A very important topic that should be included in any analysis of India is the effect of nuclear weapons in the region. Both India and Pakistan possess these weapons and the capacity to deliver them to the other country within ten minutes, tops. It is inevitable that if nuclear weapons were even deployed by one of the two countries, because of the close proximity of their citizens, both Pakistan and India would be dramatically affected.

In the event of war, both countries have pledged not to use nuclear weapons as a first resort. India, as the dominant military power and the victor of all three wars between itself and Pakistan, claims it would not use nuclear weapons preemptively (No-First-Use Policy). However, Pakistan will not take such a position. Pakistan covets its nuclear weapons dearly, as it should. India’s conventional military forces dwarf those of Pakistan, prompting Pakistan to view its own nuclear capabilities as the major deterrent to an Indian invasion.

As a side note, here is a link to a possible scenario of what might happen if India and Pakistan ever went to war: Click here. As a quick and dirty summary, India’s navy would severely dominate the seas and would cut off Pakistan’s main port of Karachi, both air forces would sustain major losses with India’s likely prevailing, and the strength of any land campaign is questionable (though both would sustain heavy damages – possibly more to Pakistan who would likely fight a defensive campaign). Keep in mind this is only a possible scenario, but it seems like a good deal of thought was put into the analysis (also consider that it was written about eight years ago). Overall, according to this view, Pakistan would likely sustain heavier losses, proportionately.

It has been estimated that Pakistan and India possess about 10-100 and 50-150 warheads, respectively. In addition, while Pakistan declared that it has detonated around six nuclear devices, India and the United States place the actual number around two, and believe that the devices were about two to three times weaker than the strengths Pakistan claimed the weapons had.

Every so often, little skirmishes occur on the Indo-Pakistani border. Is it possible that one of these could escalate into a full-fledged war, as in the Gulf of Tonkin incident? How far do you think either of the countries could push before nuclear weapons would be called upon? Do you think either country would ever use these weapons? Could Pakistan merely be bluffing with its nuclear claims?

-Jay Ponto

I was watching an episode of “Undercover Boss” the other night in which the President of Waste Management (one of the largest solid waste handler in the U.S.) went incognito, to work side-by-side with some of the company’s employees who handle the most gruesome, laborious, and stressful tasks of the business. Watching this episode really got me thinking about waste. For residents of developed countries, our waste is quickly and neatly sequestered from us and our living environments. We put our waste bins on the curb, and during the twilight of the early morning hours, faceless municipal servants arrive in a big, loud truck, and magically, the refuse disappears. With a single flush, raw sewage is removed to the bowels of the underground sewer lines. In America, waste removal and disposal is a finely tuned system, perfected over a couple centuries and transformed into a money-making machine. It is integrated into our public infrastructure and operated by private businesses, yet ironically hidden from sight.

But consider India. In most images of densely packed Indian cities or slums, one of the first things you notice is profuse amounts of garbage strewn over the landscape. One can’t help but wonder why India hasn’t taken more progressive steps to fix this blatant problem. With such huge population densities and burgeoning ingenuity, you’d expect the government to have come up with some sort of solution for this problem. And even if the government didn’t step up to fix the problem, the private sector should see this as an opportunity to make some serious money, right? Click on these links to read some interesting articles on the subject: Article 1, Article 2.

Well, the private sector certainly has stepped up, but not in a corporate sense. The business of trash is a serious one for many of the poor, and it is a relatively lucrative source of income. According to Bharati Chaturved, author of the article, “Ragpickers: The Bottom Rung in the Waste Trade Ladder,” one out of every 100 residents in Delhi engages in trash recycling. With a population of roughly 12 million, that works out to be about 120,000 residents (some estimate as many as 150,000) that serve and create the market for waste processing and recycling. It is estimated that this ad hoc waste management force saves Delhi’s three municipalities a minimum of $12,000 a day. According to Chaturved, it has also been estimated that a single piece of plastic increases 700% in value from start to finish in the recycling chain before it is reprocessed!

However the work of a “rag-picker” is extremely demanding. Most live in slums or dust bins with little or no access to clean water and food. Rag-pickers are very territorial, and they fiercely guard their scavenging areas. Most of them wake up by 4 am before all the good pieces of trash are plucked away by competitors. In areas that have the most lucrative trash bins and streets, middlemen often extort bribes from pickers in order to allow them unfettered access to the bins or alley ways. If caught by the police, they are sometimes beaten or taken into custody and assigned to cleaning the police stations. Some get lucky enough to get access to landfills, the gold mines for recyclable materials, and they have to often pay hefty bribes.

Once the pickers get the trash, it must be cleaned and dried properly or they will not be able to sell it to a middle man. If the cleaned material is too wet, or too dirty, they stand to lose a huge percentage of the redemption price or not be able to redeem the material at all. Allergies, cuts, respiratory ailments, and exposure to deadly biohazards are the primary risks associated with this type of work. Another article titled “The Human Scale of Recycling in India” by K-Fai Steele, also discusses some behind-the-scenes details of this informal waste management system. Steele writes that many of the trash pickers dig through piles of rotting food, dirt, and human excrement to gather the paper, plastic, glass, and metal scraps. While this sounds repulsive and desperate, this industry processes 59% of Delhi’s waste and supports the livelihood of countless families.

So what do you think about Delhi’s waste management system? What do you think would happen if the city were to implement a more efficient, highly industrialized and systematized method of waste management? How would it affect the quality of life for all of the city’s citizens? What would it do to the economy? Do you think this is an efficient way to handle recycling in a big city like Delhi? I am curious to see what you think the long range net effects would be if Delhi adopted a waste management approach like that in the U.S. Would it do more harm than good?

-Erika Bylund

Well, not really… I just decided it would be fun to follow Dr. Carr’s lead with the preposterous blog titling.

I received my February issue of National Geographic in the mail (proud subscriber!) and was excited to read about 27th generation blacksmiths – they actually do exist!  This month’s feature on India shined light on yet another one of India’s subcultures – the ‘Lost Nomads’.

As always, the pictures are my favorite part. If you aren’t going to read the article (Click Here), I recommend you at least take a look at the brilliant photography (Click Here).

The nomadic groups highlighted in this article take the idea that each person is born into their own destiny one step further - you are born into both your profession and your nomadic lifestyle. The Gadulia Lohar (literally “cart blacksmith”) built weapons for royalty in the 16th century. Flash-forward 500 years and their iron-working skills are irrelevant and have been outsourced (to China, likely). Nowadays, they travel and sell spoons for 65 cents.

How long can these people continue on with their family’s legacy? Is there a point at which they just decide to settle down?  Or maybe are forced to settle down and “join” society? As they do not have a mailing address, they aren’t provided with schooling, government welfare, or any of the benefits that are being provided to the modern society.

As we begin the 2010 US Census this month, we are reminded of just how many citizens wander and have no address at which to be found. Nomads are seen in all cultures, but it is staggering to find that nomads make up 7% of India’s population.

NatGeo writer John Lancaster concludes his article with the phrase “their forges had all gone cold.” Visibly and metaphorically, this is a statement that speaks volumes of the plights of these nomads and others like them.

-Catherine Kristensen

This post originated as a response to the “60 Minutes” segment - “Out of India.” I remember seeing this when it first aired in 2004.  India is the first developing country to achieve modern growth using a knowledge economy.  Again, India’s growth is not only a product of its talent, but also its work ethic- its hustle- if you will.  The more I reflect on this video, the more I see it as a preamble to a broad discussion on globalization.

Globalization has a negative connotation in circles on both the left and the right.  The argument against globalization’s virtues is grounded in either the loss of US jobs, or the exploitation of developing countries.  At the University of Montana, I ran with a crowd who abhorred the players in the WTO/World Economic Forum and turned to movements like the World Social Forum (WSF).  The WSF has been held several times in Brazil, once in Kenya, Pakistan, Mali, Venezuela, and in 2004 – Mumbai, India.  Well over 75,000 people attended the Mumbai WSF.  Though not quite as compelling as Noam Chomsky speaking in Porto Alegre Brazil 2003, Joseph Stiglitz was a highlight speaker in Mumbai.

The movement originated as a response to the Washington Consensus and policies of the IMF and World Bank, which were seen as gouging the developing world.  The premise of the organization is described as follows on the World Social Forum India website: “The World Social Forum is not an organization, not a united front platform, but ‘…an open meeting place for reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and inter-linking for effective action, by groups and movements of civil society that are opposed to neo-liberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism, and are committed to building a society centered on the human person.’”

However, globalization viewed closer to the center, has many benefits as well as negatives.  It’s difficult to determine the net impact.  According to the 60 Minutes segment, “Out of India”, it is clear that globalization is improving the quality of life for millions- if not billions- of people in emerging nations like India and China.  It is also allowing multinational corporations to enforce trade agreements that may override local governance and law.  The verdict is still out concerning the benevolence of globalization, but its reality is undeniable.  Polarization on the issue, like many issues, will not be beneficial in moving forward.  However, concessions on both sides of the argument are necessary to ensure the undeniable reality of globalization progresses, for the benefit of multiple stakeholders.

-Kirk Story