made such huge strides that it has made it easy for us to be distracted by all the great progressions in India, and forget about all the things that still need to be changed. Therefore, something in my mind doesn't feel right about us having an experience in India so grand while there is such immense poverty all around us. While we saw some poverty, the question that every person in the U.S. asked me about my trip was, “was there so much poverty?” While the answer probably should be yes, we were on a business trip structure, we were on a mission to learn about India's economy and business world, and did as much as we could in a 10 day span, so the amount of poverty we did see wasn't in full scope.
With that being said, there is a heartache that I can’t seem to get rid of when I think about the children in the orphanage we visited. There is a tear that comes to my eye as a reminisce the women begging us for money outside of the market. I had started my interest in India from my research of Mother Teresa 6 years ago. While she had preformed her work in a different India at a different time, their poverty was something that really struck me and compelled me to look in to the country and the great culture it has to offer. Therefore, when I came to India, I expected to see all the things I had read about in my research of Mother Theresa. However, we didn't experience as many of the impoverished areas I had studied.

Humayun's Tomb, Delhi

The culture of India was my favorite aspect of the trip. Where else can you find a country that faces the question, is our country new or old? The answer must be both. The culture of India is so rich from its history and diverse in population that no country can rival its age. However, its immature spark is non the less, just as appealing and incorporated in its culture. Seeing the government thrive and seeing the passion behind the parliamentarian’s pride in the country's democracy is something that should be just as cherished as the history, cuisine, dress, and culture.

Gandhi Smriti, Delhi

The issue I have after having had the chance to actually see India is whether or not the United States and Europe have a view of India that is set in the past. I face the challenge of wondering if we should buy in to the growth and the success of the country on paper, or take a step back and wonder why India can look so great through an international lens, but a local perspective could be completely different. The hardest problem I faced was understanding the international aid to other countries that ORF researches found to be a great achievement. Some Indian leaders found great pride in beginning to aid other nations. However, I question if the people of India who are impoverished would be outraged by their country sending help elsewhere, where they are not getting the help they need. There must be a question if a country should look at a its interior obstacles first and foremost before worrying about the global stage, as this ancient country is still in its stages of formation.