[sustran] Announcement: Book on Transport in India

Faizan Jawed phaizan at gmail.com
Tue Jul 6 16:46:14 JST 2010


Dear Friends,

Please find information on a new book on transport in India. I look forward
to getting a copy myself.

Feel free to this on to others.

Faizan


--
on behalf of Vidyadhar Date
Senior Journalist, formerly of Times of India


I am glad to  inform you that my book on the inequality and injustice in
India’s transport system has just been published. It questions the
automobile-dominated
pattern of transport planning  and urban development. It is titled `*Traffic
in the Era of Climate Change - Walking, Cycling, Public Transport Need P
riority*.’  It calls for a humane, people-friendly, environment-friendly
shift  in favour of  public transport.



The 366-page book   is quite  wide ranging in its scope. It deals with the
pampering and glamourisation of the motor car at the expense of other road
users, the  links between  fascism, capitalism and the automobile industry. The
book is about the politics, economics and sociology of the motor car,
transport in general, the craze for speed, the complete lack of democracy on
roads, the loss of   public spaces caused by the  motor car. The political
right has strongly supported automobile domination, neglected public
transport and even the Left in India has succumbed to the glamour of the
car.



Gone are the gentler days when  J.R.D. Tata regularly offered a lift to people
on the street in his car in Mumbai, Darbari Seth rode on a bicycle in the Tata
salt plant at Mithapur and another Tata director S.A. Sabavala called
for better
facilities for pedestrians. Amartya Sen conducted much of his early field
research going around on a bicycle in Santiniketan and  other areas. A brash
motorist culture prevails now. Numerous interesting facts enliven my book .



The book covers a wide range of issues including the culture of the motor
car, how it has dictated urban and transport planning and how resistance is
slowly growing to this dominance. It also deals a lot with street
culture, streetscape,
the relationship between architecture, transport, city planning, people and
so on. The pedestrian is at the centre of the book.



I have built a strong case for a more democratic pattern of transport and
traffic based on voluminous information. The book  shows how political and
economist interests have shaped transport policies, how the car has been
built into a status symbol. With my interest in culture I cite
numerous examples
from a wide range of creative minds ranging from Greek philosophers to Dickens,
Shakespeare and Arthur Miller. Godard’s classic film Weekend of 1967 with
its depiction of a car crash, deceit and violence shows the relationship
between car and capitalism. Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger
depicts India’s
inequality through the eyes of a car chauffeur and it shows how motorists
behave.


Mahatma Gandhi is a hero of the book and is widely cited because of his
strong espousal of walking and a humane approach to transport.



Things are changing now even in the most automobile-dominated country, the
U.S. with Obama calling for a shift to public transport, the book points
out. The Indian authorities  have been embracing the worst transport
models from
the West, ignoring the best models. The book hopes that wiser counsel will
prevail. They should at least see the writing on the wall. A recent NASA
study conclusively shows that the motor vehicle is the biggest cause of global
warming.



The U.S. secretary for transport Ray LaHood has called for equal importance
to pedestrians and cyclists in planning which is a very big change in the
American policy. At least in theory they are accepting this. It is time for
our authorities to wake up. At least for the cause of environment if not
social justice.



The book should appeal to every one from architects and planners to
activists, academics, NGOs.




Inquiries with publishers - KALPAZ publications,  C-30, satyavati nagar. New
Delhi 110052.  kalpaz at hotmail.com. Phone 9212729499 or Gyan books, Gyan
Kunj, 23 Main Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi 110 002,
books at gyanbooks.com

Phone: 98116 92060, 011-  23282060,  23261060.  persons to be contacted  B.P.
Garg,  Amit Garg.


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