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From: mvramakrishn@watdaisy.UUCP (Rama)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: On Horses, Jutkas, and other things
Message-ID: <7617@watdaisy.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 12:30:51 EST
Article-I.D.: watdaisy.7617
Posted: Fri Feb 21 12:30:51 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Feb-86 20:57:53 EST
References: <596@philabs.UUCP> <2818@amdahl.UUCP>
Reply-To: mvramakrishn@watdaisy.UUCP (Rama)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 54
Summary: 


	Looks like every body is assuming "Horses, jutkas,..." are "bad" !
	What is wrong with them?

	What would happen to the oil reserves if the per capita oil
	consumption in India becomes same as that in US?

	When some body asks me questions about India,
	I sum up the modern India's features by saying

		"Yes, in India we use bullock carts to transport the
		sattelite from the assembly plant to the launch pad"

	and it looks like Aryabata, Bhaskara (Names of Indian built 
	satellites, I think they were launched from russia-I am not sure.
	India also has SLV program) do not mind this.

	Prof. Ramaswamy (If I remember the name correct), Management
	Institute, Bangalore published the results of his study of bullock
	carts in India.
		The total tonne-mileage hauled by bullock carts exceeds
		that by the Indian railways. Note that the haulage by
		Indian Railway haulage is one of the largest in the world.
		In fact as a follow up a better design of bullock cart
		was produced by some body (I think there was a compitition).
		(With out proper bearings, the efficiency of bullock carts
		is very small. The problem is to come up with a solution
		which is cheap, and which can be implemented by 
		not so skilled village carpenter (or who ever that makes them).)

	Anyway, I still remember that when I was very young,
	8-10 neighbours used to rent a bullock cart to go to a movie 2 miles
	away. I think it costed Rs 4 for the evening trip. (Rs. 0.50 each).
	It was much faster (considering the waiting time also) and cheaper
	than using bus. (in spite of the fact that it was a national highway 
	we were to travel in, one may have to wait hours for a bus)

	An Assistant prof. gets about Rs. 35,000 per year in India
	and a car costs around 100,000. Gasoline costs about Rs.8 per litre.
	An Asst. prof. would have to spend all his monthly salary to buy about 
	400 litres ( about 110 gallons) of gasoline.

	Much less than 1% of the population has this good an income.
	(the other 99% earn less). 

	(For non-indians: US $1 = Rs. 13 or 14)

	It is obvious what kind of people can afford a car.

 M.V.Ramakrishna, Dept of Computer Science, University of Waterloo.
       
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