Present India, an emerging economic power on the heels of China, is pathetic when you examine the extremes of living conditions behind the scene. Its glossy picture is dimmed largely by the mass of poverty, ignorance, religious & social taboo & social indignity . . . the list goes on.
India is a huge mass of land of huge contrasts. The very best exist alongside the worst. Materially India is poor but spiritually rich. Human degradation is witnessed at an unprecedented scale in India, for example, children pressed into low paying jobs, with the untouchable shunned by the society. Religious taboo & language barrier add on more hindrances to economic advancement.
On the brighter side, one may also witness heights of moral ascendancy and the wealthy splashing & displaying their vast wealth by the way they live. India is renowned for its great temples & palaces. India also boasts of the second largest pool of engineers and scientists in the world. Its 50% illiteracy rate is among the highest in the world too.
The Upsides & Downsides of life is far too many to be adequately covered by the scope of this writing. Suffice for me to show the contrasting aspects by way of pictorial slide presentations here:
Young Girl documents Slum Life in India – YouTube
Slides on the Upsides of Life (including the Downsides)
Paul Chong's Blog 
This is a snapshot of the Ganges River and some sights are unacceptable in the Western world. India is the biggest democracy in the world and people are allowed to conduct their spiritual practices. Besides what is seen in this short clip, I had the opportunity to visit India and met with brilliant Indians. One of them is my guru who taught me Vedanta and Bhagavat Gita. Indian had one of the best spiritual masters – Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda whose thoughts and teachings are invaluable. Out of all the misery, there is hope and joy. Such is life.