Maria Ene’s traditional white house on a muddy, unnamed Romanian street doesn’t have running water, but it does have two satellite dishes sprouting from its fence.
Unlike India which had non-violence as its chosen path for its freedom struggle, Romania’s history is filled with lots of violence, over centuries, in securing the Land of Romania. It became a republic in the same year when India got its independence , 1947. But while India went for socialist based democratic pattern, Communists took Romania, for the next forty two years and with just Two Rulers in that period!
I was under the impression that Communism distributes national assets to the people (nationalized), but I didn’t knew that when a dictator or single person ruled communist state is as good as a non-democratic exploitative regime ! The second communist leader here, notoriously famous for his bad rule for more than thirty five years, built the Largest Parliament Building(also the second largest building after Pentagon) while people died of hunger just outside its boundaries ! And it is called the Palace of the People !
While we had incidents of violence during emergency and the anti-sikh riots, it is 1989 when a revolution stormed Romania, to topple communism and democracy is ushered, in its namesake conversion of ‘ism’. Many students died in the revolution , in its final round of violence.
From 1989 in Romania (Change of type of govt) and 1991 in India (economic reforms and the opening up of the country), things seem to have started improving. At least in the eyes of the world. But at the ground level , did they ? I cannot totally agree with that, at least for India.
More than 20 years after the fall of communism, the wealth gap between the east and west of Europe persists, and countries from the Black Sea to the Baltic are shedding people at an alarming rate.
More than 20 years after the reforms, India has increased number of people below poverty (though officially , it is reduced! ) , and increasing number of malnourished.
While membership in the European Union has brought prosperity to many, it has also made it easier to emigrate, drawing young people out of the east, especially rural areas, and leaving behind an ever older and poorer population.
Romania, the EU’s second-poorest member with an average monthly wage of $450, is one of the worst affected, with a 12 percent population drop in a decade, according to census data.
India is struggling in its Human Development Index (that shows the social infrastructure), Hunger Index (extremely poor performance) and agriculture.
“Ninety percent of Romanians do not believe there is going to be a better future in Romania,” said Victor Ponta, who leads Romania’s leftist opposition and is favourite to be the next prime minister after a November election.
On the other hand, people in India are highly optimistic (or I should say , proud ? ), they cheer Mera Bharat Mahaan (India is great) when more than half of India is living with less than 40 Rs per day.
“Around 60 percent of the population in the commune is above 50, so I expect the population to continue dropping. Marriages are fewer and fewer, and the number of deaths is double the number of births in the last years,” Manea said
“I have a 300 lei ($90) pension and my husband has 600 lei,” Ene said. “We live from one day to the next.”
Poverty drives central Europe’s great exodus.
India too has huge brain drain, with its advantages and disadvantages. May be the numbers (people outside, and settled in wealthy countries ) give a bit of advantage in terms of the remittances (the highest invisible(s) in our budget ).
The politics are dirty and corrupt here and there, and the public spending of the government on social infrastructure is minimal.
After all, the type of governement does not seem to make much of a difference. Socialism, Communism, Capitalism etc etc, cannot do anything unless there are few souls up there at the top who have the passion and empathy to serve the fellow-beings. All we need is a bunch of honest and efficient people, from the last sixty five years !
India and Romania has very different set of historical events. Yet the present is more or less the same, and the future ?
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Very nice GMR
What you said is true, but predicting India’s future with current stand point should be possible. Indian National Congress is the worst thing which happened to India since Independence. It is closer to monarchy (family based intrigue politics ) than a democracy ruling the country. So democracy is a misnomer even in India. Primarily we should be ashamed to have a person with non Indian birth origin leading the ruling party and there is nothing we could do about it, that’s how bad we are. I am afraid no other country ( including Romania ) would let it happen.
On the other hand, educated younger generation is blamed for not participating in politics, but that’s just for a sheer argument sake. It really doesn’t change anything in the world of intrigue politics. Only way you can make a difference is through civil services and even there is less motivation even there to empower the country with better facilities and infrastructure rather