IDEA OF PROGRESS : Is today's India a modern country ?

Introduction:

The notion I am going to deal with is about « The Idea of Progress ». The Idea of Progress can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change (technical, scientific or social advance) which contribute to making the world a better place. India, which had been a British colony, is now the largest democracy in the world. This country rich of diversities, hasn't developed. Traditions still remain in India, the world's largest democracy, which had to cope with inequalities and try to reduce them. Is today's India a modern country ? In the 1st part, I will talk about inequalities among citizens then among men and women and I will take an interest in the evolution of indian society.

A/Inequalities among citizens:

India is the seventh largest country in the world which made it the world's largest democracy. All Indian citizens who are 18 years old or more are allowed to vote. However, India is a country which has to try to cope with the inequalities

a)The caste system

The India society is divided : the various group are rigidly defined and one's member ship is determined by birth and hereditary. In India, the caste system, developed more than 3 000 years ago, still survive today. The Brahman caste, which is the highest, is privileged in Indian society. At the other end of the social ladder, the Dalits, also called the Untouchables, who are 170 million in India today, are not even members of caste : they are outcastes.

b)Rich & poor

There are a lot inequalities between poor & rich. We can on the doc "a coutry on the march" that In India, the number of billionaires which is estimated to 55 is quite high. Indeed, they are more numerous. Today, the World Bank estimates that about 800 million people, two-thirds (2/3) of India's population live below two dollar a day and, more than half of them over 400 million people survive on less than one dollar a day. In 2005, 42% Indian people were living below 1 € a day. But that's not all, poor people live in the slums. These squalid places are expanding around cities like New-Delhi where the poor Indian population lives in hope to find jobs.

B/Inequalities among men & women

If inequalities exists among citizens, then discrimination among men and women exists too. Indian women are often underprivileged or disadvantaged and they don't play an important role in society.The gendercide and the Indian dowry tradition

India is the second most populated country, with around 1,2 billion inhabitants which represent 17,5% of the world's population. However, India is becoming an increasingly male-dominated society.

a)Dowry tradition

Indeed, India's 2011 census show a gender imbalance as there are only 940 girls for every 1 000 boys. In the Indian dowry tradition, the bride's family must give a dowry to the future husband's family on marriage in order to compensate the cost of the education of their son. This tradition which still remains in this country could explain, in part, why many parents are eager to have sons than daughters. Consequently, Indian families are desperate for sons as they are financially

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