Article: http://www.economist.com/node/16953189
This article entitled India's disappointing government: Much less than promised describes how India's government has failed to address challenges the country is facing and squandered opportunity for growth and improvement. The article specifically addresses the roles of the Prime Minister, Mr Singh and the Congress party chief, Mrs Ghandi. Although the government has been able to keep the economy steady, they have not passed much needed reforms in the areas of infrastructure, health care, and education as previously promised. The article refers to the civil nuclear cooperation deal signed with the United States as one of this government's accomplishments. However, the recent passage, by India's upper house, of a nuclear liability law could potentially deter the United States from this agreement. Finally, the article states that although Mr Singh seems to be respected by other world leaders, the people of India are highly dissatisfied with their Prime Minister.
I found this article useful as it provided insight to a few of the major political issues the government of India is facing. It allowed me to draw parallels between India and the United States, the way in which their governments function and the reaction of the people to the role of government. It is interesting to note that the governments of India, a developing country and the United States, a world "super-power" are currently facing similiar national obstacles. The Indian government has struggled to address issues such as health care and infrastructure. Similarly, the Obama Administration had difficulty advancing health care reform and has recently announced further government spending for infrastructure improvements. The Indian people, much like Americans, seem to be dissatisfied with the government leader's lack of follow through on promises to improve the county.
-Claire March
I was going to post about this article but it looks like you beat me to it!
ReplyDeleteThe comparison I was going to draw was how India is handling getting ready for the Commonwealth games in Delhi and Chicago getting the city presentable for the Olympic bid. The article discusses how the auditorium has a leaky roof and the athlete's village doesn't even have a kitchen. Compare that to Chicago where our tax dollars went to the areas the Olympic committee visited while crater-sized potholes plagued the rest of the city streets. In both cases I can argue there was a mis-management of money taking place but it appears more evident to outsiders in India's case.
Now to go post my own article...
Claire,
ReplyDeleteI think that this article tells me more about the difficulties of governing India, than of any specific government. As the world's largest democracy, a number of important subjects such as infrastructure and education that the article refer to are specifically the responsibility of states in India and not the union(Federal) government. As in the US, the application of the principle of Federalism leads to the onus being on state governments to enact laws and make policies in these areas. The Union or Central government does not have much leverage on states to do so.