UN, Indian Officials Agree India Worse Than Pakistan, Bangladesh in Food, Hygiene

[k_n]

Your kidding yourself.

Indians get angry when stark poverty is pointed out, when their dark race is pointed out, when their religious beliefs are pointed out. When its just pointed out and not critized the Indians right off the bat get angry. Nothing bad is said it is just pointed out. Indians get angry. I wonder why.

Mate , I'm not falling into your trap .

Mr. Riaz points out to CRITICISE as does any Brit , American or Indian . Every soul points out to Criticise or Glorify or Judge . Problem is he criticises by making EXTRPOLATED comparisons with Pak . If he somehow uses a bit guile here and there then he resorts to criticism ( AND ONLY CRITICISM but no due appreciation when deemed ) that directly cements the 'stereotypical' image of India ( combined with the Indophobia giving rise to all sorts of conspiracy theories in your popular media ) that has been painted on the minds of an average Pakistani over the years . Where is the need for that . Since , he has been doing this and being appreciated by fellow Pakistanis Indians are bound to take his delibrate attempts at maligning India on the face value of it .

 

[RiazHaq]

Here are excerpts from a piece by Bloomberg's Hindol Sengupta, an honest Indian:

...Add this bookstore to the list of India-Pakistan rivalry. A bookstore so big that it is actually called a bank. The book store to beat all bookstores in the subcontinent, I have found books I have never seen anywhere in India at the three-storeyed Saeed Book Bank in leafy Islamabad. The collection is diverse, unique and with a special focus on foreign policy and subcontinental politics (I wonder why?), this bookstore is far more satisfying than any of the magazine-laden monstrosities I seem to keep trotting into in India. ...

Yes, that's right. The meat. There always, always seems to be meat in every meal, everywhere in Pakistan. Every where you go, everyone you know is eating meat. From India, with its profusion of vegetarian food, it seems like a glimpse of the other world. The bazaars of Lahore are full of meat of every type and form and shape and size and in Karachi, I have eaten some of the tastiest rolls ever. For a Bengali committed to his non-vegetarianism, this is paradise regained. Also, the quality of meat always seems better, fresher, fatter, more succulent, more seductive, and somehow more tantalizingly carnal in Pakistan. ....

Let me tell you that there is no better leather footwear than in Pakistan. I bought a pair of blue calf leather belt-ons from Karachi two years ago and I wear them almost everyday and not a dent or scratch! Not even the slightest tear. They are by far the best footwear I have ever bought and certainly the most comfortable. Indian leather is absolutely no match for the sheer quality and handcraftsmanship of Pakistani leather wear.

Yes. Yes, you read right. The roads. I used to live in Mumbai and now I live in Delhi and, yes, I think good roads are a great, mammoth, gargantuan luxury! Face it, when did you last see a good road in India? Like a really smooth road. Drivable, wide, nicely built and long, yawning, stretching so far that you want zip on till eternity and loosen the gears and let the car fly. A road without squeeze or bump or gaping holes that pop up like blood-dripping kitchen knives in Ramsay Brothers films. When did you last see such roads? Pakistan is full of such roads. Driving on the motorway between Islamabad and Lahore, I thought of the Indian politician who ruled a notorious —, one could almost say viciously — potholed state and spoke of turning the roads so smooth that they would resemble the cheeks of Hema Malini. They remained as dented as the face of Frankenstein's monster. And here, in Pakistan, I was travelling on roads that — well, how can one now avoid this? — were as smooth as Hema Malini's cheeks! Pakistani roads are broad and smooth and almost entirely, magically, pot hole free. How do they do it; this country that is ostensibly so far behind in economic growth compared to India? But they do and one of my most delightful experiences in Pakistan has been travelling on its fabulous roads. No wonder the country is littered with SUVs — Pakistan has the roads for such cars! Even in tiny Bajaur in the North West frontier province, hard hit by the Taliban, and a little more than a frontier post, the roads were smoother than many I know in India. Even Bajaur has a higher road density than India! If there is one thing we should learn from the Pakistanis, it is how to build roads. And oh, another thing, no one throws beer bottles or trash on the highways and motorways....

The Hindu : Magazine / Columns : With love from across the border

 

[deepak75]

Here are excerpts from a piece by Bloomberg's Hindol Sengupta, an honest Indian:

...Add this bookstore to the list of India-Pakistan rivalry. A bookstore so big that it is actually called a bank. The book store to beat all bookstores in the subcontinent, I have found books I have never seen anywhere in India at the three-storeyed Saeed Book Bank in leafy Islamabad. The collection is diverse, unique and with a special focus on foreign policy and subcontinental politics (I wonder why?), this bookstore is far more satisfying than any of the magazine-laden monstrosities I seem to keep trotting into in India. ... just completing what you missed there in this para of the original article : ....This time I went in to buy one book on the Taliban and came out with nine, including a delightful hardbound collection of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poetry.

Yes, that's right. The meat. There always, always seems to be meat in every meal, everywhere in Pakistan. Every where you go, everyone you know is eating meat. From India, with its profusion of vegetarian food, it seems like a glimpse of the other world. The bazaars of Lahore are full of meat of every type and form and shape and size and in Karachi, I have eaten some of the tastiest rolls ever. For a Bengali committed to his non-vegetarianism, this is paradise regained. Also, the quality of meat always seems better, fresher, fatter, more succulent, more seductive, and somehow more tantalizingly carnal in Pakistan. ....

Let me tell you that there is no better leather footwear than in Pakistan. I bought a pair of blue calf leather belt-ons from Karachi two years ago and I wear them almost everyday and not a dent or scratch! Not even the slightest tear. They are by far the best footwear I have ever bought and certainly the most comfortable. Indian leather is absolutely no match for the sheer quality and handcraftsmanship of Pakistani leather wear.

Yes. Yes, you read right. The roads. I used to live in Mumbai and now I live in Delhi and, yes, I think good roads are a great, mammoth, gargantuan luxury! Face it, when did you last see a good road in India? Like a really smooth road. Drivable, wide, nicely built and long, yawning, stretching so far that you want zip on till eternity and loosen the gears and let the car fly. A road without squeeze or bump or gaping holes that pop up like blood-dripping kitchen knives in Ramsay Brothers films. When did you last see such roads? Pakistan is full of such roads. Driving on the motorway between Islamabad and Lahore, I thought of the Indian politician who ruled a notorious —, one could almost say viciously — potholed state and spoke of turning the roads so smooth that they would resemble the cheeks of Hema Malini. They remained as dented as the face of Frankenstein's monster. And here, in Pakistan, I was travelling on roads that — well, how can one now avoid this? — were as smooth as Hema Malini's cheeks! Pakistani roads are broad and smooth and almost entirely, magically, pot hole free. How do they do it; this country that is ostensibly so far behind in economic growth compared to India? But they do and one of my most delightful experiences in Pakistan has been travelling on its fabulous roads. No wonder the country is littered with SUVs — Pakistan has the roads for such cars! Even in tiny Bajaur in the North West frontier province, hard hit by the Taliban, and a little more than a frontier post, the roads were smoother than many I know in India. Even Bajaur has a higher road density than India! If there is one thing we should learn from the Pakistanis, it is how to build roads. And oh, another thing, no one throws beer bottles or trash on the highways and motorways....

The Hindu : Magazine / Columns : With love from across the border

Riaz you should know Bengalis better. With their intellect, it is a habit that they start with a pun and then build up everything to a cresendo before they throw in the punch line.

This is how the article starts.

As promised, since the last time I wrote this column, I have made one more trip to Pakistan. This time I smoked honey cigars in Lahore, shopped at the Islamabad's spectacular Saeed Book Bank, heard Abida Parveen sing and went down tunnels dug by the Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in the Hindukush hills of Bajaur in the north-west frontier province of Pakistan.

And the ending punch line that you did not post and which is at the end of the article is the following: Let me complete the article for you:

And oh, here's the best thing. Indian rupee is worth almost double the Pakistani rupee, so everything is at a 50 percent discount. Naturally, I love Pakistan!

That is why I keep on quoting Albert Einstien to you my friend.

Any fool can know. The point is to understand - Albert Einstien.

You also missed a bit of text in between that I have completed in your original post above in red.

And finally Riaz, we the younger generations want to move ahead from this process of belittleting each other. I can say this at least about the younger generation in India and after meeting several Pakistani friends in Middle East and Malaysia, I strongly believe that they also think exactly like that.

This mental process of maligning each other is taking a back seat progressively and getting out of the fashion and should now be relegated to the old thinking.

So please stop this habit of reviving your threads with more India bashing articles. It is getting too predictive Sir.

Reading everything above, I can see that Hidol Sengupta has been very honest in his account. The question is what have you been?

 

[Shabaz Sharif]

Agreed with deepak75, article is good and i don't know why RiazHaq left some lines? There hardly any wrong with then in the first place. And HINDOL SENGUPTA seem pretty good person, we need these type of people on both sides.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

ahh yes, Saeed Book Bank. That's where I got Air Commodore (retd.) S Sajjad Haider's book Flight of the Falcon.

they have a HUUUGE selection of books. For those in Lahore, you can go to Oxford Univ. Press book store; it's in Cantt. area if i'm not mistaken



as for rest of the article, i appreciate his views and the fact that he really enjoyed our God-gifted country, despite the political problems.

I also am always excited and thrilled in a jovial way every time i take Motorway. I'm usually sad when the journey is over!

 

[RiazHaq]

Riaz you should know Bengalis better. With their intellect, it is a habit that they start with a pun and then build up everything to a cresendo before they throw in the punch line.

This is how the article starts.




And the ending punch line that you did not post and which is at the end of the article is the following: Let me complete the article for you:



That is why I keep on quoting Albert Einstien to you my friend.

Any fool can know. The point is to understand - Albert Einstien.

You also missed a bit of text in between that I have completed in your original post above in red.

And finally Riaz, we the younger generations want to move ahead from this process of belittleting each other. I can say this at least about the younger generation in India and after meeting several Pakistani friends in Middle East and Malaysia, I strongly believe that they also think exactly like that.

This mental process of maligning each other is taking a back seat progressively and getting out of the fashion and should now be relegated to the old thinking.

So please stop this habit of reviving your threads with more India bashing articles. It is getting too predictive Sir.

Reading everything above, I can see that Hidol Sengupta has been very honest in his account. The question is what have you been?

Ethnicity has nothing to do with being honest. Being honest is a god start toward peace and friendship.

The statement about currency difference is an accurate statement, and is not necessarily a bad thing. The currency differences often drive tourism between nations to look for bargains.

There is nothing dishonest about quoting a person and providing a link to the original piece for everyone to see.

BTW, Hindol is not a lone Indian in writing honestly about his impressions of Pakistan.

Others, such as Yoginder Sikand, have also written similar pieces.

"Islamabad is surely the most well-organized,picturesque and endearing city in all of South Asia. Few Indians would, however, know this, or, if they did, would admit it. After all, the Indian media never highlights anything positive about Pakistan, because for it only 'bad' news about the country appears to be considered 'newsworthy'. That realization hit me as a rude shock the moment I stepped out of the plane and entered Islamabad's plush International Airport, easily far more efficient, modern and better maintained than any of its counterparts in India. And right through my week-long stay in the city, I could not help comparing Islamabad favorably with every other South Asian city that I have visited. That week in Islamabad consisted essentially of a long string of pleasant surprises, for I had expected Islamabad to be everything that the Indian media so uncharitably and erroneously depicts Pakistan as. The immigration counter was staffed by a smart young woman, whose endearing cheerfulness was a refreshing contrast to the grave, somber and unwelcoming looks that one is generally met with at immigration counters across the world that make visitors to a new country feel instantly unwelcome."

Haq's Musings: Foreign Visitors to Pakistan Pleasantly Surprised

 

[savagepriest]

yes the food and sellers here in india are not hygienic if you buy from open vendors but the condition is better the pak and bangladesh i think

 

[Vande Mataram]

This is obviously some blog again.

Here's why:
"UN, Indian Officials Agree"

What the hell?
Either this person doesn't know how to write or is writing crap.

Why do they need to agree on anything. When writing a report, they STATE the fact. They don't give their opinion or express their views.

 

[SEAL]

Indian is responsible for Global warming new threat to south Asia.

 

[Vande Mataram]

Indian is responsible for Global warming new threat to south Asia.

 

[sirius]

OK OK India is the worst country in the world with Malnutrition,poverty etc etc..happy now?

Indian is responsible for Global warming new threat to south Asia.

this one is the joke of the century.. if india is responsible for global warming then pakistan is responsible for global terrorism..



ps:riazhaq i really pity you

 

[RiazHaq]

Only those unable to afford two meals a day in India are defined as poor...as if humans have no other basic needs such as clothing, housing, sanitation, etc.

India's official poverty measure has long been based solely upon the ability to purchase a minimum recommended daily diet of 2,400 kilocalories (kcal) in rural areas where about 70 percent of people live, and 2,100 kcal in urban areas. Rural areas usually have higher kcal requirements because of greater physical activity among rural residents. The National Planning Commission, which is responsible for the estimate, currently estimates that a monthly income of about Rs. 356 (about US$7.74) per person is needed to provide the required diet in rural areas and Rs. 539 in urban areas. Factors such as housing, health care, and transportation are not taken into account in the poverty estimates, according to demographers Carl Haub and O.P Sharma.

World Bank estimates are used for comparative purposes. The World Bank estimates that 41.6 percent of India's population% of (vs 22 percent Pakistanis) lives below $1.25 per day and 75.6 percent of Indians live below $2 per day (versus 60% in Pakistan).

Haq's Musings: Grinding Poverty in Resurgent India

What Is Poverty, Really? The Case of India - Population Reference Bureau

 

[Hutchroy]

Pakistan vs India: the widening gap – The Express Tribune

Pakistan vs India: the widening gap

In 1947, Pakistan and India had roughly the same gross domestic product per capita, i.e. the average Pakistani was about as rich (or rather, as poor) as the average Indian. But with the end of British domination and the formation of a new country, this was an era of great ambition.

Alas, things did not work out as planned. Jinnah died a year into independence, a string of successive military defeats by India — including one which led to the loss of our Eastern half — and deep, corrosive political instability and corruption, plus an inability to even remotely deal with the deep structural problems the British never addressed (such as feudalism), have left Pakistan in a terrible fix. Our country is broken.

For the longest time, however, this hasn’t mattered because, as it was said to me many years ago, the most important thing is our national security. It’s true — perhaps after hundreds of years of foreign rule we have an excuse to be a little pathological about our security. But surely we should consider that no one in their right mind would want to annex Pakistan. Countries go to extreme lengths to keep our citizens out, the last thing they would seem to want to do is to invade us. Besides, what are they going to take?

Yet, our elite continues to trot out this argument time and time again, stuck in some sort of time-warp, a time when Pakistan could afford self-importance and lofty concerns about its safekeeping. The stark reality — that we have not only hit a brick wall but that we will continue to sink economically, socially, politically, and in practically every sphere of human activity — has been held off by the illusion of Pakistan’s need for protection.

I think I know what will get the attention of our elite. I accept that many people —perhaps the vast majority of our leaders — are only interested in self-enrichment. In Kenya, whenever a new government comes to power they use the refreshingly honest phrase ‘Now it’s our turn to eat’. But there surely must be some who are thinking of a Pakistan a few years from now, perhaps five, 10, or, even 20 years from now. And what will that Pakistan look like?

With some certainty one can predict that it will be a desperately poor country with a largely illiterate population. Its cities will continue to be overpopulated. A small minority will have access to drinking water and a working toilet. The country will continue to produce little art, possess little advanced technology, publish few books and perhaps will continue to have remotely flown toys police our backyards from the skies. It will have a reasonable sized military though, the ‘largest in the Muslim world’ perhaps.

This scenario isn’t going to be a wake-up call to action. But — and here’s the kicker — although Pakistan will continue to be as poor and as miserable a place as it is now, our neighbour India is becoming a dramatically different place altogether. Last year the average Indian made about $3,500 annually. The average Pakistani, $2,000. Ten years ago the disparity was reversed. Ten years from now the average Indian will be twice as rich as the average Pakistani and this gap is only going to widen in the decades and years to come.

India is racing toward economic and social advancement. Its population is becoming richer, more literate, more tech-savvy. And why is this happening? Because China’s awesome economic growth scares the living daylights out of India and this ensures that Indians are fixated by their economic growth in turn. Our former rival has put on running shoes and barely has enough time to check its rear view mirror to look at us, so focused is it on the Chinese panda.

Even though the Pakistan of the future will still be what it is now — and since our leaders can tolerate the present they will be perfectly willing to tolerate this future — what they and any proud, prickly and pathologically paranoid Pakistani might not be able to tolerate is turning up to a party to find out that your former neighbours who were once as poor and wretched as you now seem to have won the lottery. The sad fact is that unless we do something we will soon be alone in our misery and backwardness. Today’s India is not so much disinterested by Pakistan as it is embarrassed by its continued association with us.

yadegar.zaveri@tribune.com.pk

 

[RiazHaq]

Pakistan vs India: the widening gap – The Express Tribune

Pakistan vs India: the widening gap

In 1947, Pakistan and India had roughly the same gross domestic product per capita, i.e. the average Pakistani was about as rich (or rather, as poor) as the average Indian. But with the end of British domination and the formation of a new country, this was an era of great ambition.

Alas, things did not work out as planned. Jinnah died a year into independence, a string of successive military defeats by India — including one which led to the loss of our Eastern half — and deep, corrosive political instability and corruption, plus an inability to even remotely deal with the deep structural problems the British never addressed (such as feudalism), have left Pakistan in a terrible fix. Our country is broken.

For the longest time, however, this hasn’t mattered because, as it was said to me many years ago, the most important thing is our national security. It’s true — perhaps after hundreds of years of foreign rule we have an excuse to be a little pathological about our security. But surely we should consider that no one in their right mind would want to annex Pakistan. Countries go to extreme lengths to keep our citizens out, the last thing they would seem to want to do is to invade us. Besides, what are they going to take?

Yet, our elite continues to trot out this argument time and time again, stuck in some sort of time-warp, a time when Pakistan could afford self-importance and lofty concerns about its safekeeping. The stark reality — that we have not only hit a brick wall but that we will continue to sink economically, socially, politically, and in practically every sphere of human activity — has been held off by the illusion of Pakistan’s need for protection.

I think I know what will get the attention of our elite. I accept that many people —perhaps the vast majority of our leaders — are only interested in self-enrichment. In Kenya, whenever a new government comes to power they use the refreshingly honest phrase ‘Now it’s our turn to eat’. But there surely must be some who are thinking of a Pakistan a few years from now, perhaps five, 10, or, even 20 years from now. And what will that Pakistan look like?

With some certainty one can predict that it will be a desperately poor country with a largely illiterate population. Its cities will continue to be overpopulated. A small minority will have access to drinking water and a working toilet. The country will continue to produce little art, possess little advanced technology, publish few books and perhaps will continue to have remotely flown toys police our backyards from the skies. It will have a reasonable sized military though, the ‘largest in the Muslim world’ perhaps.

This scenario isn’t going to be a wake-up call to action. But — and here’s the kicker — although Pakistan will continue to be as poor and as miserable a place as it is now, our neighbour India is becoming a dramatically different place altogether. Last year the average Indian made about $3,500 annually. The average Pakistani, $2,000. Ten years ago the disparity was reversed. Ten years from now the average Indian will be twice as rich as the average Pakistani and this gap is only going to widen in the decades and years to come.

India is racing toward economic and social advancement. Its population is becoming richer, more literate, more tech-savvy. And why is this happening? Because China’s awesome economic growth scares the living daylights out of India and this ensures that Indians are fixated by their economic growth in turn. Our former rival has put on running shoes and barely has enough time to check its rear view mirror to look at us, so focused is it on the Chinese panda.

Even though the Pakistan of the future will still be what it is now — and since our leaders can tolerate the present they will be perfectly willing to tolerate this future — what they and any proud, prickly and pathologically paranoid Pakistani might not be able to tolerate is turning up to a party to find out that your former neighbours who were once as poor and wretched as you now seem to have won the lottery. The sad fact is that unless we do something we will soon be alone in our misery and backwardness. Today’s India is not so much disinterested by Pakistan as it is embarrassed by its continued association with us.

yadegar.zaveri@tribune.com.pk

This entire piece is based on the writer's own incorrect perceptions rather than any credible data from international sources. It fails even the very basic fact checks.

The facts show that the vast majority of Indians are significantly worse off than Pakistanis.

Here's the real comparisons between the two neighbors:

One out of every three illiterate adults in the world is an Indian, according to UNESCO.

One out of very two hungry persons in the world is an Indian, according to World Food Program.

Almost one out of two Indians lives below the poverty line of $1.25 per day.

And yet, India spends $30 billion on defense, and just increased the defense budget by 32% last year.

Poverty:

Population living under $1.25 a day - India: 41.6% Pakistan: 22.6% Source: UNDP

Population living under $2 a day - India: 76%, Pakistan: 60% Source: UNDP

Underweight Children Under Five (in percent) Pakistan 38% India 46% Source: UNICEF

Life expectancy at birth (years), 2007 India: 63.4 Pakistan: 66.2 Source: HDR2009

Education:

Youth (15–24 years) literacy rate, 2000 to 2007, male Pakistan: 80% India 87% Source: UNICEF

Youth (15–24 years) literacy rate, 2000 to 2007, female Pakistan 60% India 77% Source: UNICEF

Economics:

GDP per capita (US$), 2008 Pak:$1000-1022 India $1017-1100

Child Protection:

Child marriage under 15-years ; 1998–2007, total Pakistan - 32% India - 47% Source: UNICEF

Under-5 mortality rate per 1000 live births (2007), Value Pakistan - 90 India 72 Source: UNICEF

Haq's Musings: Food, Clothing and Shelter in India and Pakistan

 

[foxbat]

This entire piece is based on the writer's own incorrect perceptions rather than any credible data from international sources. It fails even the very basic fact checks.

The facts show that the vast majority of Indians are significantly worse off than Pakistanis.

Here's the real comparisons between the two neighbors:

One out of every three illiterate adults in the world is an Indian, according to UNESCO.

One out of very two hungry persons in the world is an Indian, according to World Food Program.

Almost one out of two Indians lives below the poverty line of $1.25 per day.

And yet, India spends $30 billion on defense, and just increased the defense budget by 32% last year.

Poverty:

Population living under $1.25 a day - India: 41.6% Pakistan: 22.6% Source: UNDP

Population living under $2 a day - India: 76%, Pakistan: 60% Source: UNDP

Underweight Children Under Five (in percent) Pakistan 38% India 46% Source: UNICEF

Life expectancy at birth (years), 2007 India: 63.4 Pakistan: 66.2 Source: HDR2009

Education:

Youth (15–24 years) literacy rate, 2000 to 2007, male Pakistan: 80% India 87% Source: UNICEF

Youth (15–24 years) literacy rate, 2000 to 2007, female Pakistan 60% India 77% Source: UNICEF

Economics:

GDP per capita (US$), 2008 Pak:$1000-1022 India $1017-1100

Child Protection:

Child marriage under 15-years ; 1998–2007, total Pakistan - 32% India - 47% Source: UNICEF

Under-5 mortality rate per 1000 live births (2007), Value Pakistan - 90 India 72 Source: UNICEF

Haq's Musings: Food, Clothing and Shelter in India and Pakistan

So predictable.. Dude, when you happily publish Hindol and Sikand's impressions without hard data, why have such a negative attitude towards zaveri...

About Data, lets not start all over again. Ramu, Karan and others gave you a lot of other statistics also on Economy and social situation where Pakistan was lower. We can go about re hashing that or simply read a Pakistani's perception about his country just like we did an Indian's