India and the Sub-Continent
In recent times, the sub-content has become a volatile place. Namely; India, Pakistan and China are locked in some sort of uneasy situation.
Each neighbors growth spurring an uneasy sense of confidence in the other. In particular China's rise as a global power and India's ambition to be one while also feeling alienated and without any true friends. The blame for Indians solitary situation is squarely is non-alignment ideology which I see as a clear failure.
The only thing in India's favor is it shares a common concern about a rising China with some other South-East Asian countries, Japan and Australia. I'd personally consider this as a weak basis of alliance if all they share is a common fear. Ok; India shares cricket with Australia?! Jokes, aside that works well for China as there is no real strategic threat to it from any of its neighbors.
One can argue that China-Pakistan relations are also based on a common hate policy but it is an older and more realistic alliance.
The Indians have been too focused on comparing dick sizes with a smaller and unstable Pakistan and perhaps don't realize that the gap between it and China is so far that the gap between China and the US is more realistic to evaluate than it and China. Frankly I see no point in comparing India to China. China is already placed in the world as a power while India is no where in the scene. We need to accept that as a reality as opposed to some sort of humiliation. And it may help India to focus on the strength of its erection, rather than the size of it. You really can't hope to fuck someone with a big dick if it isn't erect. So while India is big in many ways; largest democracy, economy etc. it lacks a solid basis of growth even till date.
India as an economy today
We also see the weakening Rupee. Some may argue its actually a strengthening dollar. However you only need to compare India's Rupee to the Thai Bhat a few years ago where there perhaps was a 1:1 ratio. Today the THB is two times the rupee. Given India's exports are nothing to rave about and main dollars coming in through FDI; this is very bleak.
The root cause of all this is not surprisingly a rather divided and confused political system. Which lacks to instill any confidence in citizens or investors alike. There is a serious lack of domestic or foreign policy; and this is very natural given the ruling political party works on mass appeasement rather than any constructive nationalistic ideology that puts India at the center.
I used to think of India as a parallel to the US (US a two decades back). But that is not true. While both are the worlds largest democracies and share strong cultural ties; I think the similarities end right there.
For one, the diversity in India and divisions across socioeconomic backgrounds is much larger. This gives rise to a more divided political and social system that has no one common aim. This is a huge hindrance in the countries progress. While the country experienced a boom in the service sector, it never really experienced an industrial revolution. India is still under capitalized; and any infrastructure support from the government lacks any political commitment. This is the root cause of an ailing economy. While in comparison to the US, no matter how bad things got a strong and resilient middle class coupled with a strong domestic consumption always has lifted the economy and rather dictated the world economy.
In India, bureaucracy reeling under corruption and taking advantage of a divided country. Corruption, can thrive where people are divided. The greatest threat to India is not Pakistan or China, but India itself. Just like the greatest threat to Pakistan was Pakistan itself; and that has been proved to be true in a very ugly and real sense for Pakistan. Fortunately for India, the consequences are more economic than utter civil chaos.
Let us not forget that for any conventional war to sustain, economic conditions are vital. If India has to compare its strength to that of China, it should stop counting its submarines and focus on the ability to create indigenous ones. A manufacturing process that has all the suppliers domestic.
Pakistan
In many ways I feel bad for Pakistan, and its posture has always been aggressive to India due to its insecurities rather than some grand scheme to destroy India. Well, extremists have taken that view unfortunately, but the average Pakistani finds India as threatening as perhaps the average Indian finds China.
Though, one difference is that religious fundamentalism mixed with poverty is dangerous and there lies the difference also between India-Pak relations, Vs India-China relations.
China
They are a country focused on a single mission to be a world player. While they do have an eye on India, I would not be surprised if China has a larger perspective of its position in the world rather than focus all its energy on India. While China's interest in the Indian Ocean is apparent, we have to bear in mind that the Indian Ocean is not about India at all. It is about resources and also a strategic position against the United States. For China to have any effective strategy against India and the US combined, they must be in a position to dominate and defend in the Indian Ocean. It is a larger perspective that many Indians perhaps do not realize.
India
What India must do is focus on infrastructure, research and manufacturing. This focus will require a commitment from the government, and hence its important to bring about a democratic change that has leaders who have a slightly more Nationalistic view and a clear focus on the progress of the Nation. It is in this view I feel leaders like Narendra Modi inspire some confidence. What has become very apparent is Congress has a policy of appeasement and no real balls. The only issue with a Nationalistic party is they tend to infuse their Nationalistic enthusiasm in their foreign policy. If majority of India can focus domestically and a handful work on foreign alliances and a strategy of cooperation; the country can progress leaps and bounds.
Additionally the focus on the economy can inspire more confidence for FDI and also fuel exports, leading to a double effect in strengthening the Rupee on a consistent basis. The slow down on FDI should not really be a concern for a strong economy if there is sufficient domestic growth and exports are strong.
In recent times, the sub-content has become a volatile place. Namely; India, Pakistan and China are locked in some sort of uneasy situation.
Each neighbors growth spurring an uneasy sense of confidence in the other. In particular China's rise as a global power and India's ambition to be one while also feeling alienated and without any true friends. The blame for Indians solitary situation is squarely is non-alignment ideology which I see as a clear failure.
The only thing in India's favor is it shares a common concern about a rising China with some other South-East Asian countries, Japan and Australia. I'd personally consider this as a weak basis of alliance if all they share is a common fear. Ok; India shares cricket with Australia?! Jokes, aside that works well for China as there is no real strategic threat to it from any of its neighbors.
One can argue that China-Pakistan relations are also based on a common hate policy but it is an older and more realistic alliance.
The Indians have been too focused on comparing dick sizes with a smaller and unstable Pakistan and perhaps don't realize that the gap between it and China is so far that the gap between China and the US is more realistic to evaluate than it and China. Frankly I see no point in comparing India to China. China is already placed in the world as a power while India is no where in the scene. We need to accept that as a reality as opposed to some sort of humiliation. And it may help India to focus on the strength of its erection, rather than the size of it. You really can't hope to fuck someone with a big dick if it isn't erect. So while India is big in many ways; largest democracy, economy etc. it lacks a solid basis of growth even till date.
India as an economy today
We also see the weakening Rupee. Some may argue its actually a strengthening dollar. However you only need to compare India's Rupee to the Thai Bhat a few years ago where there perhaps was a 1:1 ratio. Today the THB is two times the rupee. Given India's exports are nothing to rave about and main dollars coming in through FDI; this is very bleak.
The root cause of all this is not surprisingly a rather divided and confused political system. Which lacks to instill any confidence in citizens or investors alike. There is a serious lack of domestic or foreign policy; and this is very natural given the ruling political party works on mass appeasement rather than any constructive nationalistic ideology that puts India at the center.
I used to think of India as a parallel to the US (US a two decades back). But that is not true. While both are the worlds largest democracies and share strong cultural ties; I think the similarities end right there.
For one, the diversity in India and divisions across socioeconomic backgrounds is much larger. This gives rise to a more divided political and social system that has no one common aim. This is a huge hindrance in the countries progress. While the country experienced a boom in the service sector, it never really experienced an industrial revolution. India is still under capitalized; and any infrastructure support from the government lacks any political commitment. This is the root cause of an ailing economy. While in comparison to the US, no matter how bad things got a strong and resilient middle class coupled with a strong domestic consumption always has lifted the economy and rather dictated the world economy.
In India, bureaucracy reeling under corruption and taking advantage of a divided country. Corruption, can thrive where people are divided. The greatest threat to India is not Pakistan or China, but India itself. Just like the greatest threat to Pakistan was Pakistan itself; and that has been proved to be true in a very ugly and real sense for Pakistan. Fortunately for India, the consequences are more economic than utter civil chaos.
Let us not forget that for any conventional war to sustain, economic conditions are vital. If India has to compare its strength to that of China, it should stop counting its submarines and focus on the ability to create indigenous ones. A manufacturing process that has all the suppliers domestic.
Pakistan
In many ways I feel bad for Pakistan, and its posture has always been aggressive to India due to its insecurities rather than some grand scheme to destroy India. Well, extremists have taken that view unfortunately, but the average Pakistani finds India as threatening as perhaps the average Indian finds China.
Though, one difference is that religious fundamentalism mixed with poverty is dangerous and there lies the difference also between India-Pak relations, Vs India-China relations.
China
They are a country focused on a single mission to be a world player. While they do have an eye on India, I would not be surprised if China has a larger perspective of its position in the world rather than focus all its energy on India. While China's interest in the Indian Ocean is apparent, we have to bear in mind that the Indian Ocean is not about India at all. It is about resources and also a strategic position against the United States. For China to have any effective strategy against India and the US combined, they must be in a position to dominate and defend in the Indian Ocean. It is a larger perspective that many Indians perhaps do not realize.
India
What India must do is focus on infrastructure, research and manufacturing. This focus will require a commitment from the government, and hence its important to bring about a democratic change that has leaders who have a slightly more Nationalistic view and a clear focus on the progress of the Nation. It is in this view I feel leaders like Narendra Modi inspire some confidence. What has become very apparent is Congress has a policy of appeasement and no real balls. The only issue with a Nationalistic party is they tend to infuse their Nationalistic enthusiasm in their foreign policy. If majority of India can focus domestically and a handful work on foreign alliances and a strategy of cooperation; the country can progress leaps and bounds.
Additionally the focus on the economy can inspire more confidence for FDI and also fuel exports, leading to a double effect in strengthening the Rupee on a consistent basis. The slow down on FDI should not really be a concern for a strong economy if there is sufficient domestic growth and exports are strong.
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