He landed straight in Vijayawada city as part of his first visit to India and was appalled by the “ridiculously uneven developments of nations.”
“We have lot of problems with terrorism, wars and conflicts; I think it’s a big problem of the modern economy. Our developments are very uneven,” said Harald Petzold, Member of German Parliament.
The German MP, who was in city to participate in a two-day World Atheist Conference, spoke to The Hindu . “We have a wave of refugees in Europe but only people with high intelligence-level are welcomed; that’s very unfair. Globalisation is not only about free floating of money, it is also about exchange of cultures. To address the problem, we need to change the existing model of economy and introduce more solidarity, social equality and more rights for women and children.”
The German MP is of the view that youth should be groomed into change agents. “I want to give my support to youth exchange programmes. It is very important that young people know about other cultures, study problems of other societies and find a common ground to work together,” he said. Mr. Petzold finds India very interesting mainly because of its colonial history. “I am a big fan of Mahatma Gandhi. I also admired Indira Gandhi. When she was the Prime Minister of India, I was a 10-year-old school boy. I was shocked to know that she was killed.”
Like any other foreigner, Mr. Petzold is astonished at the traffic chaos on city roads. “The India I see in reality is in conflict with the image I carried in my head all these years. The city is so full of people and countless vehicles criss-cross the roads incessantly honking and not chided or penalised by the traffic authorities,” he says, explaining about the scenario back home in Germany. “I live in a small town which has a population of 42,000 inhabitants. I don’t get to see more than 20 cars during the rush hours in my place,” he says rolling his eyes. The German politician says he wants India to prosper like other industrial countries, to build its own systems and thrive in all-round development. “India has a lot of good ideas which will help the country find solutions to its problems,” he said.
German MP Harald Petzold is astonished at the traffic chaos on city roads
