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India's performance in human development does not relate with the image of “India Shining”. But "feel-good" seems a way of life (though BJP might find it hard to believe).
The Human Development Report (HDR) reveals that Indians are among the citizens, who are most proud of their country anywhere in their world. What's surprising is that they have greater trust in institutions and in democracy than almost anybody else.
The data is a bit dated—based on surveys done a few years back—but given the nature of the questions, it is unlikely things have changed dramatically since then.
Over 90 per cent of Indians were either a "great deal" or "quite" proud of being Indian. That's just a wee bit lower than the Americans—not surprisingly the country where national pride is close to 100 per cent – or in Austria, Canada and Australia, but about 35 per cent higher than in Germany! Things sure have changed since the 1940s.
The confidence in democracy may be less surprising, given the fact that India has among the highest voter turnouts in the world. What is perhaps more interesting in this context is the fact that less than half of Brazilians and South Koreans see democracy as preferable to other forms of government.
But what is truly bewildering is the finding that trust in institutions in India is way above the levels found anywhere else.
That includes the US, Germany, Switzerland
and Australia. Clearly, the oft-repeated dictum " sab chor hain " (they
are all thieves) does not seem to translate into disillusionment with institutions.
It is certainly difficult to reconcile this finding with Transparency International's
conclusion that India ranks 83rd out of 133 countries in a global corruption
index.
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