A bridge in Mumbai

Halfway to paradise


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The photo suggested that the Indians are arriving on the world scene finally but the article clearly told me that they never left.


True, Mumbai and 'Mumbaikars' have big dreams. But alongwith corruption , red tape ,greed and other sins, you should also not forget the fact that India has a deficit on its budget for long. It just cannot afford to invest heavily in development of one city or metropolis while not investing enough towards development of lesser developed areas. True, corruption and vested interests (environmentalists???) have played even a larger role in keeping some of the areas backward . For example, Maharashtra's sea shore , the Konkan belt , to which the Mumbai has the closest geographic proximity (in fact Mumbai is very much a part of Konkan itself) remains far underdeveloped as a region. The Konkan railway was a dream for long and it was realized very late. No major industries, not even IT or BPO are present in this region. The big industries , power plants are opposed on 'enviornmental' grounds by vested interests and policticans. The tourism industry remains underdeveloped, immature(compare with Goa.) Agreed, the fault also might also be shared by the people of the region- lack of enterprenurial spirit or the willingness to break the shackles of the system and do somethig great in Konkan itself may not be prominent enough. But the only point I am trying to make is - India cannot afford any growth model that is not inclusive. If implemented it will only worsen the current issues that Mumbai is facing- slum dwellers , workers migrating every day in search of greener pastures ever ready to occupy newer slums, clashes between locals and 'outsiders' are all here to stay, and will get even worse if Mummbai develops at cost of other regions.

Parag Khanna wrote an excellent essay, 'Beyond City Limits' in Foreign Policy magazine. He says that in India more than 275 million people are projected to move to cities in the next twenty years! So how the city behaves is no longer a local matter; this is about the future of humanity. I grew up in Karachi and inside their homes people walk barefoot on gleaming floors. Every wall is decorated, but step outside the house and its not so pretty. Its almost as if we are at war with our own city bombing it with trash and filth, spitting on it literally. We have to change.


India is proof that one-man-one-vote democracy has severe limitations in a society with too many groups and factions. It could even be held up as an example of yet another failure of the now-dead ideology of multiculturalism
A benign but disciplinarian dictatorship, refer Singapore or even South Korea, would serve this chaotic country much better. Singapore, Korea, Japan and lately China have all done it, however it remains to be seen whether Indians are capable of the self-discipline and unity of purpose that are required to make India the next world power.

xsedieDTvX in reply to 7K4NjfptK4

I agree wholeheartedly. They need to develop a 'Sidewalk Index' to measure the efficacy of a country's growth and development. I just got back to my hotel after going to the bank which is in Andherri to handle some business. I took the bus for the first time from Kandivali--the distance can't be more than a few miles but it took me over an hour! I saw cows in a dairy along the way, an elephant, and people skirting in and out, rickshaws, cabs, buses, bucolic carts. On the way back I decided to just get off my rick and walk. Walking is even a task because the sidewalks do not exist or is just in shambles. If a country cannot build an adequate sidewalk, how is it to manage traffic? If it cannot manage traffic, how can it truly and efficiently manage commerce? Oh btw I get to the bank. The bank agent says I wasn't even necessary to be there to handle the affairs. I drop off some signed papers. She approves them. Only to call my colleague back to inform him that the papers will in fact not be sufficient... Such is business, commerce, and society in India. Oh did I mention the pity of women's rights as evidenced in Delhi. I feel this place is hopeless. Can't wait to get on the flight out.

FreeMeanderer in reply to xsedieDTvX

Sorry, I beg to differ here. The ideals of socialims and one person one vote can be detrimental to growth. True. Sometimes , dictatorial leaderships do a better job of growing than democracy. True. We need a different system of governance - maybe true- people of India have to decide.
But you simply cannot say that the giving more power to the votes of a particular strata- the literates or the affluent or for that matter the poor people is the solution.Communists did have something similar though to an extreme, and they failed miseravly in Russia. They seem to be doing better in China. We never know how long. We know for sure that China has progressed. We dont for sure whether the people are happy. At least India's sorrows and great moments are out her in the open for everyone to see.
It is not to downplay the concerns that you two have underlined- they concern me as much as they concern you. We need a change. We need something different. We just cannot afford anymore to let politicans take advantage of the people. We need to make them realize what their job is. Believe me, the so called illeterates are better in doing that than people like you and me. Perhaps it is becuase for them its a question of life and death and not merely of principles.
And noone asked you to stay in India if you dont want to. (I hope not ;at least.) You are most welcome to take that flight and explore the world :-)

Bismarck888 in reply to 7K4NjfptK4

Its funny, multiculturalism is alive and well in Singapore. Its clear you don`t have a clue what you are talking about. In Singapore, multiculturalism is enforced in a way that will make most monocultural westerners stare in horror. All children of different races are taught separately. But at the same time they force people to live with each other, based on neighborhood quotas.

7K4NjfptK4 in reply to Bismarck888

Talk about being utterly clueless: You only needed Wikipedia to establish that three quarters of Singaporeans are in fact ethnic Chinese.
Isn't it funny how most religious fanatics, including the wild-eyed adherents of the dead religion of multiculturalism, instinctively resort to ad-hominem attacks as soon as their pathetic religious orthodoxies are challenged?
Once again: Talk about being completely clueless...


The plight of commuters on all kinds of transport modes in almost all the cities in India is more or less the same. The indiscriminate increase in the number of vehicles without corresponding improvement in infrastructure of roads, parking lots and traffic signals is proving to be nerve-raking for ordinary people especially the poor pedestrians and cyclists.


I travel to Mumbai ever quarter for business. This place is atrocious. I have never seen a city so disorganized. It is organized chaos to say the least. There are definitely issues with graft and corruption that results in the inadequacy of the infrastructure, but most importantly India in a microcosm explains why its democracy fails to mobilize its large population vs. how communism and special economic zones in China are able to get things done. With 1b+ people you need some level of dictatorial power and marginalization if you have overcrowding. India will never graduate to be a world power like it believes it is. It doesn't even have sidewalks. I think one who travels can say that just like there is a big mac index, there is a 'sidewalk index'. You can tell alot about a place just by its sidewalks. Mumbai and all of India is just rubble. What's amazing is how much litter and carelessness there is for the environment. People keep the interior of their spaces spotless with dalits scrubbing their floors but quite quickly throw rubbish right outside their window or their front door. India is going nowhere fast. Pathetic how things work here. I wouldn't be optimistic. The food is terrific and the people are great, but good luck on making seismic shifts to the quality of life.

Subhenduchat in reply to xsedieDTvX

Totally agree. I live in Bangalore and I have the exact same opinion about my country. We are just so purposeless and directionless. We cannot get anything done.

It has nothing to do with political system, democracy vs communism. It is in our culture. People just love the chaos, the dirt, the noise. When I complain about the roads to my friends, they quip, why do you look at the roads! My wife throws trash out of the windows of our flat. She is an MBA, daughter of parents who were both doctors!

Indian1 in reply to Subhenduchat

We were shaped by "Study for Exam and job"(not for understanding), political correctness,psudosecularism,failed socialism,twisted and misunderstood "Dharma",middleclass aspirations.
Next generation need not be.India is what she is. India will be what we build.

FreeMeanderer in reply to xsedieDTvX

India doesnt believe it is a superpower or world power- that is what the Western media wants to happen, and some of us are led into believing. You wish India should do better than some of its neighbours- China for instance ;as you have faith in democracy-and you would like Free India to succeed rather than Communist China. You know what, we will. It will take more time than you or me , as an Indian want. But happen it will- I have no doubts to that.


Excellent, excellent piece! Except for one point: it says the Metro Line is 'almost' ready. It has been 'Almost' ready for years ... sssiigghhh (I live in Mumbai)


If you want a clearer indication of the perils of democracy compared to enlightened dictatorship this says it all. China plans and builds in record time whilst India struggles to complete one isolated route.

Whether one compares auto routes, trains or even cities China wins every time. Until India gets its act together it will lose the battle of supremacy to China.

Subhenduchat in reply to Charel

It has nothing to do with democracy. Even if you establish the toughest dictatorship, nothing will move forward in India. We just don't work, we do not have any sense of responsibility. No one take ownership of their work. There is no vision in our leaders. They do not know what good life looks like.

Brian_DL13 in reply to Charel

Democracy works very well as long as there is minimal corruption.

In China the corruption is controlled by the state. In India it's endemic.

Worldwide, there's a strong inverse correlation between the degree of corruption and a country's overall wealth ...


I read this comment somewhere

"Mumbai has people who are let down by the city;Delhi is a city let down by its people"

Haven't seen a better comment to compare and contrast the 2 cities

guest-iinljis in reply to proud2bindian

I love Delhi and Delhites. Much nicer than Mumbai. Much more cultured, much less brash. As an Englishman/Britisher of course I love New Delhi more as the traffic in Old Delhi's getting worse by the year. But I don't see how you say Delhi is let down by its people. Some of the warmest, most intelligent and most cultured people I've met anywhere in the world. It's probably why I've been there more than pretty much anywhere else.

proud2bindian in reply to 6QuG7QXcAD

P.S.- I'm from Delhi myself.I think it has some of the best infrastructure in the country,but thats mainly because a lot of people in power stay here.People are rude most of the time,with most of the people,and get angry at the drop of a hat.It has some of the most arrogant and brash people i have come across

Carlos Collaco

A must-read to all who care for Mumbai/Bombay.
As ever the city that never sleeps remains full of promise and challenge.
For all its renowned enduring energy Mumbai struggles on daily to cope with requirements that have long surpassed the ability of multiple systems to deliver.
But hope never fades away in such an environment. It is embedded in the genetic code of hustling and bustling metropolises not to give up regardless of how overwhelming the odds may be.
If the sleek design of this 8-laned bridge-over-the-water-viaduct is anything to go by the future should see many more modern infrastructure projects brought into service: sections of urban highway, the metro line, monorail line, new airport terminal, etc.
Much of it will fall far short of pent-up demand or needs that have built up over many decades.
Nonetheless, a bold start has been made;
Sea-Link underpinning it much more than merely symbolically.

Kumar D Kapasi

If only the bureaucratic red tape and the unholy builder-politician-mafia alliance could be broken, one could dream of Mumbai emerging as one of the best cities in the world. But, the recent trend indicates the near impossibility of realising that dream. In fact, the life in Mumbai has become a nightmare, with all the corruption at every level in every field. We need divine intervention to set things right in Mumbai. Amen...!



That energetic man was Mr Nitin Gadkari, he is a fall guy now, but he did deliver projects like Mumbai-Pune expressway and numerous other bridges and roads.


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