THE OLD SETTLERS OF SIKKIM

Newswallah: Long Reads Edition
By NEHA THIRANI

Reuters

Why has the promise of India remained unfulfilled? Basharat Peer enumerates the many reasons for India’s recent failures and uncertain future in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine. The piece argues that while India’s elite and growing middle class have become increasingly vociferous at expounding their aspiration for India to become a great power, the country has little to show for it. Mr. Peer analyzes two popular books from last year – “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” by Katherine Boo, and “The Beautiful and the Damned,” by Siddhartha Deb – to show how increasing inequity hampers the promise of India’s growing international influence.
For Mr. Peer, both books demonstrate the desire for upward mobility at every socioeconomic level. However, the author chronicles recent events in the nation to show how corruption, inequality, deeply embedded poverty and poor governance have crippled the nation. Likening the contemporary moment in India to the Gilded Age in the United States, the author asks whether the much-touted democratic system has indeed become yet another hurdle for the country.