One Laptop Per Child

by Shivangi Ramachandran – University of Oregon

Today, while indulging in my daily Indian news I came across this article that talked about the Government of India releasing a tablet much like Apple’s ipad. Intrigued, I found myself googling more articles like the same, hoping to get more information on this ‘Tablet’ that the web seems to be so abuzz about. This is what I know now – The Government of India is indeed launching a tablet very similar to that of Apple’s ipad. The difference being, the ipad is, at this very moment, priced at a high $499, is advertised to the working professionals and upper middle – high class strata of society while this Indian tablet is currently proposed to be priced at $35 (Rs 1,500). If that isn’t shocking enough, the Government is attempting to keep pushing the price down until it reaches $10.

This proposed tablet has received a lot of scepticism from people who don’t believe that it can possibly happen. Features like video conferencing, internet browsing, open Office and many other such features cannot be priced that low, so people are questioning the usability and  the quality of the product. I went to read articles after articles of this scepticism oozing out of many news stories that covered it, and I found that many were completely oblivious to the actual point.

I have a lot of scepticism too. Not for the tablet, but for the government of India. Witnessing years of hypocrisy, red tape, and the growing distance between the proletariat and bourgeoisie in my country has made me this way. But once in a while, India will try to do something SO ridiculous and SO awesome, right at the same time … and it will work. Whether that be a falling into government with a Muslim president, Hindu prime minister and a woman pulling mostly all the strings (Sonia Gandhi) behind the scenes,  or it be trying to make a$35 computer so every child can have one. And then I will have a weak moment and believe that the country is actually run by the people part of the general public that I love so much.  In a country run by the Tatas and Birlas catering to the upper middle class market, there is still a government out there, or there are still a few people in that government out there, trying to look out for us. That’s all I need to go to bed at night.