Asian (con)Fusion: India divided - even at the mall
Famed as I am for my sartorial elegance and grace (insert irony icon here), I've yet to visit the swanky new series of fashion malls in South Delhi that have been built close to where I live. I wrote previously about the army of workers who had slowly built the malls and who will never get to look inside - a post that attracted a couple of comments that suggested this was the situation at most malls around the world.
But now I discover news that leads me to think that one mall in particular will never be getting a visit from me.
According to a report by Reuters, the owners of the new Emporio mall, adorned with palms and scented with lavender, are charging an entry fee of 200 rupees, or around £2.50. This might not seem a high price for entry to a world of exclusivity and luxury in the West, but in India its several days wages for the vast majority of people in the country, most of whom survive on a pound or less a day.
I suppose the entire point about luxury is its exclusivity; if everyone could afford to have that Hermes handbag then perhaps it would not have the same cachet. I guess that's the point about the Emporio mall as well; the owners do not want their high-end customers being upset and put off by the sight of poor Indians dragging their heels around the polished marbled floors.
As someone who's no fan of malls anway, the idea of paying to enter such an establishment strikes me as utterly absurd. But I can't help feeling this whole thing has a more sinister side to it. As Satish Deshpande, professor of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, said in the report: "The conditions, the ground conditions are not like those of Western cities. So, we are tending more and more toward a kind of apartheid, a kind of separation that is very sharp and sharply visible in our cities."
I've always admired your insight into reporting from India, as only you do. I put you almost (as it's hard to top his experience) at par with Robert Fisk in honest reporting.
We, as a people, oftentimes fail to see how those from the "outside" see us.
The Apartheid that you mention has always been in our society, now only more stark as the "Other India" clashes with the "New India". It's quite obvious in the shantytowns that spring up around the new housing developments and malls , where the those who service the the "New India" can only dream of enjoying its benefits. Class distinction is an inherent part of us, whether it's
dark skinned vs light (witness the ads for all the skin-lightening potions in the market); whether it's in politics, where parties are not idelogy-based but are formed along the lines of caste/region/religion. It's even perpetuated by the Bollywood formula-movies, which, due to their huge draw, could easily be used to promote a social message where gratuitous rape & violence and social differences (the usual Bollywood fare) are unacceptable. Bollywood actors, who are treated like living Gods (witness Cheeru's recent draw of 100,00 people to the launch of his new party!) should be in the forefront of social upliftment as many in Hollywood are.
Our leaders, who should set the tone for change, alas, are too pre-occupied with the blame game to accept any responsibility (witness the recent carnages in Orissa/Karnataka/MP/Maharashtra and the Chamunda Temple stampede, to name a few).
All this in a nation where Gandhi exemplified honest leadership, social change and personal responsibility almost two generations ago!.
Posted by: Aloorat | Tuesday, 14 October 2008 at 07:37 PM
LOL Andrew I really enjoyed reading this thread. You've hit the nail on the spot. With the arrival of wealth and opportunity, it's sad to see the India we all knew (Gandhi!) slowly re-emerging into segregated sections of "haves" and "have-nots", a "kind of apartheid" as you called it. Many foreign-returned Indians if you ask me, are a snobbish bunch who don't treat their own fellow countrymen with any kindness that they will a stray dog. Private clubs, malls, discotheques are all a symbol of exclusivity - an unwillingness to deal with the sweaty, stinking, ugly, black-looking commoners. The racism is right here, where we are and with the passage of time, this spectre of class divisions will intensify even more. My biggest concern though is the regional disparities within the country -parts of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa will forever remain in the gloom of poverty. Whereas, the states of Gujarat, Karnataka and Delhi are moving towards the G.D.P. of developed countries! I fear for a situation when a resident of West Bengal may be asked to apply for a visa even when he wants to travel to a richer Gujarat. Hope it never happens though :)
Fortunately, not all Indians will be out of step with reality though. Sooner or later, our countrymen should re-discover their backbone and set right to all these injustices. I hope to live in an age when India and Pakistan are able to come together in some sort of South Asian Federation with common currency and no visa restrictions.
The policy of exclusivism breed racial intolerance, bigotry and creates most problems our world faces today. Inclusiveness and forging universal brotherhood is the only ahead in which we can look into our conscience and truly call ourselves, HUMBLE.
Posted by: Rahul | Friday, 17 October 2008 at 08:19 PM
Some people say things will change with the new generation. But this won't happen. Just go to orkut and look at the no. of brahmin communities. Thousands of young, educated boys people with internet access still believe that brahmins are a superior class by birth. These boys and girls are our future. Lord save this country.
Posted by: aw | Sunday, 19 October 2008 at 03:46 AM
Funny, after reading the column my first impression was - okay the country's elite are getting some shopping space in this over crowded country by shelling out a couple of hundred rupees. But,are these malls any different from the high-class restuarants where a simple lunch costs hundreds? This idea of using money to keep things out of reach for the poor and less elite and in the process providing some exclusivity to the rich is nothing new..
Rich-poor disparity is there in every country, probably a little less subtle than what you see in India. We have to see how much the population factor contributes to the need for exclusivity and private space in public places..
May be the answer doesnt lie in the malls but in the economic policies that can bridge the gap..
Ofcourse, I do see the point of view of the Sociology professor and I dont endorse the entry fees..
Posted by: vnallani | Sunday, 19 October 2008 at 07:45 PM