{"id":28121,"date":"2018-12-05T13:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=28121"},"modified":"2018-12-05T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T13:00:01","slug":"the-real-india-illiteracy-culture-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/the-real-india-illiteracy-culture-and-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"The real India: Illiteracy, culture and hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>What comes to your mind when you think of India? Taj Mahal, and the Himalayas; novels by renowned authors like Chetan Bhagat and home to world\u2019s most beautiful and cultural resorts, perhaps.<\/b><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-28121 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/himachal1\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/hIMACHAL1-1-150x150.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29528\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29528'>\n\t\t\t\tView from the top of Tiger Hill in the beautiful Tirthan Valley of Himachal Pradesh | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/himachal\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/hIMACHAL-1-150x150.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29529\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29529'>\n\t\t\t\tTiny waterfall flowing in Himachal Pradesh | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/dc\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/DC-1-150x150.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29530\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29530'>\n\t\t\t\tSunset | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/jaipur\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/jaipur-1-150x150.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29531\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29531'>\n\t\t\t\tAmer Fort in Jaipur | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/udaipur\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/udaipur-1-150x150.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29532\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29532'>\n\t\t\t\tCity of Lakes &#8211; Udaipur | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/emu\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/Emu-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29533\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29533'>\n\t\t\t\tWilderness | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/10966834_856353424430266_592390676_n\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/10966834_856353424430266_592390676_n-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-29534\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-29534'>\n\t\t\t\tDaly College | Photo by Peony Hirwani\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">India, without a doubt, has a beautiful culture and heritage. Different states offer unique and diverse forms of culture like musical heritage, sculpturing, traditional beliefs, dances, food, languages, and festivals. The state of Rajasthan, for example, follows the principle \u2018Attithi Devo bhavo\u2019 which means treat your guests as you would treat God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being ruled by many rulers in the past, each region in Rajasthan has its own folk culture. As a tourist, you will find a variety of food you need to try. The state itself is known for its spices and sweetness. One particular dish called \u2018dalbati\u2019 is the most famous of all. It comprises of lentils, and a wheat flour cooked in homemade ghee, served with fried potato chunks, and tamarind and mint chutney. 70% of people in Rajasthan are vegetarian which makes it by far the least meat consuming state in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, there\u2019s a very different side of India that few tourists see and the one I have experienced as a native citizen in the past years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Factors like child marriage, health inequalities, poverty, corruption, lack of sanitation facilities for women in governmental schools and colleges, and most importantly lack of education has put so many lives in jeopardy. 52% of the population in India are farmers, and recent reports by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/india-news-india\/maharashtra-farmer-earns-five-paise-per-kg-for-onions-2996032\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indian Express<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> state that farmers are now earning 5 rupees (<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a3<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">0.056) for 100 kg of onions, which is a new low for the government and traders. No wonder why the rate of suicide among farmers is very high in the country. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/over-12000-farmer-suicides-per-year-centre-tells-supreme-court\/articleshow\/58486441.cms\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Times of India<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> reported that over 12,000 people commit suicide in the agricultural sector every year since 2003.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28148\" style=\"width: 5866px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28148\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28148\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/chelsea-aaron-313403-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5856\" height=\"3993\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-28148\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Chelsea Aaron from Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A local agricultural farmer Sundarlal from the state of Madhya Pradesh told Voice of London that, \u201cIt is a very hard occupation, and buyers don\u2019t really see how much trouble and hard work we face while growing these crops. Sometimes the weather is not in our favour, our fields go dry and we have to start all over again.\u201d He added: \u201cWe provide food for the nation, and receive no respect or deserved wage whatsoever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Illiteracy is another major issue in India. It is due to factors like insufficient facilities and backward mentality in small villages. For example, I personally participated in a service project funded by my high school <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dalycollege.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Daly College<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, where we took an initiative to build proper sanitation facilities for girls in government schools. Apparently, it was difficult for girls to attend school as there were no separate toilets for them there, and commuting all the way back home just to use the facilities was hard. So it was easy for them to not go than go through the trouble. Hence causing illiteracy.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28143\" style=\"width: 4106px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28143\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28143\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/47571744_374875229723432_7626823841280425984_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4096\" height=\"2730\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-28143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture from Daly College Service Project by Arjun Singh<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite these factors, India has acknowledged 7.4% growth rate so far and is optimistically stepping towards a double-digit growth rate one step at a time; Indian stock exchange is growing, and luxurious companies have launched supercars and luxurious real estate projects in the market because there is buying potential. Well, then where does the problem lie?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It lies in the mentality. Recently, a political party candidate Shobha Chouhan promised citizens of no police intervention in child marriages if voted to power. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/elections\/story\/rajasthan-polls-bjp-candidate-promises-of-no-police-intervention-in-child-marriages-if-voted-to-power-1400687-2018-12-02\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">India Today<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> reported that this promise has sparked a controversy as the nation has been trying to do away with this age-old custom of child marriage for a long time now. And truly, if political leaders are making such unorthodox promises and supporting an activity which locks away children\u2019s lives, what could be worse?<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Appalling message Shobha Chouhan is trying to get across- that votes and being in power matter more to her than the lives of innocent little children who are affectively sold into slavery as child brides! Will <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BJP4India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BJP4India<\/a> take a stand for human rights&amp;  discipline their candidate? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4JqbHH0JY2\">https:\/\/t.co\/4JqbHH0JY2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Aisha Ali-Khan (@aak1880) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/aak1880\/status\/1069283309149147137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 2, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Moving onto wildlife, out of 3,890 tigers left in the world, 2,226 are in India. 523 Panthera leo persica asiatic lions live as a single population in the state of Gujarat. The wildlife conservatories are doing a spectacular job in keeping all endangered species safe from extinction. But, killing and trading of animals has been the government\u2019s biggest challenge by far.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28152\" style=\"width: 5194px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28152\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28152\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/nashad-abdu-102604-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5184\" height=\"3456\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-28152\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lion walking on the streets of India | Photo by Nashad Abdu from Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Factors like lack of knowledge, low-income, and again backward mentality among residents have led to innocent animals being killed by the ravening poachers just to satisfy their allure for money. They don\u2019t understand how important it is to save these species for future generations to come. The demand of products made from these animals skins and fur is also very high in the western market, so the desire of making quick money in a short span of time drive poor and needy people to kill animals. It is commendable that many high street brands like Michael Kors who used to use animal fur have now stopped. But the black market and private buyers pool are still very high. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">India is vulnerable in many ways. Discrimination and crime rate is very high. The brutal Nirbhaya case is a prominent example where a young medical student was gang-raped and tortured in a moving bus in the capital city. Many more cases have gone unreported thereafter. But, these cases have led to changes in laws and legislation. Many states have introduced death penalties for rape of minors. So there\u2019s hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28142\" style=\"width: 4106px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28142\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28142\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/64\/2018\/12\/47509189_500414537118673_8474486425134301184_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4096\" height=\"2730\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-28142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Picture from the Daly College Service Project by Arjun Singh<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Government is taking one step at a time to tackle these challenges. Apps have been introduced which help individuals call for help by one click if they think they\u2019re being followed, or if their life is in danger. The recent demonetisation of currency cost a lot of people their jobs but has its own success stories, and it is one step towards a better future. Indian Space Agency ISRO successfully launched their most powerful satellite \u201cThe Big Bird\u201d which will help provide satellite-based internet services to remote places where cable based internet cannot reach. So now, there\u2019s hope that every individual in the country will have access to a new world of the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A major milestone for our space programme, which will transform the lives of crores of Indians by connecting remote areas! <\/p>\n<p>Congrats to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/isro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@isro<\/a> for the successful launch of GSAT-11, which is the heaviest, largest and most-advanced high throughput communication satellite of India.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/narendramodi\/status\/1070158591707869184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many challenges need to be tackled in a limited amount of time. There may be corruption, discrimination, and cultural barriers, but one thing for sure is that India is moving forward. It is a slow process, but the future will be better than what it is today. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Words and Photo Gallery: Peony Hirwani | Subbing: Lucija Duzel<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What comes to your mind when you think of India? Taj Mahal, and the Himalayas; novels by renowned authors like Chetan Bhagat and home to world\u2019s most beautiful and cultural resorts, perhaps. India, without a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":28134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149,33,53,82,130],"tags":[712,1645,3136,6457],"class_list":["post-28121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-travel","category-culture","category-feminism-2","category-lifestyle","category-travel","tag-barriers","tag-culture","tag-india","tag-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}