Slashdot Mirror
Joining the Global Village
Sandeep writes "This article tells of an initiative in rural India, to provide internet access for farmers. The initiative is called e-choupal, a name taken from the Hindi name for village square. An incongruous image when you consider they still use bullock carts for carrying the produce..."
Since all the west seems interested in is providing them with internet access, of all things, here are some links the farmers might be interested in. How to get clean water, avoiding GM crops and reducing pesticide use.
Stop being a politically correct, whiny bitch. "They" is a pronoun, not a racial slur. It is referring to the typical Hindu farmer, and it is true. God damn, "you people" make me so mad.
they still use bullock carts for carrying the produce...
And why not? Have you priced tractors lately? If you don't have alot to pull or plow, an appropiate technology.
Anybody can work under ideal circumstances. -- Jeff K. (January 4, 2001)
No issue is quite as one sided as you make it appear.
This is true. I wasn't simply replying to the AC's post (which wasn't flamebait; slashdot needs a "-1, Stupid" mod though) as much as that general tendency that I've seen directed towards not just India, but all the developing nations, and not just from Slashdot, but from nearly every forum or discussion-y site that I keep an eye on.
Manifest destiny is alive and well, only writ large. Your point on just how India's getting things together is a good one of course, but my point is that a frighteningly large number of people in the developed world would see any developing countries' improvements as affronts which need to be punished. The responses to China's space launch earlier in the year, the disaster at Brazil's rocket facility (people cheered the deaths of the technicians! Fucking cheered them, because their deaths were reducing pressure on "us!"), the list goes on.
I'm generalizing because it's a general trend, and not a very pleasant one, that's born out of the idea that somehow the fact that we've gotten into the condition we're in somehow denies others the right to that same goal. The fact that reasonable-sounding people can pull an Adam Yoshida, demand the destruction of entire cultures rather than risk being eclipsed, and recieve respectful attention both boggles and bothers me.
However, most Americans would cringe at the methods of their advancement tactic. India for example has those who are spectacularly wealthly, and enough "middle class" to possibly outnumber the entirety of the US, however, the disparity of wealth distribution is staggering creating a per capita income substanially lower than developed nations. This is exactly why these nations have been deemed as "developing nations." Millions still live in what the west would consider impoverished conditions and many more in conditions not so much better off. With rapid globalization, labor (technical or otherwise) has been diverted to the lowest bidder, namely India and China. By burning through human capital, India and nations similar to India are able to compete with larger nations. But at what human price?
For the most part this isn't terribly different from what the west went through, really. A few generations of technology were skipped when possible (and thank God for that!), and they have the advantage of more of an awareness of these sort of problems.
I freely admit that the US isn't the only country with a tremendous cultural inertia - after all, both them and my own Canada are mere children alongside countries like India and China, and I freely acknowledge the fact that they probably had eye surgery and monumental architecture while my own ancestors were busy painting themselves blue. India, China, and most of the other developing countries are going to have that same sluggishness towards reform going on.
However, my take on it is that it isn't going to be a permenant or possibly even a longterm state. I personally despise the sweatshop mentality, and agitate against it when I can, but I do know that it's going on in India and Brazil, just like China's at least partially riding their own production improvements through the laogai and similar institutions. However, I think it will be on its way out soon in India. Not next week or even next year, but certainly in a matter of a generation or so.
I want them to not have to suffer through that kind of thing, but if they have to I want them to get through it quickly, and two generations is an eyeblink by the standards of such things. Part of it might be my inner historian's taking the longer view of things than most people - I kinda like being able to think at least a little beyond the next election - but I do think that is a remarkably short time for a country to modernize in, and the fact that we're in a world that actually views "human rights" as somethi
"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
Because Hindi is
(a) The "official" national language
(b) Everyone here has a rudimentary knowledge of hindi, and can therefore understand to a certain extent
(c) Support for Indic languages is not yet complete, Hindi is one of the better supported ones
Take your pick.
(YES, IAAIII)
US is now divided as the "Red" and "blue" states. Red States = communist countries. Coincidence? I think not
Please, don't perpetuate ignorant data.
r m_equipm ent/farm_profile.htm
Tractors are very much in use in India and in very large numbers --
Infact India is the world's largest tractor market, with the largest tractor company in India, and 4th largest in the world Mahindra holding a significant share of USA tractor market
See here, where I have quoted from--
http://www.mahindraworld.com/mahindras/fa
Please remind me why a HINDU farmer would be crying for ALLAH???
Come on, atleast get your religions straight in your crappy troll post.