India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty
By Abraham George
Published by Writers' Collective; Feb., 2005. 368 pp.




No other country in the world today is more closely associated with the words "technology boom" than India. This country of over one billion inhabitants has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years thanks to economic liberalization and globalization, creating opportunities and new ways of life for many.

However, India has a silent and often overlooked majority: 650 million poor farmers and other rural people, many of whom have never seen a computer, let alone possess the skills and opportunities to use one, and who have yet to reap the benefits of the new knowledge economy. The expanse separating rich from poor has never been greater, resulting in two Indias - one that thrives and one that suffers adversity.

The plight of those who suffer is what Abraham George is trying to change. Born and raised in the southern state of Kerala, Abraham George served in the Indian Army before moving to the United States where he received his education and made a successful career for himself in business. After twenty-five years of life in America, he decided to return to his homeland in 1995 and fulfill a lifelong dream of working full-time in the nonprofit sector.

No other country in the world today is more closely associated with the words "technology boom" than India. However, India has a silent and often overlooked majority: 650 million poor farmers and other rural people, many of whom have never seen a computer.

With the support of advisors and friends, George established The George Foundation as a way to help address problems facing poor children. "Coming full circle" as he describes it, George bases his work on what he describes as his duel perspective - as an outsider looking in, and as insider working within the system.

The George Foundation's initial project was to build a world-class boarding school for poor rural children called Shanti Bhaven, or Haven of Peace. Located a short drive from Bangalore, India's technology hub, the area where this school is located may as well be on the other side of the planet. As George so eloquently describes it, "It is the land where the elite of the villages - the upper class and the landlords - prey on the helpless, often in collusion with government officials who are supposed to help and protect them. It is a life where hope for a better future is as distant as the burning sun, and nothing that happens around them, including the so-called ‘IT revolution', brings solace or improvement in their circumstances."

Shortly into the planning and execution of constructing Shanti Bhaven, George realized that "social work in India is like emotional quicksand." What was originally a simple plan for a school evolved into much more. Confronted with the reality of very complex conditions characterized by poverty, ignorance, and unjust social norms, The George Foundation expanded its projects to include such initiatives as lead-poisoning screening, the development and implementation of a computerized medical diagnostic system, and women's cooperative farming. Today, George and his team creatively develop and run groundbreaking projects that "have the interrelated aspect of sustainable development, social justice and the strengthening of democratic institutions," emphasizing ethics, integrity and transparency.

The plight of those who suffer is what Abraham George is trying to change. After twenty-five years of life in America, he decided to return to his homeland in 1995 and fulfill a lifelong dream of working full-time in the nonprofit sector.

While the story of The George Foundation and Shanti Bhaven lies at the heart of this book, George, often painstakingly, offers up a picture of the complex situation of India today. Larger issues of society, culture, tradition, ethics and politics at times overwhelm the case study.

Still, that story needs to be told as well. The world's most populous democracy is faced with myriad challenges during its rapid economic expansion. George uses the analogy of India as an elephant "that moves forward slowly but deliberately. Elephant it might be but for sure chained by its master, the mammoth bureaucracy. The ‘Indian elephant' carries only the privileged on its back, leaving others behind."

The United Nations Development Program described India's rural economy as heavily dependent on agriculture and characterized by inadequate infrastructure, rudimentary industrialization, a narrow economic base, highly skewed distribution of income and wealth, and limited capacity to generate wealth. George points out that the poverty and social injustice that exist in the rural areas are insulated from the rest of the country and do not pose any immediate threat to those benefiting from the economic upswing in the urban areas. Moral and social developments also lag behind scientific and technical achievements. This widening gap between "winners" and "losers," though maybe not always acknowledged by the "winners," leads to an undercurrent of instability that ultimately affects the entire nation.

Confronted with the reality of very complex conditions characterized by poverty, ignorance, and unjust social norms, The George Foundation expanded its projects to include such initiatives as lead-poisoning screening, the development and implementation of a computerized medical diagnostic system, and women's cooperative farming.

Rural development is what will improve life for most Indians, not industrial expansion. If anything, industrial expansion further compounds the hardships of the rural population. India needs to tackle the root causes of social injustice and economic failures and not just focus on aggregate economic growth.

The situation of those left behind is multi-faceted and without any simple solution. This is further exacerbated by what George says ultimately leads back to decades of poor governance. In India, laws are not uniformly enforced, individual rights are not sufficiently protected, entrepreneurship is not sufficiently encouraged and economic opportunity is not fairly available to all.

George, having been born into a life without relative hardship, sees it as his duty and that of other privileged individuals to provide opportunities for the poor to succeed. Because this improvement will not simply evolve from nothing, George outlines several key points that will enable more people to better their lives. He suggests more vigorous business competition, elimination of unnecessary bureaucratic controls, fair and enforced laws to govern business, emphasis on teaching ethics in schools and universities, stronger families and elevated ethics in the media. He also calls upon people who do practice high moral and ethical standards to speak out more.

Though this book is about India, the points made and lessons learned could be applied not only to developing countries but developed ones as well. George's dual perspective of outsider and insider is sometimes lost amidst rambling criticisms and observations, but one can see it clearly in his actions and the difference that he makes to the individuals and communities touched by The George Foundation.

Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist who profiles George in his best-seller The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, best sums up what this book is about in his introduction. "All of the inputs, to do good or ill, will increasingly be available to more and more people. What will distinguish who does what with them will be imagination. …Abraham George has precisely the kind of imagination that we should all want to emulate and I certainly hope he will be a role model for many others in his native country and around the world." Hope lies in the goodwill and determination of individuals like Abraham George.




Sarah A. Hahn recently completed her Master's in International Relations as a member of the inaugural class of Rotary World Peace Fellows at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She currently lives and works in New York City.

To read another Global Envision article on India, see A recipe for Job Creation in India.



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