Some India facts for George

anuradha mittal, writing on alternet, offers george some things to think about as he visits a country of a billion people...

• [A]n estimated 330 to 350 million people in India survive on less than $1 a day, joining the ranks of starving millions in the country who face the prospect of "starvation deaths" each year.

• An estimated 60 to 115 million children are classified as working children -- the highest number in the world.

• [T]he World Food Program's country page: "Nearly 50 percent of the world's hungry live in India … Around 35 percent of India's population -- 350 million -- are considered food-insecure … Nearly nine out of 10 pregnant women aged between 15 and 49 years suffer from malnutrition and anemia … More than half of the children under five are moderately or severely malnourished, or suffer from stunting."

• [India] was the largest arms importer in 2004 and now is in the market for 126 new multi-role combat aircraft, which could be a lucrative $6.5 billion contract.

• Just a month ago, India was the proud host of DefExpo. All sorts of goodies ranging from anti-aircraft guns, artillery, military vehicles, decoy systems, rocket launcher systems, submarines, tanks, infantry combat vehicles and torpedoes were on display.

• [U.S.] defense companies, including Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and, of course, the U.S. Army, . . . outshone the others, promoting everything from fighter jets to over-the-horizon radars.

• The new budget presented in the Indian Parliament on February 28, 2006, has allocated a substantial amount -- Rs. 89,000 crores ($20 billion) -- to defense.

you don't think george is there to help peddle defense contracts, do you...? nah... we all know he's REALLY there to lay the wreath for gandhi...

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