March 6 post

Stats from the Burma experience:

over 50 cases of traveler's disease (that's code)
1 monkey bite
16 jelly fish bites
1 leg through a floor board

Last night I learned a little more about India from the comfort of my own bed in my cabin. The informational sessions presented in the “union” is televised.

There was more discussion on the topic of the dowry system (wealth going with the bride to the groom's family) that was outlawed in 1961. Even though it's been illegal for many years, it still is practiced in some form or another. The worst kind of arranged marriage is “child marriage” where families agree to the marriages before girls are twelve years old, because young girls come with more money. The girls are identified with a red streak painted down the middled of her parted hair. This practice is used in poor families, and the girls move into the husband's family to do the housework. Educated women have organized and expose this practice and bring an arrest for it.

Many movements to change practices that make life difficult for people are underway. For instance, some people earn their living by going through trash dumps, picking out the plastic, cardboard, cloth, metals, etc. They pick through the garbage, organize it, and sell it to be recycled. Educated people form “economically active” groups where women can sell their recycled goods at a fair price, save the money their earn, and begin other businesses. “Eco-feminism” is a term used for the process where women are stopping the logging off of trees that ruins the environment and causes soil erosion. Actually, that is where the term “tree hugger” first was used!

There are approximately 3,700 different castes in Indian society. As I understand caste, it means a certain place in the order of society and is determined by the Hindu tradition. However, as I also learned, it limits being able to move from one financial level to another. As you might imagine, some educated people are trying to get the system changed as they consider it to be “discrimination” and, in fact, everyone feels lower that someone else.

The US has a high level of cooperation with India in that both Obama and Hillary Clinton came to meet with officials. India today has 560 million young people under the age of 25 and 225 million between the ages of 10 and 19.  So for the next 40 years, they will have a youthful working-age population. Imagine what could happen if India educates its youth — offering vocational training to some and university to others to equip them to take advantage of what the 21st-century global economy offers. Here's a good way it's been said about India's future: “If we get it right, India becomes the workhorse of the WORLD. If we get it wrong, there is nothing worse than unemployable, frustrated youth.” So there is now a huge push here to lure poor kids into school. India runs the world’s biggest midday lunch program, serving 250 million free school lunches each day. It’s also doubled its number of Indian Institutes of Technology, from eight to 16, and is planning 14 new universities for innovation and research.

On a lighter note, the young “interport student”, Arvind, seems to be a hit with the students. He was talking about India and couldn't seem to stop smiling. Not only is he good-looking and smart, but he can sing! Last night he sang, “I'm leaving on a jet plane” and I noticed that the female students were pretty enthusiastic! (Too bad I was too sick to have my picture taken with him!)

I'm feeling well enough to go on my excurion today!