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November
10, 1999
This is
Chanda Baggarly. Today we traveled from Dehli to Amritsar.
Today we
got an early start. We woke up about 6 a.m. and were on the road by 7:30
a.m. Half the crew prepared the Rovers for departure as the other half
prepared their bodies. The first team finished its breakfast, then
replaced the Rover work crew who then went in and breakfasted themselves.
The Rovers were in good repair, as we hadn't put on many miles since our
major overhaul in Katmandu. While checking fluid levels underneath the
Rovers, we were surprised to find the starter retainer nut stuck to the
magnet on the outside of the bell housing. We didn't know what happened
as we didn't see any holes in the housing, but apparently our little
rascal got out. I guess the real question is whether it ever got in. Who
knows? Anyway, after some cleanup and fluid level checks we were on our
way, trying to find an escape from Delhi.
It was good
that we left so early as traffic was light. We had the 1997 rally book to
follow so we had a decent idea of which way to go. However, since Delhi
is large and very populated, confusion mounts with every large roundabout
we faced. Even with the best directions, finding your way out of Delhi is
no cakewalk.
Delhi is an
interesting city. As with all large cities, especially capital cities, it
is a place of great contrasts. We drove in areas of large homes,
tree-lined streets, wrought iron fences and manicured yards, as well as
tent cities that looked as if they were built in the middle of garbage
dumps. I began to wonder how the United States would look if it had this
subtropical climate. In the United States there is a similar disparity in
wealth, but the colder climate keeps the transient classes less visible.
I also wondered about land ownership. In the United States, most land is
privately owned, or public land closes at night, therefore the owner
always has the right to remove squatters. I wondered how the rights of
homeless Americans compared with those of homeless or lower-class
Indians. Were these tent cities built upon private land or was a certain
amount of land public? I don't know but perhaps I will stumble upon these
answers soon.
Traffic and
the movement of people were fairly unpredictable. Driving in India
presented a challenge on many levels. There were many different types of
vehicles traveling on the same roads. It was common to see anything from
large semi trucks to bicycles and donkey carts. There were many types of
vehicles traveling at many different rates of speed. A very alert mind
was required to negotiate in, out, around and between this sea of chaos.
From a western point of view, these drivers seemed crazy and almost out
of control, but once we got in the middle of the action, we realized how
skilled they actually are. The average driver in India has to maintain a
state of constant mindfulness while driving, ensuring a space cushion
while looking out for other drivers. Their alertness is what prevents
accidents or holds potentially large accidents to mild fender benders.
Although we saw our share of major accidents, a comparison study between
driving styles of people in the U.S. and India would reveal the
following: People in the U.S. rely on others to follow the rules in order
to prevent accidents, whereas people in India rely on a constant state of
alertness to prevent accidents. Furthermore, in the United States people
travel at a much more rapid pace which in turn makes mistakes more
costly, where as in India the pace is somewhat slower, however the
density is greater, thus leading to many accidents, but perhaps less
severe. In other words, you wouldn’t want to be an insurance agent in
Delhi. You’d be processing claims until your fingers bled.
All this is
to say there is more than one way to look at a situation. Would you
rather have more accidents if the price meant fewer fatalities? Perhaps
our ways are better sometimes and their ways are better other times. We
always have something to learn, and it is impossible to explain
differences with a blanket statement that one way of doing things is
universally superior.
At first,
the way of life in India seems quite different from life in the United
States. A common theme to most Westerners when talking about India is the
subject of Hinduism and the caste system. Although I have heard reports
that the country is trying to reduce the severity of the caste system I
don't know how they are going about it. I know it is painful to ask
ourselves about our own caste system, but we must not think of our
society as perfect. We must continue to challenge ourselves while
building a better environment for all people and creatures.
We must ask
ourselves what is worse or better: overt racism (a caste system) or
subtle racism (hidden discrimination). We need to identify racism in
ourselves and we need to do something about it. Our own community is
where we need to start. India, as in the United States, seems to have a
color gradient: the lighter the better. (I will also put the disclaimer
in here that I was only in India for a week and these are my observations
that I made in that time. If you agree or disagree, I welcome your
personal experiences or point of view, as I am eager to learn as much as
I can).
I think
everyone will agree that racism is distasteful, but if racism and
injustice must exist in society in some form, one could argue that
stating it overtly has its benefits. In an overtly racist society,
everyone knows the rules, therefore a strategy can be planned to
overthrow the unfair rules or pinpoint what needs changing. Subtle racism
involves a slow development of rules designed to subjugate a certain
class of people to maintain the power of the ruling class. The oppressed
people can never quite identify the issues that need attention and
therefore can never quite wage an effective battle. The point is this: We
must seek understanding rather than accepting the notion that our system
is perfect and does not need changing. Traveling to different places and
encountering different societies and cultures does something magical. It
challenges us to look at our own lives with a new and different
perspective. It offers us new solutions and presents new problems. As I
said, we must seek understanding because to judge is divine.
All of this
is important to keep in mind as we prepare to enter Pakistan and Iran,
countries that are not best buddies with the U.S> State Department. We
always hear about foreign people being fed propaganda about how evil
America is, but we never stop to think that the same propaganda was being
fed to us about these other places. Now is our chance to shed those ideas
and falsities and experience and appreciate the unique elements of their
cultures.
Our drive
took us up into Northern India. We often hear about bloodshed Kashmir and
Kargil, but we did not make it up that far, besides we do our best to
stay out of disputed territory. But a little history lesson will make
some sense of the conflict. As Todd mentioned earlier, India and Pakistan
became separate countries in 1947. The problem in Kashmir was the fact
that Kashmir's majority was Islamic, however, it had a Hindu Maharaja.
Also, it was more geographically connected to Pakistan. By 1948, the
Maharaja had not decided whether to ally himself with India or Pakistan,
so Pakistan sent in troops to make up his mind. After a plundering
fiasco, India was able to send troops to repel the attack. Ever since
then, tension has been high. The main reason Pakistan separated was that
Muslims didn't feel there rights would be preserved and their religious
laws would be respected in a Hindu state. I hope an agreement can be
reached soon because people continue to die in this unresolved conflict.
We saw a
variety of things, people and places on our drive. We were fortunate to
have four-lane highways a great deal of the way, but that eventually gave
way to the normal two lanes to which we had grown accustomed. By this
time, driving on the left side of the road was becoming more and more
normal, but it surely was not instinctual. One of the greatest challenges
of driving "on the other side of the road" was the difficulty
in passing other vehicles. Since the driver sat on the left of the
vehicle, he had difficulty seeing around the right side to see if it was
clear to pass. The passenger and the driver had to learn to work together
to make passing a safe ordeal. Issues had to be worked out such as
differentiating the commands of "no" and "go". There
were a few close calls but the vehicles are still in one piece and ready
for another day of driving.
Because it
is late in the harvest season, there is quite a lot of pollution as many
farmers burn the crop residue from their fields. It seems like India has
some severe environmental problems, however, we must ask ourselves where
we would be if our country was home to a population the size of India's.
When addressing environmental problems, we must ask ourselves why we let
our pollution problems get so bad before we did anything about them. Before
criticizing, we must ask who is the worst polluter. Pollution comes in
many forms, some more obvious then others and some more deadly than
others. Again, both countries have a lot to learn. Perhaps we can learn
from each other based on our past successes and failures.
India has
been an interesting place. The food has been wonderful, the sights have
been beautiful, and who can forget the monkeys hanging out in the trees?
The people have provided challenges to our own ways of thinking. India
provided us with an unsanitized look at humanity: We found examples of
very rich people and very poor ones, healthy people and a boy who had
feet the size of watermelons. We also found people that would offer you
the shirt off their backs - even though it was all they had -- and taxi
drivers in Agra who refused to take you where you wanted to go. All of
these elements are present in the United States, although we get a fairly
sanitized view of them. Our sick are hospitalized or institutionalized,
our homeless are confined to certain areas of town and our lower-class
people live in the same area. In the United States, we provide ourselves
with buffer zones between us and people who are different than us. In
India, it seems to be a greater mix. Although this seems less palatable
to us, is it healthier? We need to seek understanding, learn to live with
each other and appreciate each other. We need to dispel the fear we have
of others and hopefully regain some of the trust that we have lost. I am
not sure whether India has any of these answers but perhaps it can steer
us in a beneficial direction.
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