Manu Joseph: India would do better if it starts treating all Indians as well-off rather than poor

shorturl.at/EFYLw) The spirit of the court’s observations could explain many of India’s deficiencies. Poverty in the country results in a tendency to peg everything on it. So India’s plans are often of low calibre.

India should instead consider all Indians upper middle-class.Plastic packaging contains some chemicals that could be harmful, even carcinogenic beyond a point. For instance, antimony, a chemical element that is something between a metal and a non-metal, can be harmful in high quantities. DEHP is another chemical that carries a similar risk.The issue is not whether these chemicals are in fact harmful.

The developed world has already worried about it and come up with guidelines to reduce their presence. The issue is whether we too require higher standards.If carcinogens in plastic water bottles is seen as a ‘luxury’ concern, it may inadvertently explain a society that still struggles to get potable water to all its people. When we have low standards, we aspire to less.India’s top court said that it is unrealistic to expect the country to enforce guidelines for packaging that have been adopted by advanced economies.“The people in rural areas drink ground water and nothing happens to them,” noted the court, according to a news report.

The poor, however, are not superhuman. In fact, they die of diseases all the time. These are unnecessary deaths.The court drew attention to rural India in a historical context too: “Mahatma Gandhi, when he returned from South Africa, travelled across rural areas to understand the plight of the people.” (shorturl.at/1zI8t) It seemed to suggest that in a country where people don’t have bread, someone was asking for cake.Yet, it’s not clear how asking for higher standards for water