Cambridge Economist Joan Robinson’s great quote about this country — “whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true" — might be a cliche, but it is so for a reason.
Take the just-released results of American think tank Pew Research’s survey of Indian attitudes. Pew finds that Indians are a grumpy lot, with 70 per cent dissatisfied about the direction in which India is heading. But up to 57 per cent also think economy is in a good state, 62 per cent believe that it will improve in the next 12 months and 64 per cent are confident their children will be better off than them.
What gives?
Here’s a look at a few more typically confusing results from the survey, which was put together following 2,464 face-to-face interviews in eight languages across 15 states (and Delhi) and then weighted to reflect an urban-rural distribution.
Fiscal befuddlement
Apart from the surprising optimism about the state of the Indian economy, our countrymen also appear to be fairly bullish on the prospects for their personal finances. Almost two-thirds believe their pockets and bank accounts are in good shape — 72 per cent for those in cities and 62 per cent for those out in the villages. Up to 63 per cent also think their family finances will get better over the next year. And that doesn’t just apply to the 18-to-29 youth, 68 per cent of whom are optimistic, but also to 56 per cent of those aged 50 and older.
For all this optimism about how their bank accounts will be expanding, most people think they’re spending too much money and not earning enough. A whopping 89 per cent said rising prices are a very big problem for them. Additionally, more than eight out of ten Indians think we have too much income inequality. That applies not just to middle-income and low-income respondents; almost 75 per cent of high-income Indians think the gap between the rich and the poor is a very big problem.
Outlier: Unlike the rest of India, up to 60 per cent of South Indians are dissatisfied with the state of the economy, and nearly 46 per cent of them feel negative about their personal finances.
Institutional Hypocrisy
It’s no secret that corruption is one of India’s biggest problems. Up to 83 per cent of the survey’s respondents, across demographic groups, said that corrupt officials and businesspersons are a very big problem in the country. Moreover, almost 65 per cent of the people think that the country’s political gridlock is a major problem, whether they want the Congress to return to power or the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Yet these unhappy folks have no problem reposing their trust in the very institutions they think are corrupt and broken. Almost three-quarters of Indians have at least some confidence in the Lok Sabha, and about 74 per cent trust the courts. About seven out every ten Indians are confident about the state governments, and 68 per cent trust the Central government.
Outlier: Of those who want the Congress to return to power, less than half have a lot of confidence in the national government, which might say something about what kind of political environment they are hoping to see.
Obama vs America
Indians like the United States of America. But they’re not so sure about the man who has been running that country for the last six years. About 56 per cent of Indians have a favourable view of the US, and about the same number even believe that Washington takes into account interests of countries like India when making international policy decisions.
But only 36 per cent of the survey’s respondents think the US is a “partner” (although even fewer think it is an “enemy”). And less than half of Indians think US President Barack Obama’s international policies have been good. Obama’s drone-strike policy targeting alleged extremists in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia comes in for particular criticism with only about 30 per cent of respondents approving of the strikes.
High-income Indians are happy with both America in general (64 per cent are positively disposed to the US), and like Obama as well, with 66 per cent trusting Barack Obama to do the right thing in international policymaking.
Chinese Conundrum
Indians are deeply suspicious about the People’s Republic of China, with 41 per cent having an unfavourable opinion of the country and 22 per cent saying they have a very unfavourable impression. Up to 37 per cent even see the country as an "enemy" and two-thirds see China’s growing military power as a bad thing.
Yet almost half of Indians, 47 per cent, believe China takes into account the interests of countries like India when making decision internationally — compared to just 9 per cent of Japanese and 35 per cent of Americans.
Puzzling Pakistan
If one thing ought to unite Indians, it would be our next-door neighbour, Pakistan. Up to 71 per cent of survey respondents have an unfavourable opinion of the country, with 54 falling in the very unfavourable camp. Eight out of 10 Indians also consider Pakistan a very serious threat to the country.
Yet 63 per cent of Indians consider resolving the Kashmir dispute a very important priority, more than half say increased trade and business ties between the two countries would be good for India, and up to 53 per cent are in favour of talks with Islamabad.
No Ambiguity Here
Only one set of questions in the Pew survey seemed to unite respondents: having to pick between the Congress and the BJP (the survey allowed respondents to volunteer another answer, but the questions themselves specifically only mentioned the big two parties by name).
Whether it is in creating employment opportunities, fighting terrorism, combating corruption or reining in inflation, almost uniformly about 55 per cent of the respondents said the BJP would do a better job than the Congress (whose numbers hovered around the 17 to 20 per cent mark on these questions). As a result, 63 per cent of those surveyed said they would prefer the BJP to lead the next national government, with only 19 per cent picking the Congress, and other parties getting just 12 per cent of support. The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, also picks up a 78 per cent favorability rating, compared to 50 per cent for Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
Take the just-released results of American think tank Pew Research’s survey of Indian attitudes. Pew finds that Indians are a grumpy lot, with 70 per cent dissatisfied about the direction in which India is heading. But up to 57 per cent also think economy is in a good state, 62 per cent believe that it will improve in the next 12 months and 64 per cent are confident their children will be better off than them.
What gives?
Here’s a look at a few more typically confusing results from the survey, which was put together following 2,464 face-to-face interviews in eight languages across 15 states (and Delhi) and then weighted to reflect an urban-rural distribution.
Fiscal befuddlement
Apart from the surprising optimism about the state of the Indian economy, our countrymen also appear to be fairly bullish on the prospects for their personal finances. Almost two-thirds believe their pockets and bank accounts are in good shape — 72 per cent for those in cities and 62 per cent for those out in the villages. Up to 63 per cent also think their family finances will get better over the next year. And that doesn’t just apply to the 18-to-29 youth, 68 per cent of whom are optimistic, but also to 56 per cent of those aged 50 and older.
For all this optimism about how their bank accounts will be expanding, most people think they’re spending too much money and not earning enough. A whopping 89 per cent said rising prices are a very big problem for them. Additionally, more than eight out of ten Indians think we have too much income inequality. That applies not just to middle-income and low-income respondents; almost 75 per cent of high-income Indians think the gap between the rich and the poor is a very big problem.
Outlier: Unlike the rest of India, up to 60 per cent of South Indians are dissatisfied with the state of the economy, and nearly 46 per cent of them feel negative about their personal finances.
Institutional Hypocrisy
It’s no secret that corruption is one of India’s biggest problems. Up to 83 per cent of the survey’s respondents, across demographic groups, said that corrupt officials and businesspersons are a very big problem in the country. Moreover, almost 65 per cent of the people think that the country’s political gridlock is a major problem, whether they want the Congress to return to power or the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Yet these unhappy folks have no problem reposing their trust in the very institutions they think are corrupt and broken. Almost three-quarters of Indians have at least some confidence in the Lok Sabha, and about 74 per cent trust the courts. About seven out every ten Indians are confident about the state governments, and 68 per cent trust the Central government.
Outlier: Of those who want the Congress to return to power, less than half have a lot of confidence in the national government, which might say something about what kind of political environment they are hoping to see.
Obama vs America
Indians like the United States of America. But they’re not so sure about the man who has been running that country for the last six years. About 56 per cent of Indians have a favourable view of the US, and about the same number even believe that Washington takes into account interests of countries like India when making international policy decisions.
But only 36 per cent of the survey’s respondents think the US is a “partner” (although even fewer think it is an “enemy”). And less than half of Indians think US President Barack Obama’s international policies have been good. Obama’s drone-strike policy targeting alleged extremists in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia comes in for particular criticism with only about 30 per cent of respondents approving of the strikes.
High-income Indians are happy with both America in general (64 per cent are positively disposed to the US), and like Obama as well, with 66 per cent trusting Barack Obama to do the right thing in international policymaking.
Chinese Conundrum
Indians are deeply suspicious about the People’s Republic of China, with 41 per cent having an unfavourable opinion of the country and 22 per cent saying they have a very unfavourable impression. Up to 37 per cent even see the country as an "enemy" and two-thirds see China’s growing military power as a bad thing.
Yet almost half of Indians, 47 per cent, believe China takes into account the interests of countries like India when making decision internationally — compared to just 9 per cent of Japanese and 35 per cent of Americans.
Puzzling Pakistan
If one thing ought to unite Indians, it would be our next-door neighbour, Pakistan. Up to 71 per cent of survey respondents have an unfavourable opinion of the country, with 54 falling in the very unfavourable camp. Eight out of 10 Indians also consider Pakistan a very serious threat to the country.
Yet 63 per cent of Indians consider resolving the Kashmir dispute a very important priority, more than half say increased trade and business ties between the two countries would be good for India, and up to 53 per cent are in favour of talks with Islamabad.
No Ambiguity Here
Only one set of questions in the Pew survey seemed to unite respondents: having to pick between the Congress and the BJP (the survey allowed respondents to volunteer another answer, but the questions themselves specifically only mentioned the big two parties by name).
Whether it is in creating employment opportunities, fighting terrorism, combating corruption or reining in inflation, almost uniformly about 55 per cent of the respondents said the BJP would do a better job than the Congress (whose numbers hovered around the 17 to 20 per cent mark on these questions). As a result, 63 per cent of those surveyed said they would prefer the BJP to lead the next national government, with only 19 per cent picking the Congress, and other parties getting just 12 per cent of support. The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, also picks up a 78 per cent favorability rating, compared to 50 per cent for Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
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