Letter from India: India can't wait to put the 'super' before 'power'
Amelia Gentleman / International Herald Tribune
Published: November 23, 2006
NEW DELHI: The Times of India has designed a neat logo that it sticks at the top of every article about India's thriving economy or growing international importance: a small spinning wheel, the national symbol, alongside the words "Global Indian Takeover."
Sometimes the articles deemed to reflect the nation's unstoppable rise are persuasive - Indian corporate successes, rising share prices, Booker Prize victories. More often they are bewilderingly trifling.
In a front-page article this week, the latest evidence of India's rising power was the rather underwhelming news that a girl of Indian-origin had become Miss Great Britain. The "Global Indian Takeover" slogan was stamped next to a pouting picture of Preeti Desai.
The Times of India, the nation's largest-selling English-language paper, is chasing a trend. This desire to highlight every small achievement as proof of India's unstoppable rise has become a national sport. An obsessive conviction that India is destined for international supremacy is spreading fast.
Over the past few years there has been a rush to invest India with nascent superpower status. Banks predict India will become the world's third- largest economy in the next couple of decades, a CIA report forecasts that the 21st century will be India's. Every visiting foreign dignitary pauses to pay tribute to India's relentless ascent to economic, international glory.
The only people with an aversion to these superpower predictions seem to be India's most senior leaders.
In the past week the two most powerful people in Indian politics have separately warned of the dangers of the nation's prevailing preoccupation with its global position. Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the ruling Congress party, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have been at pains to pierce the hyperbole and arrest the spread of complacency.
"Let us not get too obsessed with acquiring 'superpower' status," Gandhi told delegates at a conference titled (with zeitgeisty exuberance) "India: The Next Global Superpower?"
She continued: "I am somewhat uneasy with the very word 'superpower.' For too many of us, it evokes images of hegemony, of aggression, of power politics, of military might, of division and conflict."
She said she was mystified by this bout of self-congratulation, asking, "Do we not feel confident enough?" Here she struck at the heart of the issue - an overwhelming desire to boast of success hints at insecurity and defensiveness.
Gandhi appeared embarrassed by the mood of triumphalism about India's economic transformation, pointing out that while India was a "country of dazzling prosperity" it was also a country of "dehumanizing poverty."
It is, of course, politically vital that Gandhi should be seen at every opportunity to be remembering the plight of the excluded, with important elections coming up in the impoverished state of Uttar Pradesh. However, there was a lot of common sense here too: India was never going to enjoy a powerful position in the world if it was unable to feed its population properly, she argued.
"We have large sections of our society that have yet to enjoy even the basics of a decent quality of life and standard of living," she stressed. "The successes we record must not lead to false illusions of grandeur and power. They should not wrap us in a cocoon of self-satisfaction which cuts us off from the day-to-day lives of the vast majority."
Singh took up the theme, stating that his government was working to "build a better future" for the nation, "not because of a desire to be a 'global superpower,' but because we want to live in peace and with dignity." With customary honesty, he too outlined the many obstacles to these dreams of superpower glory - the education system, a failing public health service and a shortage of vital energy resources.
The debate over India's superpower aspirations was given greater piquancy this week with the arrival on a state visit of President Hu Jintao of China. While the most optimistic of India's cheerleaders like to suggest that India's rise is in parallel with China's, realists stress that there is no comparison.
"We are not in a race with China, because they have already won the race," Jairam Ramesh, the commerce minister, said Monday. He also was trying to dampen the superpower hysteria, arguing that even if India was to become one of the world's largest economies, that would not represent a stupendous achievement.
"If a country of one billion people cannot become the third-largest economy, then we need to have our heads examined. What counts is per capita income," he said, reiterating that the new wealth has not spread to the vast majority. "Let's not go overboard about this idea of the 21st century being India's century. On a macro level it may be, but not in terms of lifestyle or earnings."
Will those sobering words have any effect on the mood of the nation? Apparently not. Announcing that India hoped to send an astronaut to the Moon in the next 10 years, an official of the Indian Space Research Organization declared with delight: "A successful manned mission to the Moon will give India the status of a superpower."
Revealing proposals to build the world's tallest tower block outside Delhi, an architect announced: "It is about status. It is about glorification. It is high time that people started realizing that we too are a great nation."
The drumbeat of superpower mania goes on.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/23/news/letter.php
Amelia Gentleman / International Herald Tribune
Published: November 23, 2006
NEW DELHI: The Times of India has designed a neat logo that it sticks at the top of every article about India's thriving economy or growing international importance: a small spinning wheel, the national symbol, alongside the words "Global Indian Takeover."
Sometimes the articles deemed to reflect the nation's unstoppable rise are persuasive - Indian corporate successes, rising share prices, Booker Prize victories. More often they are bewilderingly trifling.
In a front-page article this week, the latest evidence of India's rising power was the rather underwhelming news that a girl of Indian-origin had become Miss Great Britain. The "Global Indian Takeover" slogan was stamped next to a pouting picture of Preeti Desai.
The Times of India, the nation's largest-selling English-language paper, is chasing a trend. This desire to highlight every small achievement as proof of India's unstoppable rise has become a national sport. An obsessive conviction that India is destined for international supremacy is spreading fast.
Over the past few years there has been a rush to invest India with nascent superpower status. Banks predict India will become the world's third- largest economy in the next couple of decades, a CIA report forecasts that the 21st century will be India's. Every visiting foreign dignitary pauses to pay tribute to India's relentless ascent to economic, international glory.
The only people with an aversion to these superpower predictions seem to be India's most senior leaders.
In the past week the two most powerful people in Indian politics have separately warned of the dangers of the nation's prevailing preoccupation with its global position. Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the ruling Congress party, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have been at pains to pierce the hyperbole and arrest the spread of complacency.
"Let us not get too obsessed with acquiring 'superpower' status," Gandhi told delegates at a conference titled (with zeitgeisty exuberance) "India: The Next Global Superpower?"
She continued: "I am somewhat uneasy with the very word 'superpower.' For too many of us, it evokes images of hegemony, of aggression, of power politics, of military might, of division and conflict."
She said she was mystified by this bout of self-congratulation, asking, "Do we not feel confident enough?" Here she struck at the heart of the issue - an overwhelming desire to boast of success hints at insecurity and defensiveness.
Gandhi appeared embarrassed by the mood of triumphalism about India's economic transformation, pointing out that while India was a "country of dazzling prosperity" it was also a country of "dehumanizing poverty."
It is, of course, politically vital that Gandhi should be seen at every opportunity to be remembering the plight of the excluded, with important elections coming up in the impoverished state of Uttar Pradesh. However, there was a lot of common sense here too: India was never going to enjoy a powerful position in the world if it was unable to feed its population properly, she argued.
"We have large sections of our society that have yet to enjoy even the basics of a decent quality of life and standard of living," she stressed. "The successes we record must not lead to false illusions of grandeur and power. They should not wrap us in a cocoon of self-satisfaction which cuts us off from the day-to-day lives of the vast majority."
Singh took up the theme, stating that his government was working to "build a better future" for the nation, "not because of a desire to be a 'global superpower,' but because we want to live in peace and with dignity." With customary honesty, he too outlined the many obstacles to these dreams of superpower glory - the education system, a failing public health service and a shortage of vital energy resources.
The debate over India's superpower aspirations was given greater piquancy this week with the arrival on a state visit of President Hu Jintao of China. While the most optimistic of India's cheerleaders like to suggest that India's rise is in parallel with China's, realists stress that there is no comparison.
"We are not in a race with China, because they have already won the race," Jairam Ramesh, the commerce minister, said Monday. He also was trying to dampen the superpower hysteria, arguing that even if India was to become one of the world's largest economies, that would not represent a stupendous achievement.
"If a country of one billion people cannot become the third-largest economy, then we need to have our heads examined. What counts is per capita income," he said, reiterating that the new wealth has not spread to the vast majority. "Let's not go overboard about this idea of the 21st century being India's century. On a macro level it may be, but not in terms of lifestyle or earnings."
Will those sobering words have any effect on the mood of the nation? Apparently not. Announcing that India hoped to send an astronaut to the Moon in the next 10 years, an official of the Indian Space Research Organization declared with delight: "A successful manned mission to the Moon will give India the status of a superpower."
Revealing proposals to build the world's tallest tower block outside Delhi, an architect announced: "It is about status. It is about glorification. It is high time that people started realizing that we too are a great nation."
The drumbeat of superpower mania goes on.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/23/news/letter.php
