MYTH OF A ‘DEVELOPED NATION'

A few weeks ago, I holidayed in a country that world considers developed. Though, the country may soon lose its fourth position in the hierarchy of developed nations. With a GDP of USD 4.19 trillion, we are close behind its 4.74 trillion-economy. Germany contributes 4.29 % to world GDP and shelters 1.02 % of world population. Indian share of world GDP is a little less but 17.78 % of humanity lives here.

As a tourist, that too moving around on a cycle, I had a restricted view of the country and the lives of its people.

I saw a country that was silent. Except for the city of Wurzburg where I saw something akin to buzz of a crowd, every place I visited was shrouded in a tranquil noiselessness. Vehicles and people, sparse as they were, moved with minimum sounds, as if in a silent movie. In superstores, customers walked slowly and deliberately, along long aisles lined by tall racks overflowing with goods, without obstructing the passage of other shoppers. They queued patiently at the checkout, standing a little distance off from each other. At stations, which were occasionally crowded in big towns, there was no jostling, elbowing, or a hurry to shoot ahead.

Air looked and smelled clean– actually it was odorless, except for the mild fragrance of foliage when we were in the countryside. In the purity of atmosphere everything: the sky, the buildings, and the trees, appeared like a freshly painted landscape with sharply defined margins and clear granular texture. Air Quality Index, AQI, hovered around 20. The river, along the banks of which I cycled for 14 days, was pristine. There were villages, factories, and public parks on its banks. Large cargo ships sailed its waters. But there was no debris, no floating scum, no pools of malodorous stagnant water, no flotsam, and no jetsam.

Against the blue sky, dotted with floating clouds, or against a grey sky on a cloudy day, skyline of cities, villages, or a small remote hamlet, stood out with a beauty of a picture-postcard: in cities skyline was dominated by lofty buildings, bridges on the river, and in villages – as I viewed them from across the river – it comprised church spires and terracotta-roofed half-timber houses. All seemed immaculately planned and preserved. I wondered, was this evidence of town planning as in London. London has 600 protected views – strategic sightlines that preserve views of buildings like St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster’s Palace. This constraints planning of new buildings, their heights, and designs, but is diligently followed.

Roads, cycling paths, and streets were immaculate, in literal meaning of the word. It rained off and on in the trip. I did not see a puddle, pothole, or broken section of a road, in my entire travel. People followed traffic rules diligently. If confronted by a delinquent cyclists or pedestrian, motorists stopped in their track, smilingly waving the bewildered commuter to pass. In two weeks, I spent roaming the country, I did not hear a honk. On few occasions, even the gentle tinkle of my cycle-bell startled an old lady, and she turned back staring at me wide-eyed, before smilingly moving away. Almost all pedestrians, and cyclists that crossed my path wished me cheerfully.

There was no litter on the streets. I cycled in cities, villages, and towns for more than 500 kms. I traveled in trains, buses, and trams. I roamed the bazars, tourist places, and sat in innumerable cafes. I did not notice a scrap of paper, bits of plastics, or broken glass anywhere. Early in the morning streets were lined by lidded litterbins placed in front of the buildings. Before the city woke, refuse was collected and disposed. I did not see a single garbage truck on roads during the day.

I saw evidence of a trusting government and trustworthy citizens everywhere. I did not see a cop in 14 days: on city roads, at airport – except at the immigration desk, in train stations, or at the tourist sights. At airport frisking was not mandatory. Our passports were not checked at every gate we entered. There were no security gates at the Deutch Bahn stations. Except once, our ticket was never checked. On one occasion when it was, inspector was most courteous, almost apologizing for the inconvenience. In hotels and in some apartments, facilities like a fully stocked bar, lay unlocked and unmonitored. The cycle company that had rented us excellent bikes asked us to lock them and drop the keys in the mailbox, whenever we returned them. They had not taken any security deposit, neither did they enquire about any damage to the cycles that may have occurred in 14 days, after cycling for over 500 kms.

 

In a few weeks since my return, I read thrice, statements of the highest government functionary, proclaiming that our country will be a developed nation by 2047. It is exactly 22 years from now, neither 20, nor 25. A detailed study must have been done by the experts, analyzing the past and present economic trends and development parameters, the growth charts, factoring in known and unknown disagreeable events, the inherent statistical errors, before arriving at this date; The year 2047. India would celebrate hundred years of its independence that year, informed the same functionary. And the penny dropped.

My opinion of the country, I visited recently, are premised on my subjective impressions of the land and its people – sampled from my severely brief and restricted interaction. But listening to the leader, I was, once again intrigued by the phrase ‘developed country’. Surely there must be objective criteria that would stand these assertions on a firm footing.

 

A developed country has a high quality of life, a developed economy, and an advanced technological infrastructure.

Concept of a developed-nation is intricately linked with economics. Hence, one of the most popular measures of the development of a country – and the most misleading too – is its Gross Domestic Product. If calculated in American dollars, India presently ranks 4^th, with Japan, in terms of GDP. A US dollar buys different amount of same service or goods in various countries. GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity of a dollar offers to counter this bias. As per GDP (PPP), India ranks third in world.

GDP of a country must improve the life of its people. More the number of people sharing the GDP, less of it is available for everyone. And this would affect its development. Singapore, with a GDP of 547 billion USD, ranks 28^th. Its population is 6.11 million. India has a GDP 6-10 times this, but its population is about 240 times Singapore’s. Thus, GDP cannot reflect the development of a nation. A nation with a humongous population is bound to be much higher on the ladder of GDP, however impoverished its people.

Per Capita GDP, GDP shared by each individual of a country, seems a better indicator of development. India by this measure ranks 103^rd in world. Its per capita GDP (PPP) is USD 14,943. Singapore ranks 2^nd, with a GDP (PPP) of USD 1,45,968.

Distribution of wealth and income in every country is highly skewed. Dividing GDP by population, GDP per capita, gives a grossly erroneous income of every individual. Top 1% in India shares 22.6% of national income - top 0.1% accounting for 9.6%. Bottom 50% shares only 15% of national income. Per capita income of India, distributes the billions and millions of Adanis, Ambanis, Bachhans, and my own millions, among my paramedics, my driver, my domestic helps, the homeless that occupy the shanties near the high-rise I live in, the orphans that come begging when I halt at a traffic light.

People and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for the development of a nation and not its economic growth. Human Development Index, HDI, was suggested to reflect wellbeing of the people of a country; A long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, and having a decent standard of living. Health is measured by average life expectancy at birth, education by years of schooling of adults aged 25 years or older, and standard of living by gross national income per capita. This year, India ranks 130 on HDI among 193 countries.

Happiness is the goal of every person. All development criteria must, eventually, reflect this. But happiness remains one of the most elusive human attributes to chart. World Happiness Report tries to measure this across nations. A worldwide poll conducted by the company Gallup, surveys the world population. People are asked to imagine a ladder with the best possible life for them being 10 and the worst 0. They then, rate their own lives on this, 0 to 10, scale. Indians sampled in WHR 2025, give the country a ranking of 118 among 147.

 

Human life is multidimensional. Holistic wellbeing must be measured on many scales: Demographic, social, health, educational, environmental, safety, and work. Fact that innumerable indices have been and are continually being devised to assess this is a proof that none is perfect. Governments, who are duty bound to improve lives of their people, have no recourse but only these highly incomplete and often erroneous measures. They must know the merits and demerits of these inefficient tools. Inefficient though these tools are, they do not deserve our contempt. For, they are the only windows, however narrow they may be, that permit us to glimpse at the soul of a country. These measures demand a rational suspicion not wholehearted derision. When we discard them disdainfully,  we must suggest alternative objective measures.

We rank between 100 and 150, in a sample of 150 to 200 countries, as per most of the criteria I have cited above. A look around us: in our towns, villages, and cities; in our trains, buses, and metros; in our schools, colleges, and hospitals; on infrastructure, urban or rural; on our historical monuments, museums, public parks, skyline of our giant cities and innumerable villages; our mountains, our forests, our rivers, and our lakes; corruption in each and every sphere of public life; all incontrovertibly scream the reality of where we would be in the year 2047.

Alas, world is not as we would like it to be; ‘The world is what it is’ wrote V.S. Naipaul. Truth is not bound to conform to our beliefs or to what we desire. But if we know the difference between reality and our longings, we can take measures to narrow the gap. Voluntary surrender to illusions only widens this rift.