Indian Generosity

Bridging the Clothing Divide: Article Analysis

In “Bridging the Clothing Divide” author David Bornstein details the scarcity Indians (as in inhabitants of India, not Native Americans) weather when put face-to-face with a simple necessity; clothing. When there is an earthquake in India, the quakes kill the citizens; in a tsunami, the water drowns the people; but in winter, the cold does not slaughter the people. It’s the lack of proper clothing. Several attempts have been made, and organizations founded through donation, in order to supply the needy there with clothing. But when it comes right down to it, the biggest problem with donation is that what is given is often only what the donator is willing to part with, not necessarily what is needed. Sadly, due to high expectations and dignity, a gargantuan population and lack of jobs with decent pay, many Indians will continue to live out their lives in total nakedness.

As Bornstein brings to light in the article, many Indians refuse the donations passed out to them:

“I have seen villagers reject entire bundles of clothing that were literally thrown at

them out of trucks; many chose to don potato sacks than suffer the indignity of

accepting charity.”

Not only are the people unwilling to welcome benefactions due to supposed “indignity,” they also are plagued by contributions of goods being mindlessly out of touch with their needs. This is specifically noted in one case where over 1,300 [full face] woolen hats were distributed to survivors of the massive 2004 tsunami in Southern India. What purpose would someone living near the sea have for a woolen hat!?

Consequently, the tremendous population in India (topping out at about 1.21 billion human beings) is far too vast to supply clothes of limited number and size to all inhabitants. Urban dwellers in India are six inches, on average, thicker at the waist than their rural counterparts. This means...