india's development mongers, increasingly and probably blind sidely tell that india's growth and shine can be seen in the way the middle class (should be actually read as rich class) buys and uses cars thereby 'emulating' their western counterparts.

this car mania, the oil addiction, the monster SUVs, use and throw cars once in couple of years, cars-cars and more cars, plummeting efficiency by detriot top 3, etc - all are reasons why america, a great country, is having a cruel time in iraq. the iraq civil war started by the stupid iraq decision by the present administration had an ulterior goal of control iraq's oil assets so that america's oil addiction can be met for future years.

the same car mania, lax emission standards, improper environment monitoring, congestion in roads by cars mainly used by only the person who is driving it, the poor road conditions, increasing accident rate, unhealthy air standards in urban areas, etc - all are result of india's neo rich development.

sunita narain correctly points that in her editorial and cnn ibn coverage also ponders on this question.

let there be no doubt that the current development of india, like the car example shows, means that rich are subsidised more and more and it comes at the same time the really needy sections are marginalised more and more.

it is very high time at least for car owners to pay appropriate cost in maintaining the roads, the traffic controls, the police officers, pollution level controls, congestion control kind of taxes so that those who enjoy the current boom also can pay correct price.