Indien sehen

There is only a very small community in Switzerland. About 4500 people of very different backgrounds are permanent residents in mostly urban areas. There is a high percentage of people with higher education such as doctors, scientists, researchers as well as businesspeople. During the troubles in Punjab, there has been a certain amount of political refugees (Sikhs) finding asylum in Switzerland, many of them now running restaurants or Indian food stores. With the upcoming of a numerous Indian middleclass, there is also a beginning of Indian tourism in Switzerland. Each year there are more and more travel groups visiting this country, very popular and prestigious as tourist destination all throughout Asia. Since the beginning of troubles in Kashmir, there are also many film teams from Bombay, using the Swiss Alps as a set-up for scenes that usually would have been shot in the mountains of Kashmir.

Manuel Bauer on the contrary has done a reportage on Calcutta, once the most important city in the British foreign empire. Calcutta still hasn’t come to terms with post colonialism, it holds the highest unempolyment rate in the world (37.6 % and rising) with more than 350 million people living in absolute poverty.
Indeed Calcutta represents the best example of India's problems as well as its aspirations and future hopes.

Publisher: Verlag Lars Müller 1997
ISBN: (german) 3-907044-41-X
With: 232 pp
Cover: 27 x 21 cm, Hardback