On Friday, NCS host and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria visited the Watson School of International and Public Affairs to debate the political and financial elements that he argues give India the potential to develop into one of the vital outstanding world powers. Citing the growth of India’s function within the know-how business, Zakaria mentioned he believes that the nation’s financial affect will solely rise within the coming years.
Zakaria’s lecture — hosted by the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia as a part of the OP Jindal Distinguished Lecture collection — started with discussing how trendy society is shifting and the place India matches into this modification. According to Zakaria, the emergence of recent markets can present extra alternatives for nations like India to develop.
“About 30 years ago, the so-called emerging markets in the world made up about 5% of the world economy,” Zakaria mentioned within the lecture. “Today, they make up about 50% of the world economy.”
He additionally said that at this time’s excessive tariff charges make the United States essentially the most protectionist industrialized nation on this planet regardless of initially having a few of the lowest charges, suggesting that the nation is collaborating in a “voluntary abdication of its role as the leading power in the world.”
Zakaria additionally famous India’s rising function on this planet’s know-how sector, as they went from zero mobile phone manufacturing to now producing a significant slice of Apple’s smartphones.
“India is one of the most important countries in the world,” Zakaria mentioned. It is “achieving a level of economic and technological sophistication that is new.”
“This is India essentially replacing China as the principal manufacturer of smartphones for the United States within four years,” Zakaria mentioned. “It is the kind of thing you used to believe that only China could do, which is a kind of high precision manufacturing at scale.”
He additionally mentioned India has distinctive financial potential as a result of it contains creating areas, the place corporations can supply low-cost labor, as effectively as massive, developed cities the place engineers can provide extra technical experience. As a consumer-led economic system that capabilities equally to the United States, India has saved a tension-free relationship with the “Western world,” particularly when in comparison with the nation’s relationship with global powers such as China, Zakaria defined.
Zakaria mentioned that his hope for India comes from the nation’s actuality as a “very big, complicated place.”
“I think a country with so many different political regions, linguistic regions, caste differences, religious differences, is going to be very hard to run as a single, monolithic country by one centralized regime,” Zakaria mentioned.
His prediction is that this pluralism will make sure the state of India’s democracy.
Zakaria, who grew up in Bombay, mentioned that he noticed “enormous cultural tolerance, pluralism and synergy.”
When Zakariai got here to America, he discovered that “people tolerated each other’s religions.”
The United States is “an amazingly tolerant country,” he added. “It’s one of the reasons why immigrants from all over the world want to come here, because Americans are naturally incredibly warm (and) welcoming.”
This apply of tolerance was a “big difference” from India the place as a substitute “people celebrated each other’s religions.”
But he acknowledged that the “lived reality for Muslims in India has become one that is very, very difficult” below the present administration.
After years of globalization, Zakaria mentioned, the “pendulum” is swinging towards range not solely in India, but additionally within the United States, Europe and Asia. But regardless of this, “at the end of the day, the world is moving forward,” he mentioned towards the tip of the lecture. “You cannot imagine a global economy that doesn’t stay connected, globalized in some way or the other.”
Ahona Palchoudhuri, a PhD candidate within the Department of Anthropology, mentioned she loved the lecture. Palchoudhuri, who teaches SAST 0755: “Introduction to Modern South Asia,” mentioned that when she attends Jindal lectures, she hopes to listen to somebody communicate to the brand new views of the area in a approach that she will be able to incorporate in her instructing.
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While Palchoudhuri thought the lecture was a “wonderful opportunity” to work together with figures seen within the media, she mentioned that she “pushed back” on how Zakaria was “kind of conceptualizing religion in India as an almost romantic syncretic condition that had basis in Indian scriptures.”
“Fundamentally, I personally don’t think that’s the case,” she continued.
In his interview with The Herald, Zakaria described India not solely as a potential world chief but additionally as a nation that has the potential to unfold democratic ideology.
“It has the opportunity to play an incredibly constructive role in helping to create a world that isn’t just defined by spheres of influence and balances of power,” Zakaria mentioned, “but can also be a world that is imbued with certain values that India could best champion.”
Zakaria cited his background as a motivator for him to offer insights on India’s future.
“I have a very deep sense and understanding of South Asia because I grew up there, and I grew up there with two very passionate and committed parents who care deeply about the fate of India,” Zakaria mentioned.
But he famous that South Asian politics and economics will not be his particular space of experience.
“I approached South Asia with a certain degree of modesty, because my field of expertise is international relations,” Zakaria mentioned. “I come at it much more personally, in a way, I have a very deep sense and understanding of South Asia.”
Marat Basaria is a senior workers author overlaying activism.