Look I'm not interested in portraying anything to Westerners. Whether it will darken India's image or not is not my worry. I'm here busting falsehood. If anyone tells me half a billion people shit on streets every single day I will call out such bullshit whether it darkens image or not. I'm fed up of hearing nonsense like this. If you aren't then good for you.
> India is, on average, a very bad place to live.
Not at all. I have been to many countries. The only difference is better infrastructure and waste management. Rest all is fluff (fashion, dining etc are all luxuries that are optional). I have never felt India is a "bad place" to live after all my travels. India is actually beautiful if you put some effort into exploring. The problem is that you are from Kerala and South Indians (especially keralities and tamilians) live in their own bubble. I'm a South Indian too before you get all worked up. We take too much pride in our States. Don't do that. Go explore North East. See how beautiful it is. Lest I forget the beautiful Himalayan range with all the hill stations that adore it. Or the region of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. There is so much to explore! Kerala is not the only state comparable to Eastern European countries. You have to travel to various States in India first before you make any such incorrect assumptions. Else there is no difference between you and the next foreigner you meet taking pictures with the poor in Mumbai's slums.
> We have serious problems. Acknowledging them is the first step to solving them.
We have and are doing it! What makes you think we aren't? If you are only looking at numbers then you are going to get all the wrong information. All these numbers and metrics are good for theoretical discussions but the moment you try to derive too much meaning into practical life you are just going to end up fooling yourself. Most of these numbers are extrapolated using methodologies all have accepted. Whether they are accurate or not is impossible to determine considering the population of India. I'm not deriding numbers calculated by these well established bodies. I'm questioning the sanity of those who blindly accept these numbers without checking anything on ground. When the sentiments on ground is exactly opposite to what numbers predict then something is wrong with the methodology adopted. Acknowledging that is the first step. Else you'll blindly accept the numbers and keep working on fixing something that maybe doesn't need fixing. There has to be some sort of balance between theoretical and practical aspects of things. And yes, many of these same bodies have accepted their procedures for calculating were incorrect and made revisions to their formulas from time to time. We are dealing with statistics here not science. Most of these metrics are extrapolated from sample data when complete data isn't available. And with population as diverse as that of India it is impossible to be accurate. Take numbers as a guidance not as absolute truth.