Mr Evarist Bartolo's article "A very short passage to India" (The Sunday Times, March 25) is descriptive of what appears to have struck him most during his recent, very brief, visit. I respect that. It cannot, however, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered as a fair and accurate picture of the real India.
His article contains extensive data. However, statistics can be misleading. In this context, one can recollect the anecdote of the man who tried to wade across a river, basing his calculations on its median depth. He drowned. The figures of road accidents, crime and poverty cited by Mr Bartolo are presumably correct but, in confining himself to these points alone, the author completely misses the broader picture - that of a country which has clocked over eight per cent growth for the last three consecutive years.
This year this rate has risen to 9.3 per cent, surpassing even the optimistic expectations of the Indian government. This high growth rate is especially impressive considering the size of India's economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) rates India as the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. This accelerating economic growth provides the best means of addressing issues, like poverty and social tensions.
India's technological progress is internationally acknowledged. This is not limited to the field of computer software. India is the EU's partner in the Galileo project, and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). These are tomorrow's technologies.
Last year India joined the exclusive group of countries (the US, Russia and China) which have successfully demonstrated Space Re-entry Techno-logy. India is planning to implement its first lunar mission next year. An index of confidence of the world's leading countries in Indian capabilities is the fact that the Indian space probe will carry a US scientific payload. In this regard, Indian launchers have already carried European payloads and, conversely, the European Space Agency's Arianne rocket has carried an Indian communication satellite.
India offers a large and growing market to EU exports. Trade between India and the EU has doubled in the last three years and currently totals over €44 billion. What is especially impressive in these figures is that the EU has consistently enjoyed a trade surplus with India, which is refreshingly different to the situation with some of its other trading partners. These facts amply illustrate the openness of the Indian economy.
Mr Bartolo is somewhat bemused when he refers to Indians' pride in their multiculturalism, and their boast that the President of the Republic is a Muslim, the Prime Minister is a Sikh and the leader of the largest political party is a Christian. In the wake of events such as 9/11, where the clash of civilisations is no longer a hypothetical concept, India's plural democracy has much to recommend - despite the cows and elephants on the road. In this regard, I can add something from my own personal experience. I represent Tata's, India's premier business house. The company is a Parsee, pre-Islamic Iranian group. The sharing embraces policy, society and economy.
As Mr Bartolo admits in his closing paragraph, it is not easy to grasp India's reality. It certainly cannot be done on the basis of a very short visit.