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India's Road To The Future
Paul 03244 writes "Historians, economists and technologists agree that movement of ideas, goods and services are fundamental to trade & advancement of the human condition. Today's online version of the NYT has a rather lengthy but fascinating article on the construction of a modern highway system in India that details some of the social & cultural changes being brought about by this highway project." Interesting to look at the parallels between the spread of tech and services in India and the same process in the U.S.
the project is being outsourced to the United States.
yep, i hear they train these american construction workers to speak with an indian accent.
Marge, get me your address book, 4 beers, and my conversation hat.
I came across an article in the Economist. They are much more cautious about the economic development in India. They mention corruption, bureaucracy, strong communist parties in parliament as the major threats. I'm hoping that someone with first hand experience could say more about this...
Close, but no cigar:
http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp
The highways/interstates were never intended as landing strips. Besides, when's the last time you heard of traffic being shut down/diverted for the practice landings?
If you do ever get the chance to see this documentary, do!
e s/monsoon-railway.shtmle s/photogallery/indian_rail1.shtml
It's called Monsoon Railway and documents how the staff at one station do their best to make the best out of a imposibly overcrowded and out-dated system through one seasons. It's incredibly uplifting. The people work through the night to keep it going. They have hospital trains manned with volunteers to send out in the event of any accident. There's one guy has only the smallest crummiest room himself to live in, but he feels so priveleged that he makes a shelter with his hands for the Indian railway children.
Seriously, if you think there's no hope, no ove, no humanity in this world, watch it. If you feel the third world is corrupt, hopeless not somewhere you can connect with, you're wrong. It made me want to travel, just to meet those people who commit such acts of kindness as if there was no other choice.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/featur
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/featur
It actually was Eisnhower who signed the bill for the Interstate System, he was impressed by Germany's autobahn when he was there commanding US forces. Interesting point though, that freeway systems were first developed for war strategies, but now for economic development.
Many of Americas highways were built BEFORE WWII. The interstates may have been a defense related project but the Turnpikes werent. Commerce is a far bigger motivating factor than war. War is often just the
excuse to get the road built then the military abandons it.
And you are wrong about Hitler, the Autobahn projects were actually started (1926) BEFORE hitler came to power and Hitler didnt think of them he had really nothing to do with their conception. The first autobahn was started in 1929 and was completed in 1932 BEFORE hitler came to power. Oddly enough the war actually STOPPED contruction of the autobahn.
I realize the parent poster was trying to be funny but it doesn't change the fact that (IMO) most Americans think our economy is completely built around serving them and that all Indians are tech support people for Dell.
No. Most Americans think all Dell tech support people are Indians. Not the other way around. Dell does not have a billion tech support people.
You are not even from India, and you are sifting the anti slash DB for high karma posts to copy and pasting them. Your comment can also be found here.
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
All Indians don't work for US outsourcing tech companies. In fact, a very small minority of us do.
That may be so, but don't forget that the huge population difference between India and the US means that even if a "small minority" of you are involved in outsourcing, it is still enough to displace a significant portion of the US workforce. Not that this is a bad thing; it might even encourage them to get of their lazy, fat arses (yeah, you heard me!) and vote for someone who actually gives a shit about something other than taking over the world one oil-rich Middle-Eastern nation at a time.
Thats a common belief, but the US Interstate system was being planned during the 1930s, but other capital dam projects tied up men and concreate. Then the Second World War hit and the plan was shelved again.
e .htm
The Autobahn as a tool of the Blitzkrieg sounds good, but in fact they were thought up in the 1920s in Germany and Switzerland and they were limited in scope even during the build up of the 1930s. The first section from Frankfurt am Main to Darmstadt opening in 1935. This straight section was used for high speed record attempts by the Grand Prix racing teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. During World War II, the central reservation of some autobahns was paved to allow their conversion into auxiliary airports. However, for the most part, the autobahns were not militarily significant, and most military and economic freight continued to be carried by rail. Thousands of kilometers of autobahns remained unfinished, their construction brought to a halt by 1942 due to the increasing demands of the war effort, as Germany always had manpower issues even with all the slave labor they used.
The interstate system was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and championed by Eisenhower. In 1919 Ike had been involved in a National Defense planning operation to move units across the United States and it took months, similar operations by Patton before the war showed a need for better highway infrasturcture in the US. One potential civil defense use of the Interstate Highway System is for the emergency evacuation of cities in the event of a potential nuclear war.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/mayjun00/onemileinfiv
"I have no idea where the one-out-of-five claim originated. Perhaps it is giving too much credit to whoever originated this "fact" to suggest that it began with a misreading of history. Under a provision of the Defense Highway Act of 1941, the Army Air Force and the Public Roads Administration (PRA), now the Federal Highway Administration, operated a flight strip program. In a 1943 presentation to the American Association of State Highway Officials, Commissioner of Public Roads Thomas H. MacDonald explained how it worked.
"A flight strip consists of one runway, laid down in the direction of the prevailing wind, and a shelter with telephone for the custodians at the site and for itinerant flyers in an emergency. Fuel storage facilities are not provided unless airplanes are based there permanently. Instead, oil companies will keep stocks of aviation gasoline at gas stations along the highway and truck it to the flight strip as it is needed."
The flight strips were designed for easy access to public highways and to provide unmistakable landmarks that could be followed easily by a pilot. Flight strips varied in size. The smallest -- 150 feet (46 meters) wide and 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) long with the length increased by 500 feet (152 meters) for each 1,000 feet (305 meters) of elevation -- were designed for tactical aircraft such as medium bombers. A larger flight strip could accommodate heavy bombers such as the B-17 and B-24, while still larger strips were designed for heavier classes of aircraft.
The benefits weren't expected to be entirely military. As MacDonald explained, "The close coordination of our highways and airways is becoming a vital necessity to assist the economic growth of this country."
In that spirit, Congress considered including a flight strip program in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 -- the law that authorized designation of a "National System of Interstate Highways." However, the 1944 act did not include the flight strip program."
I am a big believer in India, rather than China being the country to watch for growth and development. A great deal of this surrounds India's legal system, which closely follows the English common-law system, with a great respect for precedent and contract law. Take a look at the econmic success of both the U.K. and the United States, and you can clearly see the benefits of this system.
It might just be the opposite. Because intellectuals/planners in India fully understand that corruption can undermine the economic progress India has made since 1991, many large projects which were earlier undertaken by government bodies are now awarded based on International tenders. Same is the case with this project.
It is a pity that most Americans think that outsourcing has initiated Indian economic progress, while the fact is that we started progressing after the country was left with 15 days of foriegn reserve in 1991 and the Prime Minister invited one of the best economists in the country Dr. Manmohan Singh to join the cabinet as the finance minister. The economic growth of 6.9% that we saw this year was a result of reforms introduced in 1991.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3725357.stm
Yes, outsourcing does boost the economy, it probaby does not drive it.
Ofcourse we are far from what we should be after 50 years of independence, but lately we have made enormous strides and things are begining to change. 15 years back Indians could not even dream of such a project and today they are talking about linking all rivers in India; a feat if achieved would be a significant engineering achievement. Whenever, there is a discussion on how India is making progress, there are be numerous who refuse to see the glass as half full and point to corruption and poverty that rots our society. While the statements are true they fail to see the winds of change sweeping India.
The change is symbolised by the following facts. By coincidence or by design, the Prime minister of India today, Dr. Manmohan Singh, an economist, is the artitect of the biggest economic reforms in the country. The President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam, a rocket scientist, is considered to be the father of Indian missile and space programs.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/countr y_profiles/1154019.stm#leaders
In contrast, the President of United States is a cowboy. (No offense, but I could not resist the comparison).
FTFA: "The real start came in 1991, when India began dismantling its state-run economy and opening its markets to foreign imports and investment."
So, what you're saying is that when India ditched Socialism and hopped on the Capitalist highway, then their economy really picked up speed? Fancy that. Next you'll be telling me that China abandoned Communism and became one of the world's fastest growing economies. Of course, adopt a bloated welfare/medical system, and there goes growth.
What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
The idea of building roads to aid movement of military units and
war-related shipments is rather old. The Romans built the roads
in Europe for that purpose. Indeed, it was the Roman army that
did most of the building. So ascribing this idea to Hitler is a bit
much. In fact, had this been Hitler's thinking, he would have never
invaded the Soviet Union, since that place had a lot of land and only
a few very bad roads. Many of those roads would become impassable
during rains so fall through spring the road system was terrible
and merely usable in the summer. So no, Hitler as visionary of road
building is kind of a laugh.
it should be noted that India does have one of the world's largest railway system (5th as per most statistics). But it is still insufficient for the purposes of trade or transportation of goods.
from wikipedia: "It is also one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting just under five billion passengers and almost 350 million tonnes of freight annually. IR is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees."
Some statistics
Wikipedia article on Indian Railways
The highways/interstates were never intended as landing strips. Besides, when's the last time you heard of traffic being shut down/diverted for the practice landings?
Sweden does use public roads as military airfields. The idea is to be able to very quickly set up a temporary airfield, resupply the aircraft and then leave again. Not highways, though; it's usually secondary roads with a section straightened and widened, and with a few (normally empty) buildings in the nearby forest. And yes, I've seen a road closed off by air-force guards a few times and a fighter plane come down for landing and takeoff.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
The term 'Arayan' means people who came from the Northern part of India, those who practiced the Vedic society (Sanatana Dharma) not blonde Europeans (who in Vedic scripture were refered to as Mlechas - barbarians).
Hitler, who also hijacked the Swastika (inverted/perverted from it's real direction) as the symbol of National Socialism, was a Vedic symbol of good luck, prosperity. Just as with the Swastika, he also hijacked the term 'Arayan'. Interestingly enough, Vedic culture for the most part were vegetarians, which Hitler also was.
He probably read a bit about India and Vedic Culture, and incorporated perverted misconceptions of these ideas he fancied into his whole sick, concocted philosophy.
The replacement of indigenous Dravidian languages in the north by an Indo-European dialect brought from an Anatolian or North Pontic urheimat is upheld by nearly all reputable scholars. Now, it's not certain that the speakers of Proto-Indic came with the sword, there instead could have been a more gradual cultural influence, so "Aryan invasion" is a poor choice of terminology.
Something that the article missed was that 2 years ago, an IIT engineer was gunned down in the state of Bihar because he blew the whistle on some of his seniors who were awarding contracts for the highway construction illegally. The most shocking part was that his letter to the ministry, which was marked highly confidential, was subject to the usual beaurocratic chain in the ministry, which led to the blowing of his cover and his death. The culprits have still not been brought to the book. However, this started a movement which is driving the creation of a whistleblower protection act in the Indian parliament.
More information about Satyendra Dubey is at the website of the S.K.Dubey foundation against corruption.
-A
"- What's so unpleasant about being drunk?"
"- You ask a glass of water."[from h2g2]
The main highway between everything and Perth (Western Australia) actually has landing strip markings on it (and yellow diamond roadsigns warning drivers to watch out for landing aircraft.
You have no idea what corruption is if you think the U.S. is corrupt. In general, the U.S. is the least corrupt large country ever seen.
I have a friend who came from India, and when he got here I asked him the question I ask all new arrivals to the U.S. -- "What surprised you most about the U.S. when you got here?" His answer was, "The honesty and integrity of your government."
He offered this story:
I went to the Social Security office on my second day here. I
got in line, and right behind me walked in a businessman in
a fine suit. I automatically got out of his way to let him
go to the front of the line, but he said "No, of course not.
You were here first."
Then I started looking at the line in front of me. There were
about five people, and first in line there was an obvious wino.
When he got to the window, he had trouble stating his need and
the clerk patiently helped him fill out his form.
I got my documents in 15 minutes with no difficulty at
all, and I was treated kindly and respectfully.
I was thunderstruck. In India, to get official documents like
this without a month or more of wait, you must pay off the
local officials. The size of the baksheesh determines how much
priority you will get -- if you don't pay enough right away,
you will be sent away with another form to fill out.
Eventually, you will get your documents. A rich businessman
goes to the front of the line, pays his greater amount of
baksheesh, and gets the papers immediately with no question.
Later I found out that it would be foolish to even offer
baksheesh here. You might get worse service because you
had attempted to bribe the official, or even potentially
arrested for attempted bribery.
This attitude pervades your people and gives them a
confidence and power most of our people cannot have.
I will not make the blanket statement that there is no wrongdoing in
our government, but our government is certainly not corrupt in the
sense that almost all but a few Western European and Nort American
governments are corrupt. Corruption pervades, wrongdoing is isolated.
The U.S. is not corrupt.
The correct name is Manmohan Singh who was the finance minister at the time when reforms were kicked off and is currently the prime minister of India.