India Rising

Guess who's on the cover of Newsweek's latest?

That's right, the luminous Padma Lakshmi. My Dad sent me the link to the newest article on "the changing face of India," as its been called by many in the media. I'm excited to read an article chock full of names of my Indian intellectual and literary heroes (Rushdie, Jumpa Lahiri, Zakaria, etc.---Arundhati Roy conspicuously missing), but as a student of international development, I always view these celebrations of rapid economic growth with almost knee-jerk skepticism. I've seen first hand who such growth benefits and who it excludes, marginalizes, and silences. I doubt that the adivasis (indigenous people) of Orissa--whose land was privitized and bought out by Tata Steel corporation just this year and who staged a rebellion with bows and arrows--will benefit much from Apple or McDonald's barging their way into India's middle class market. I know I'm just reiterating the anti-globalization tropes one hears at any good liberal arts college, but now I have real life EXPERIENCE to ground it in, and I see how infinitely complicated things are.

Sigh. I need a cookie. Hopefully locally baked one, not a Chips Ahoy corporation one.

TKP