The imperial experience and link of the English language prompts Indian intellectuals and scholars to automatically look West for national development nostrums and inspiration. But the current crisis of capitalism in the US and the imminent bankruptcy of Britain and other erstwhile European imperial powers, suggests it’s time to look East for more meaningful socio-economic development models and motivation. A first ever week-long (holiday) visit to Thailand, which one assumed was a third world country, humbled your editor into acknowledging this South-east Asian nation (pop. 60 million) as leagues ahead of reportedly shining India in the national development race.
Admittedly, national development can be measured in myriad ways. For some countries such as the former Soviet Union and contemporary North Korea, national development was — and is — synonymous with military capability. Another more common yardstick for gauging national development is by weighing gross national product and per capita income. Yet such simplistic indices fail to indicate wealth distribution within societies, and consumption gaps between rich elites and poor majorities. Hence the perpetual search for alternative ‘gross national happiness’ and ‘human development’ indices.
Against this backdrop, it’s necessary to measure the development of nations and societies by mixing macro statistics with intelligent observation. With a per capita income of $8,677 adjusted for purchasing parity, and adult literacy attainment of 92.6 percent, the constitutional monarchy of Thailand (78) is ranked way above India (128) in UNDP’s human development index (HDI). Yet the gap between the two nations is even wider than suggested by HDI, if one factors in intangibles such as quality of infrastructure and public services, visible standards of living, health of population, good manners and social harmony.
On all these counts, contemporary Thailand is light years ahead of purportedly shining India. The excellent quality of Bangkok’s public transport system, which includes efficient sky train and underground metro networks; affordable multi-mode road transport; disciplined road traffic (use of car horns is rare) despite frequent traffic jams and the ubiquity of clean toilets, suggest high standard elementary education. Moreover the astonishingly polite service provided in hotels, restaurants, transport and government departments suggests high quality life skills-oriented primary-secondary education. Even within the entertainment industry, short-changing of customers is a rarity and commercial sex workers are accorded the respect given to all citizens and visitors.
In this context, it’s pertinent to note that in terms of infrastructure provision and maintenance of hygiene and service standards, modern Thailand is not only superior to laggard India, but also to western countries including the US and Britain. Yes, it’s time to look East to learn valuable lessons in building service-oriented, harmonious societies dedicated to the greater good of the greatest number.