Amitabh Bachchan in The Telegraph, Calcutta:
London, August 22: India should no longer be dismissed as a “Third World” country but should henceforth be given due respect as a “developed nation”, Amitabh Bachchan, said in London yesterday….
No doubt, economists will protest that India combines extremes of wealth and poverty, but Bachchan stated: “India today is a recognised force and I hope to see that India is no longer referred to as a Third World country or a developing nation – it should be referred to as a developed nation and a first (world country).”
Read the full article: ‘India a developed country’
Illustration: courtesy Bafta
Also read: Indians should never ask where on earth Gabon is
P. SAINATH: India is a nation of two planets: rich and poor
Tags: Amitabh Bachchan, Below Poverty Line, Churumuri, P. Sainath, Sans Serif, The Telegraph, Third World, U.R. Rao
23 August 2008 at 7:13 pm
Developed nation? I’m not really surprised. I was already told that we are a ’super power’ (or by 2020!). I was also told we are the ‘brain’ of modern world/economy.
So, can someone tell me how a third world country or a developing nation look like?
23 August 2008 at 7:20 pm
Amitabh stays in Juhu Bungalow and he conduct worldwide “unforgettable tours”. Though I admire his acting skills, I find that his point of view is like any other typical elite boardroom boyz.
Secured lived is for the elite classes in this country. They have the first hand advantage of portraying their view in the media and thereafter turning themselves into spindoctors.
Elite minority have the advantage of sending their kids to Doon School,Bombay Scottish and so on. Now the Public schools in this country are a deprived lot and basic eduction is out of their reach. We have a evergrowing population which were basic needs are not satisfied Primary Health Care, Unemployment,Poverty and Education.
To portray India as a developed country and calling it “incredible india” is a misnomer.
23 August 2008 at 7:20 pm
Biggest joke of the century. In India 650 million people do not have proper toilet facilities and defecate in the open. One has to just visit Mumbai to see the state of affairs.
In my opinion it will take at least a century from now to reach the stage of developed nations.
23 August 2008 at 7:49 pm
… bachchan’s sense of humor? priceless.
23 August 2008 at 7:53 pm
Well said, TM. That point about schooling becoming impossible to afford for the average Indian is spot on. This in a country which has turned out excellent professionals in all fields essentially due to its rigorous school system.
Mr. Bachchan should stick to his core competence – acting. But then our esteemed media is happy to highlight anything he or his family does.
23 August 2008 at 8:18 pm
Nothing but a cheap media sensationalism from telegraph (supported by churumuri) … read carefully …. he says below text in a different context ….
“India today is a recognised force and I hope to see that India is no longer referred to as a Third World country or a developing nation – it should be referred to as a developed nation and a first (world country).”
What he probably meant was that…. India should be treated with respect as much as a developed country, he is not claiming that India is developed.
PS: I might also be very wrong as I am no mind reader.
23 August 2008 at 8:36 pm
That’s a good statement to make in a podium addressing London NRIs. NRIs want India to be portrayed as a developing nation just to keep their head high infront of white men. That’s it. That statement had a business strategy to promote his show, no more, no less.
23 August 2008 at 10:52 pm
“Third World” is a relatively insensitive phrase pregnant with hegemonistic arrogance.
Many newspapers, including the NYT, have followed the United Nations in replacing that phrase with the more precise economic descriptive, “developing nations.”
23 August 2008 at 11:08 pm
India is developed country for the privileged one ..for the rest of countrymen its a same thirdworld country. Its a place where govt employees are official bribe agent and even for the death certificate they demand bribe…till the time corruption is there we can’t even think of being a developing country..we are third world country
24 August 2008 at 12:19 am
If developed means a better quality of life and progressive, we are nowhere there. If developed means power in terms of numbers, size of economy, and things like that we may be moving in that direction.
24 August 2008 at 12:38 am
Amitabh is senile.
And a good businessman.
24 August 2008 at 3:12 am
And AG is God
24 August 2008 at 3:55 am
Interesting article by Lant Pritchett suggests that it is a ‘flailing state’:
http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~lpritch/Is%20India%20a%20Flailing%20State_v1.doc
He spent 3 years in India and wrote a 2006 World Bank report.
24 August 2008 at 5:24 am
A large chunk of Bachchan’s blog entries go into denying, clarifying and fighting back at what media writes about him. At least one journo is picked by him each week for proper thrashing in the typical Bollywood style. Bachchan will soon devote an entire blog entry to deny this report as well.
24 August 2008 at 9:50 pm
Actually Sandesh,
Amitabh is God.
Doesnt really matter what he says.
24 August 2008 at 9:52 pm
And not that it matters – my all time favourite actor.
25 August 2008 at 9:27 am
People should know what they are talking before giving statements!.
We still have a large chunk of population who can not afford to send their kids to school and provide decent meals. Just because some have made money due to economic liberalization, can we call India a developed country. We need to go a looooooong way to call ourselves a developed.
Rich are becoming richer, poor are becoming poorer day by day. Prices are sky rocketing every day.
26 August 2008 at 1:17 am
http://www.michna.com/photos/India0711.html
The answer lies here in some of these pictures. I am A great admirer of his films,acting but it seems he is out of his mind and I do not believe he said so.
26 August 2008 at 3:51 pm
To me, India is like a very large toilet. Like mentioned in a prior post, 650 million people dont have a place to defecate, so anywhere . It is a third world country , and the time it will take to improve the infrastructure to be even comparable to developed nations would take at least 50 years. In addition to that, the psueo westernization adopted by Indias youth today have made them lose touch with their own rich, old, and unique culture, whilst not even understanding the westernized lifesyle that they try to emulate so poorly. Regardless of the lives affluent elite or the people living in extreme poverty, everybody suffers. It is a third world nation – uneducated, corrupt, culturally deficit and overall revolting.
26 August 2008 at 3:55 pm
culturally deficit, uneducated, corrupt and stagnant. India is like a large toilet. The affluent and those in poverty are all affected by this. The infrastructure is so poor that it will take well over 70 years to be a developed nation.
26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshowpics/msid-3406636.cms
tasveerain bolti hain. We see many NewOrleans every year around our country. No doubt we have many Billionaires and millionaires but thats not
good enough!!!. If we can build our sanitation department around the country, proper sewage system and give more emphasis to civic education we might be able to inch towards modernity. this will require resources and
a jihad against poverty for all citizens: hindu muslims, sikkhs alike…..
30 August 2008 at 9:29 pm
To me, India is like a very large toilet. Like mentioned in a prior post, 650 million people dont have a place to defecate, so anywhere . It is a third world country , and the time it will take to improve the infrastructure to be even comparable to developed nations would take at least 50 years. In addition to that, the psueo westernization adopted by Indias youth today have made them lose touch with their own rich, old, and unique culture, whilst not even understanding the westernized lifesyle that they try to emulate so poorly. Regardless of the lives affluent elite or the people living in extreme poverty, everybody suffers. It is a third world nation – uneducated, corrupt, culturally deficit and overall revolting.
Well said tortured citizen. This is what my husband says. He says that the sooner Indians realize that India is not shining, the sooner it will make progress. But I would give 30 years to seem some stark changes.
3 September 2008 at 2:58 pm
Hi,
Who said!!!India is a developed Nation.. If some said , either they must be close / distant / direct relatives to any of the popular Politicians who are really screwing up the entire nation since we got the freedom. India can only think about to become a developed nation only if all the poor uneducated,uncultured,uncivilised village people are changed to remove all the ‘UN’ given above. OOOO my god even after century, I dont think India will have a chance to become a developed country.
All people should learn to Not to give much Importance to the Movies, Film stars, Cricket, Cheap Politics and to change themselves to respect others and +ve attitude, which are possible only by giving strong education and necessary infrastructure.
Over all India currently in the Hands of ”” CHEAP POLITICIANS”’ and fumbling as no leader to give a UNBIASED help or education or facility to give all poor Indians.
When you say Poor, even among them there are lots and lots of ego and jealous which inhibits them to come out of the uncivilized village…
God needs to strongly teach a lesson to change them to have a great nation.
5 February 2009 at 2:59 pm
At present, India is developed nation for high class rich people, developing nation for upper middle class people and underdeveloped nation for poor people.
Mr Amitabh, it is not cinema that our nation with 1.1 billion people will become developed within three hours. Please forget that India now ranked 132 out of 179 countries as per UN Human Development Index Report. In the time the celebrities, billionaires said like these statements, why they hesitate to come forward to start a foundation to help in the nation’s developmental activities like Mr Bill Gates started? Please look up your eyes all over the nation. Do you know Indians Black money of 1,891 billion US$ are in Swiss bank. i.e. 14 times more than India’s foreign debt.
Why any one does not talking about that? Please think.
Over population, Caste discrimination, religious conflicts are the main causes for our nation to be kept still underdeveloped. People, Politicians we are all need to change. As a basic, People should not waste things like food, water, milk etc, and should not encourage politicians to develop corruptions.
Sensex, IT sectors (doing only services and maintanence), Space, Cinema will not move any nation to a developed path. Improving agriculture, education, building more schools rather than temples, connecting all villages by roads, people’s attitude of respecting other people which are below us, degree holding youths entering politics system are some of the basic ways to move a nation into a developed path.
Still lot of ways are there, but i do not want to extent the essay.
Sitting inside a room and telling anything is easy to all, but doing the right things at right time only difficult. Do that first.
Thanks
by
An Indian Tamil.