This NYT article is about a town, KUILAPALAYAM, right next to where we stayed in India last summer (Auroville, a dys/utopian, “international,” eco-tourist village). The author grew up in the town and he has mixed feelings about development’s effects. Although living conditions have improved, capitalism is continually breaking down the traditional bonds of community through competition and violence.
development has also disrupted existing ways of living. It has strained the social and cultural fabric of the villages. Kuilapalayam, a village at the head of the road leading to the beach, has had at least seven murders in recent years. Gangs of young men roam the village, extorting money, exacting revenge. Once, the panchayat, a traditional assembly made up of village elders, would have controlled the violence. But the new generation has modern ideas; they don’t heed their elders, and the panchayat members are powerless, too scared to step in.
Development has led to new resentments and torn apart families. Farmers who used to toil over barren patches of land suddenly find that that land is worth a small fortune. They’ve built new houses, sent their kids to school, bought motorcycles and maybe even cars. A couple of universities up the road have widened people’s horizons.
But neighbors who didn’t own land, who watched their friends get rich, often don’t feel quite as sanguine about the changes. And long-forgotten relatives have appeared, perhaps returning from the cities to make a claim on the land. The papers are full of often violent stories about disputes over property.
A friend I made when we stayed in Auroville, who grew up and still lives near this town, told me about how some thugs tried to beat him up recently and how he was too scared to go to the cops because they are generally corrupt.
