The Times of India, arguably a rather venerable newspaper in India published with much glee, the news that for the first time in history, average Indian's income crosses Rs 3000.
While on the face of it, this is ecstatic news supposed to make you feel good and believe India is shining, a few facts would put the matter in perspective.
So when the news piece starts with the following line:
The monthly income of an average Indian for the first time in the country's history has crossed Rs 3,000, thanks to economic reforms and a high growth rate of above 9% achieved for three years since 2005-06.
I am seriously tempted to believe that this might just be a media stunt by some rather unscrupulous people, both in the media as well as the political machine, who still live under the false impression that resurgent India will now gobble up every lie thrown at them without question!!! The halo effect of a rather deserved mandate better die down now, because the great power has been given, and we will watch you while you perform your great responsibilities!!!
While on the face of it, this is ecstatic news supposed to make you feel good and believe India is shining, a few facts would put the matter in perspective.
- The average Indian is predominantly a fictitious character. The fact being that the middle class is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Rising incomes in key sectors ensures that the chasm between the haves and have-nots is essentially becoming wider and more well defined.
- Any conclusion regarding an average distribution of demographic information, generally assumes that the distribution of the population is on a Bell's curve or somewhere near that. The truth is the population in India is nowhere near a bell curve, but rather as shown below. Applying a simple average to this type of distribution would produce a rather skewed result.
So when the news piece starts with the following line:
The monthly income of an average Indian for the first time in the country's history has crossed Rs 3,000, thanks to economic reforms and a high growth rate of above 9% achieved for three years since 2005-06.
I am seriously tempted to believe that this might just be a media stunt by some rather unscrupulous people, both in the media as well as the political machine, who still live under the false impression that resurgent India will now gobble up every lie thrown at them without question!!! The halo effect of a rather deserved mandate better die down now, because the great power has been given, and we will watch you while you perform your great responsibilities!!!
1 comment:
I seriously hope the new govt doesn't let it's victory go to it's head this time - they've come across as arrogant in the post-poll interviews. I hope they deliver and make some of their claims a reality... I hope they give us a strong set of real reasons to re-elect them the next time around.
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