India Tomorrow ; India Is No Longer the Proverbial Third World Idealist with a Closed Mind. It's One of the Most Spirited Democracies at Work, Though the Plurality of Our Politics Is Only Matched by Its Vulgarity.

India Today › August 25, 2009

Linked as:

Summary

Crystal ball gazers of geopolitics and prophets of national destiny keep telling us the good news: Indian Awakening is the next big global bang. An Indian Century? Why not, especially since the fin of the American sicle is playing out its last act in the barren remoteness of Mesopotamia and Afghanistan? And since the twin giants of the East-Beijing and New Delhi-are shifting the traditional pendulum of power. It does indeed warm the national heart to hear that the future is fabulous, particularly so as this is a country that never ceases to astonish us with its volume and volatility, its elasticity and eclecticism. We have come so far, scarred but not defeated, and we have outlived the maddest provocations of the political class, ranging from their socialist fantasies to totalitarian temptations.

Today, India is no longer the proverbial third world idealist with a closed mind. It's one of the most spirited democracies at work, though the plurality of our politics is only matched by its vulgarity. The Indian marketplace is still expanding, possibly even struggling to keep pace with the aspirations of its entrepreneurs. It is not only the resilience of the economy that raises a national cheer. Biologically too, we can afford to be a bit boastful: India is growing younger, though the grey eminences in power are still our highest arbiters. Well, balladeers of the Orient have a new song to sing, and it's not necessarily about the majesty of Cathay.

See the full content of this document

Extract

India Tomorrow ; India Is No Longer the Proverbial Third World Idealist with a Closed Mind. It's One of the Most Spirited Democracies at Work, Though the Plurality of Our Politics Is Only Matched by Its Vulgarity.

The Great Tomorrow is a heady sensation, and it inclines us to be less real...

See the full content of this document