Column: India is the new America

(DNA 04/08/2006) The soft power assets of many of the world’s major powers have fallen. The reputation of the US has taken a beating in the wake of the war in Iraq, allegations of torture, the “fortress America” posture. Global opinion of the US has plummeted to historic lows.

Europe has a lot to offer in terms of culture, its commitment to human rights and the environment but because of its inability to deal with multiculturalism — the riots in France, the tensions in Britain, Turks in Germany, the Netherlands — Europe’s soft power has also diminished.

In Asia, China is historically inward-looking, despite the success of a film such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Manga and anime are popular but Japan is a very homogeneous society that cannot really be emulated by other more diverse societies.

That leaves us with India, a vibrant, multicultural democracy. India is a uniquely diverse country with a Sikh prime minister, a Muslim president, a Christian foreign woman leading the historically powerful Congress party, a Hindu head of defence — what other country can claim this?

The assertion of Indian culture in global media and the economic boom have led to a dramatic shift in the perception of India from a country of endemic poverty to a rapidly modernising country ready to take on the world.

India’s soft power is not only its culture, it is also that it is seen to be a legitimate international presence and military power because it is a democracy. That helps India when it tests a long-range missile or asks for nuclear technology. But irresponsible or aggressive actions can quickly reverse this, as the recent experience of the US demonstrates.

India is engaging the rest of the world at time of rapid compression of time and space through fluid flows of capital, people and ideas. Indians both in India and outside of India have actually been a lot of the brainpower behind the creation of the electronic networks that make this possible.

But it is important that India’s elite not get swept up with a too rosy picture. India is facing, with the world, a number of critical tipping points. India’s demographics and rate of growth means it will slam up against them harder and faster than rich, developed countries. India needs a lot more energy. China also needs energy. The US shows no sign of diminishing its consumption. Competition for resources will only intensify. It is naïve to think that this will not create conflict.

I just spent 10 weeks in India and I have been visiting since 1960. Yet, I was astounded that now all of India’s major metros, forget about midsize cities or villages, are dependent to some degree on tankers for drinking water, the water crisis is acute.

Environmental degradation is serious. The increase in air pollution is a terrible health problem, and a contributor to global warming.

India is a country that is developing very unevenly. One third of malnourished children in the world live in India yet there is an explosion of conspicuous consumption in the metros with a Rolls Royce dealership in Mumbai. You have a class that has more money than it knows what to do with along with farmer suicides.

India also faces the challenge of creating jobs for teeming graduates whose degrees are useless as they don’t have skill-sets that companies require. A tiny number get an exquisite IIM-IIT education. Meanwhile, primary education, quality trade schools are neglected.

Total privatisation or turbo-charged liberalisation can’t accomplish what India needs. The best hope for the scale and speed required is leveraging public-private partnerships. Business, government and NGOs must work together.

The wonderful thing about India now is its incredible ambition and aspiration. There is such a bullish feeling across the country, across class lines of rich-poor, I can’t describe it. The optimism is contagious when you are there. India is the new America — a land of opportunity. India’s vibe is anything is possible.

But if the government and private sector do not deliver practical means of achieving these aspirations to many more of India’s people there will be a lot of frustration which will be destabilizing. This is India’s moment to use or lose. Carpe diem!

By Mira Kamdar

• Indian-American award-winning writer Mira Kamdar, author of Motiba’s Tattoos is now at work on Planet India to be published by Scribner in early 2007.
• She is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute at New School University in New York.
• She is a member of the editorial boards of World Policy Journal and The Subcontinental magazine. Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including the International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, World Policy Journal, Chicago Tribune, Connecticut Journal of International Law, Seminar.
• She has provided expert commentary for CNN International News, TV Ontario, TV Asia and the BBC.