Since I’ve been back from my 17-day trip to India, one question keeps rolling around in my brain: How can the U. S. be so much richer than India?
The International Monetary Fund states the 2023 U. S. per capita GDP at $80,412. India is $2,612. For comparison, Mexico is $13,804.
That makes the U. S. 30 times richer than India on a per capita basis. How can the gap be that great? It’s a vexing question.
The Indian people I know are smart and hard working. Unlike Americans, they all know at least two and usually three or four languages. The entire country seems industrious and active. It wasn’t as though people were just lying around on the streets doing nothing.
Indeed, big construction projects were underway everywhere. The cities were full of hustle and bustle. Skyscrapers were numerous. Public transportation seemed strong. The food was delicious.
If you ever travel to India you can be a beneficiary of this income gap. The cost of the airline flight was $1,600 round trip, but once you got there, money went an incredibly long way. Our biggest splurge was eating at the sixth-best restaurant in New Delhi one night and it was fine. The decor was outrageously extravagant. The food was perfect. We didn’t skimp on drinks or appetizers. The bill was $50 per person. In the U. S. it would have been $500 per person.
India is really more like the European Union in that it’s a federation of different countries, each with its own language and culture. Imagine if Mississippi spoke one language and Alabama spoke another and Louisiana yet another and so on.
Although there are some similarities in the languages, they are not mutually intelligible, and each has its own unique alphabet. Take the state of Tamil Nadu, for example, in southern India. It is the 10th largest state in area and the sixth largest in population.
Tamil Nadu is about the size of Mississippi but its population is 72 million and 90 percent speak Tamil. To the north, the state of Andhra Pradesh is almost the size of Mississippi and has 50 million people and 90 percent speak Telugu — a completely different language and alphabet.
Then to the west of Tamil Nadu is Karnataka, also about the size of Mississippi with 60 million people. Sixty percent of the people speak Kannada, a completely separate language from Telugu and Tamil. Another 20 percent speak Urdu.
The India states, being united by their own unique language and alphabet, place their loyalty in their state and fellow language speakers far more than the nation, which to many Indians is just a remote abstraction. India is really more like an area of 28 separate nations, each speaking their own language and having their own state government.
Lacking the unifying aspect of a common language and culture is probably a major factor in preventing India from enjoying the prosperity of the United States.
Then there is the caste system. Wikipedia defines the caste system as “Segmentation of society into groups whose membership was determined by birth.” The caste system is still strong in India. Many members of the highest Brahmin cast say they would not have a member of a lower caste as a neighbor, according to a Pew study.
There are five castes, but just like the Hindu gods, there are thousands of sub-castes. Although the government has made great progress in banning caste discrimination in the workplace, it is still strong socially and especially in marriage, where 95 percent of Indians marry within their caste.
This rigid social stratification, combined with fatalistic aspects of the Hindu religion, deter personal initiative to get rich and make it big. Indians are far more likely to accept their fate and find happiness where they are, rather than striving for great wealth or achievement.
Compare this to the American attitude of equality of opportunity and the American dream. The United States is full of big dreams and grand ambitions. Home runs are the exception, not the rule, but those striving entrepreneurs who make it big generate huge wealth for the rest of us.
There is another American factor spurring achievement: It’s in our genes. Most Americans are the product of ancestors who refused to accept the status quo and risked their lives to come to this land. That striving and initiative resides not only in the spirit of our land, but in our genetic makeup. Over time, it creates a profound difference which creates a positive cycle that feeds on itself. You can say a lot about Americans, but laid back is not a cultural trait.
The Indian acceptance of the status quo has some positive effects. Family loyalty is much greater than in America. Americans will move all over the country to make more money, leaving friends and family. Indians are much more likely to die where they were born, with mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunts and uncles all living in the same building or a few buildings nearby. The extended family is much more close knit in India than it is in America.
Here’s another positive aspect of Indian acceptance: arranged marriages. Young Indians accept direction from their parents about who to marry.
Indians are quick to brag about the low divorce rate of arranged marriages (about four percent) compared to “love marriages” (about 50 percent). One interesting accommodation to modern times: Progressive Indian parents will give their children a few years to find a “love marriage.” But if they can’t find a partner by the mid twenties, then the parents step in and take over. Respect for parents in India seems much greater than in the states.
Corruption is another big impediment to Indian prosperity. It’s rampant, especially at the lower levels. Every nation has corruption. In America, it’s subtle and often legal. But in India it’s pervasive and blatant. India is 93rd from the top on the corruption index on par with many African countries. The United States is 24th. Low level corruption can pop up anywhere, from trying to get your driver’s license to getting a building permit. It discourages initiative and creates a sense of hopelessness that impedes development.
Population has a big effect in the sense that the natural resources of India are divided up among far more people. India is a third the size of the U. S. with 4.6 times more people. The United States has far more natural resources per capita.
Then there is religion: India is Hindu. America is Christian. The Hindu religion seems more fatalistic than Christianity, which has such things as the Parable of the Talents and other exhortations to achieve and do good works to glorify God. Also, the Christian belief in resurrection and heaven motivates us to stay in the game and look to beyond. This creates drive, energy and forward thinking which translate into prosperity.
If you like to travel, consider India. It’s safe. English is widely spoken. All the signs are in English. The dollar goes a long, long way. The food is fantastic. The history and sightseeing are second to none.
An extra benefit for me was to go with my son Lawrence, who is about to graduate from Texas State. What a joy to reconnect through a 17 day trip. And he will appreciate America more for the rest of his life.
