The population of India is about 1.17 billion people with a total fertility rate of about 2.65 children born per woman. Mumbai’s population is about 18 million people and it is the second most populated city in the world. More than 26% of India’s population lives below the poverty line and it ranked 119 on the list of poverty. The large population of the country has led to many problems in India such as poverty, human trafficking, child exploitation, lack of clean water, and many people having to live in the slums of Mumbai. Also, many riots, known as ‘Mumbai Riots’, have broken out in India because of the many different religions in the over populated city of Mumbai.
In India, 55% percent of its population lives in slums. A slum, also known as a shantytown, is a highly populated area which is characterized by a very low standard of living. About 18,000 people crowd into one acre with an average of 15 people living in one household. A slum is basically a little hut made out of trash. In the slums, there are about two bathrooms which are located right on their only source of water. The water sources in shantytowns contain trash, human waste, methane gas, and even dead bodies. India struggles to get clean water to its people because of those reasons.
A majority of people living in India struggle with making a living, therefor they tend to turn to ‘easy’ ways of making money such as human trafficking. Many women and girls as young as 12 years old are human trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage. Many children who are factory workers, beggars, farmers, and servants face forced labor. The women and young girls are sometimes transported to different part of the country, like goods or cargo, for the use of commercial sexual exploitation to make some money. Even though the government has saved many human traffickers, they cannot save them all. Also, the Indian government is debating on how harshly they should punish the human traffickers once they are rescued.
Since India is so overpopulated, there are different religious beliefs in the country. Another big problem India faces is the Mumbai Riots. The riots usually always take place in Mumbai and are between the Hindus and the Muslims. The riots started because both religions live in India and they both believe in two totally different gods which eventually lead to major conflict which lead to the riots. The Hindus despise the Muslims and their beliefs so the Hindus attack them and kill them. From the riots, about 2,000 people have been severely injured and the cost from the damages has been estimated at about $3.6 million.
To me, the movie Slumdog Millionaire portrays life in India accurately. The movie shows flashbacks of the life of Jamal and his brother. In Jamal’s flashbacks, he remembers how his mother was killed in one of the Mumbai Riots, how he ends up rescuing his friend, Latika, from human trafficking, and you also see a little bit of his life in the slums. The flashbacks also show you how overpopulated the streets are in Mumbai and how the traffic is horrendous. Of course, however, it’s a Hollywood film so some of the parts in the movie have been exaggerated. All in all, I personally would not want to live in Mumbai India.
