Smorgasbord - Politics, Lisp, Rails, Fencing, etc.

My musings on assortment of things ranging from politics, computer technology and programming to sports.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006


On this day:

India Rising

Farid Zakaria has this article in Newsweek titled India Rising. Its a pretty long article and it talks about the rise of India, about its burgeoning middle class, about how the rise has been due to efforts of Indian entrepreneurs and populace, in spite of the corrupt bureaucracy and political class. It also compares India vis-a-vis China, and stresses the important role which democracy has played in India's progress. India's growing proximity with the US has also been discussed. Overall it is a good article, but a little bit too fawning.

There is one particular line in the article, which I found to be extremely offensive. I quote

China's Mandarin class has been able to rethink its country's new role as a world power with skill and effectiveness. So far, India's Brahmins have not shown themselves the equals of their neighbor.

I don't know about China and the Mandarin class, but in India although the number of educated and successfully Brahmins may be more than other communities, but by no stretch of imagination (and thankfully) they call the shots. It is the entire country and the general population which needs to rethink their role, and not some cast, or special group of people. Thankfully, in most Indian cities the religious, parochial, casteist, communal, and racial differences are hardly an issue.

9 Comments:

At Thu Mar 02, 06:37:00 PM 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good article. The reference to Mandarins and Brahmins seems more figurative than literal. I read it as referring to the thinktanks in each country.

 
At Sat Mar 04, 02:31:00 AM 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi!! Bro,
it was, is a gud article. You shudn't be offended by the comparisions between Indian Brahmins and Chinese Mandarine class. In ancient China, Mandarine class were the dominating class (I guess so) just like Brahmins of India, n the way I see it, the writer just referred to these two represent their respective countries. So, rejoice that he chose Brahmins to refer to India, where does caste come in between? No offences meant. Feel free to share your views with me , my email address being uminder_khatri@yahoo.com

 
At Sun Mar 05, 07:12:00 AM 2006, Blogger Surendra Singhi said...

Hello,
Thanks for the comments on my posts. Brahmins may have been the dominating class in the past, but I don't see this happening (or being the case, no offence meant) now or in the future.

Brhamin is indeed a caste, check any dictionary, and even you call them class, which just sounds like a euphemism for caste.

Maybe the first commentor is right, but I will still go with my gut feeling that the analogy smacks of stereotyping and ignores the diversity of India.

 
At Thu Mar 16, 06:06:00 PM 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From ancientry, Chinese Mandarine class consists by scholars. They are choosen from all classes, as far as you are a knowledgeable man (women do not have this right).

China and India all have long history, similiar population. We need to learn from each other. And hope both countries can be better in future.

-Alan

 
At Fri Mar 17, 01:59:00 AM 2006, Blogger Surendra Singhi said...

Alan: Thanks for this bit of information. In India also, originally the Brahmin class was to consist of educated men and women (both), but as time passed, the classes became more and more dynastical in nature, rather than occupational or someone being able to change the class by acquiring the necesssary qualification (:.

 
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