Book description
In the 21st century every sixth human being will be Indian. India is
very close to becoming the second largest consumer market in the
world, with a buying middle class numbering over half a billion. It is
in the top ten in overall GNP. Yet at least 200 million Indians remain
desperately poor. Illiteracy rates are high. Communal violence is
widespread; corruption endemic. Brides are still tortured and burnt
for dowries; the caste system has lost little of its power and none of
its brutality.
How are we to make sense of these two, apparently contradictory,
pictures of India today? And how can we overcome the many
misconceptions about India that are fed by the stereotypes created by
foreigners and the myths about themselves projected by Indians? In
Being Indian, Pavan Varma, whom the Guardian has
called 'one of the country's most perceptive writers', demolishes the
myths and generalisations as he turns his sharply observant gaze on
his fellow countrymen to examine what really makes Indians tick
and what they have to offer the world in the 21st century.
A member of the Indian Foreign Service, Pavan K. Varma has served in
Moscow, in New York and in Cyprus. He has been Press Secretary to the
President of India and is currently director of the Nehru Centre in
London.
