"Sikhs are Like Cowboys" – Religion in India

Our first stop of the day was to the Baha'i Lotus Flower Temple. The general consensus by the group was that the quiet, white marble of the large, domed house of worship was extremely peaceful and calming. This was, for most of us, our first time to parade around barefoot – something we quickly became used to at each of our destinations today. Following the Baha'i Temple, we visited the Akshardham Hindu Temple. A giant, intricately carved building, we were all sufficiently impressed (but frustrated that we weren't allowed cameras). However, this temple, like the Lotus Flower, is a pretty recent construction (in the last 10 years), which was kind of disappointing. Where's the ancient stuff?

However, it was our last stop of the day that we found the most moving (well, Riley and Dori did – can't necessarily speak for everyone else). At the Sikh Gurudwara, the building was small, the décor wasn't ostentatious, and the music was enchanting. Sitting on the ground with our feet bare and heads covered, we listened to the Sikh men sing verses from their holy book, while Dr. Goswami whispered us Sikh historical and cultural facts, and Dr. Gawande sang and bobbed along to the music. Probably our favorite fact of the day was when Dr. Goswami explained that in Sikhhism everyone must contribute, regardless of status – helping to serve food or collect shoes when people enter the temple. Even India's Prime Minister, a Sikh, has collected shoes at this temple in service to his faith.

Dr. Goswami also explained the religious traditions of Sikh men. They must keep a beard, never cut their hair, and carry a weapon—usually a sword or a knife of some kind. Part of their religious creed is their commitment to defend their community. Sikhs are represented disproportionately in the Indian military and have faced problems in recent years because of increased security concerns, making air travel, among other things, more complicated. The United States army has faced several hard decisions regarding Sikhs in our military and have finally acquiesced to their turbans (which are now army green) and strict religious rules. Entering the temple and seeing two large Sikh men, with large turbans on head, hands on large swords, and thick beards, reminded us (or just Riley) of cowboys ready to pull their pistols at any moment.

Our ability to visit a historic site for Baha'is, a newly built religious site for Hindus, and the second-most sacred site for Sikhs is an Indian phenomenon, and an experience unique to Delhi. And Dr. Gawande and Dr. Goswami's vast knowledge of each religion was impressive, and quintessentially Indian. As Dr. Goswami put it, only in India could you have a Sikh PM, Muslim Presidents, and a Hindu majority – while the most powerful woman in the country is a Catholic. Can you imagine if the US President was Amish, the VP Jewish, and the Speaker of the House Scientologist? Pretty kuhl.

 -Riley Barnes and Dori Enderle, MPIAs 2011

The Bankable Poor: An afternoon spent in the realm of Micro-Finance

 Worker making jeans from recycled denim

The Proper Tool for Development


The main challenge of development is, as it always has been, empowerment through good institutions. It is institutions which can regulate the free market, protect human rights, provide citizens with a say in their government, provide a social safety net, settle legal disputes, and build a society that cares for its citizens. In terms of quantifiable results, microfinance seems but a tiny step on the way to good institutions. And yet, if it wasn't effective, microfinance wouldn't be a global enterprise; clearly something is working.

Microfinance's biggest gift to the developing world can't be measured in terms of the number of poor people who have been able to get away from predatory loan sharks, turn a profit, send their kids to school, or purchase their own home. As revolutionary and amazing as those benefits are, the best thing about MFIs is that they change people's perceptions--what the Indian firm BASIX calls social capital. For example, a good chunk of MFIs are targeted towards women, a critical component of the developed work force which is neglected or discriminated against in many developing nations; by getting a woman who had never left her house to earn a wage, get a bank account, save money, get a loan, and repay it, microfinance radically alters social paradigms. Suddenly, purchasing a home becomes a feasible goal--or even a reality--to families who could once never have imagined it would be possible. This transformation is vital to development, because it is vital to institutions. For someone to be able to fully participate in the political system, for example, they must be integrated members of society who believe that they can achieve change.

Thus any system of microfinance should be--and some already are--holistic efforts which help people to form and interact with institutions. BASIX calls this an "inclusive growth model" and provides agriculture and business development services (such as productivity enhancement and risk mitigation programs) and institutional development services (functional company know-how, legal coaching, and a focus on creating or fixing policy) in addition to strictly traditional microfinancial services. Grameen Bank has partnered with mobile phone companies and food producers, and even does action research. Other firms offer job training, advice and products for farmers dealing with climate change, in knowledge dissemination services.   -Elizabeth Solch Texas A&M MPIA 2012


Digging out of Corruption: Different sides of the Highway


While out visiting some of the Basix beneficiaries our route took us through various parts of Delhi. It was very astonishing to see the stark contrast from one side of the road to the next. There were houses that look highly western, very clean and mostly with four and five cars out front. Granted most houses in India are shared between families, with the estimated value of these areas being about $2 million for 5000 square feet of space, these people were well off. On the other side of the roadway there were shanties, often dilapidated looking structures which barely looked like they could survive a strong gust of wind much less the every day rigors of providing shelter for multiple families.   


Noting this difference in the housing structure, we as students were presented with interesting news; all of the "nice" house were owned and built by former tax collectors soon after they retired from government service. On the other hand the poor housing was actually Government housing in which the Indian government owned the land and allows for citizens to build their housing. Money provided by taxpayers designed to help the less fortunate was being pocketed by the actual tax collectors and used for their own benefit.   


Basix creates the middle ground—an intermediary really to get the funds designed for the poor in the hands of the people who can benefit from them. As Dr. Kishore Gwande explained, this is truly revolutionary for an organization to be doing this without being deemed as corrupt, an organization actually achieving the goals that it set out to achieve.  As World Bank is looking to India as a model for the world's MFIs, Indian MFIs should look to Basix as a model for the new hollow state, organizations that will serve the poor for the government without the interference of corrupt officials. -Ashton Cooper Texas A&M MPSA 2012