Fortune's Southeast Asia Correspondent - Wake up!

We were surprised to read Mr. Ellis’s article on India in the Sydney Morning Herald dated January 22, 2006. It reads like it was written by a teenager headed for Switzerland but somehow finding himself in India. Mr. Ellis needs to wake up to reality.

India is a poor country with a per capita income scarcely above 500 dollars. Reasons for its poverty are complex ranging from historical circumstance that shaped old-fashioned economic policies until recently, to its social diversity and political structures. While India slowly unshackles itself and celebrates its well-deserved early successes, it remains acutely aware that that the regulatory and infrastructural improvements needed to attain Western world efficiency or equity have only just begun.

In addition to the overall arrogant and flippant tone in writing, we take issue with three specific points made in the article.

First, Mr. Ellis asserts that the rise of world class Indian multinationals such as Mittals and Tatas are “plundering Western markets”. His choice of words is perhaps symptomatic of prevailing interests elsewhere which edify the rise of Western capitalism but get uncomfortable when an honest built-from-the-ground Indian business makes a similar splash on the international scene.

Second, Mr. Ellis laments the quality of airline services, shocked by the difficulty in trying to obtain refunds for cheap airline tickets. Welcome to the world of budget travel Mr. Ellis! The authors of this article have all had similar experiences on budget airlines in many first world countries. On the related issue of too many airlines in India, I suppose Mr. Ellis will have to make up his mind on whether he laments the lack of competition in Indian business or thinks there’s too much of it. Airline congestion and safety standards are a moot question all over the world, and business is responding to market signals. Regulators will too, but unfortunately these things don’t get sequenced in a laboratory like fashion but instead follow an iterative process of seeking out a market equilibrium. His objection to a beer magnate owning an airline also seems misplaced in the current global context; implying that these pilots must certainly be glugging the house beer on duty.

The third point that struck us was his claim that the Indian economic boom is patchy and dangerous. All economic booms are patchy to a certain extent because breaking the malaise of the past involves supporting a few pockets of excellence. With time, the aim and hope is to attain a more inclusive growth experience. The author fails to explain why this economic boom is dangerous -- in keeping with the style of the article which is to assert without substantiation.

As India conscious expat citizens we are keen to engage in insightful debate and discussion on the promise and challenges that lie ahead. Our advice to Mr. Ellis is to refrain from such broad sweeps which begin with a dig at the Indian male anatomy and end at airports, with the kitchen sink thrown in the middle.