Does India want to become a superpower

[sob]

I must say that we should have send at least 10,000 or para military forces (army on deputation with para military) in Afghanistan, provided we are able to take casualties.

No Saya it is not just boots on the ground. Are we ready to support the Afghans with weapons?
Are we prepared to work overtime between the Americans and the Iranians so that the overland route is open bypassing Pakistan?
Are we prepared to pump in money to the Afghans?
Can we make the effort for forming a coalition to take on the Pakistan/Taliban combo?

 

[Virendra]

With the kind of stressed coalitions, diverse views and the amount of political mud slinging going on; I don't foresee the GOI to have so much determination that they'll set in boots on ground at Afghanistan, Maldives etc.
I needs a good lot of orientation, strength and focus from a Govt. for such things to happen.

 

[sob]

With the kind of stressed coalitions, diverse views and the amount of political mud slinging going on; I don't foresee the GOI to have so much determination that they'll set in boots on ground at Afghanistan, Maldives etc.
I needs a good lot of orientation, strength and focus from a Govt. for such things to happen.

@Virendra generally if you go by recent history the smaller parties that make up the coalition are not interested in the Foreign Affairs and they never get the ministry. It is question of priorities and an assertive leadership.

I am sorry to say that a section of the bureaucracy has been influenced by the Western countries-- you can see the number of their children either studying abroad or having a good job.The US has also faced this problem with many of their diplomats retiring from service and taking up job as lobbyists for foreign countries, often working at cross purposes to their mother country's interest.

 

[badguy2000]

what India lacks of is not desire,but the industry might....


However, here indians seem to show little interest on industrializaiton,but on "democracy" and "IT".

 

[Singh]

Having a desire is not tantamount to achieving it.

A. Humans and everything run by Humans operate on systems, routines, habits and/or automatic behaviours. Aristotle said "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

B. Ikigai and Kaizen. Ceaseless pursuit of a worthy goal for life.

Does India and its citizens have a besire to be a superpower ?
Assuming they do.

And what are our habits/systems, are they conducive to us becoming a superpower, or are they hampering us ?
Is the sole purpose of India and/or Indians becoming a superpower ?

The answer to both is No.

Look at our Governments policies and systems, we have a knee jerk reaction to everything, sometimes its excessive, often its timid. Without reforms, and policies which take us forward we can never hope to be a superpower. These policies need to be nurtured for decades before they are able to bring fruit.

Look at our people's habits and culture, it is holding us back imho, people are happily willing to pay bribes and bat for their caste/tribe/religion over nation. How many Indians vote for leaders who strive to bring us forward by giving us present hardships ?

 

[badguy2000]

a superpower need the follow:

manpower enough;
industry might enough;( military might and economy might is just the by products of industry might)
area large enough;

so, those country without enough population and area can not become superpowers,such as S,Africa;

USA and USSR once have all the 3.so they are/were superpowers;

CHina had only enough population and areas,but lack of industry might,so CHIna was not a superpower. But in the past decades, CHina's industry might has been growing rapidly, so its economy might and military might have been growing accordly,as by products of growing industry might.
And CHina is now a emerging superpower(not a complete superpower yet)

India ,like CHIna decades ago, has enough manpower and areas,but it had no enough industry might,thus it can not build enough economy might and military might.....and it can not be a superpower of course.


other countries,such as S,Africa,has neither enough population,nor enough area. it is even not on the list of superpower candidates.

 

[badguy2000]

Athough its industry might has been eroded much,the backbone of its industry chains still are there...so Russian can still keep its military might reluctantly and still on the list of superpower candidates,althought its GDP is just a little more than S.Korea's

 

[amoy]

what India lacks of is not desire,but the industry might....


However, here indians seem to show little interest on industrializaiton,but on "democracy" and "IT".

yours sounds like "economic base determines political super-structure" !?

Sent from my 5910 using Tapatalk 2

 

[PredictablyMalicious]

I have doubts on even the claim that we're a fully recognized & operational regional power.
What happened to Chamel Singh in Pakistani prison?
What happened after eyewitnesses in Pakistan exposed how he was killed by Jail officials?
Did the GOI take any concrete actions?
We've made a mess of Sri Lanka affairs.
Nepal has been in doldrums for so long.
Maldives slipped out of our range and there's no denying that.
There's very slow progress on Bangladesh.
Pakistan is hopeless as usual.

I don't see how we're an established regional power. In my opinion we're a debatable/inconsistent regional power.


About getting the hands dirty, we are the people who wipe the house ultra clean from inside and then come out to dump all the garbage on road, right in front.
Soprry about the bad example but no, we're not in the mindset of getting the hands dirty on national agendas.

Regards,
Virendra

It is not that India isn't a regional power. The fact is that our region has far too manny strong players. Going by your logic, even China cannot totally be considered a regional power in Asia pacific. China is as much of a player there as the USA.

 

[badguy2000]

yours sounds like "economic base determines political super-structure" !?

Sent from my 5910 using Tapatalk 2

that is one famous statement of Karl Marx,the founder of communism. almost every Chinese have been taught many statements of Karl Marx,so was I.


According to my soo many years life experience after graduation, Many statements Karl Marx are bull shit,except the above one.

 

[Bangalorean]

what India lacks of is not desire,but the industry might....


However, here indians seem to show little interest on industrializaiton,but on "democracy" and "IT".

yours sounds like "economic base determines political super-structure" !?

Sent from my 5910 using Tapatalk 2

Badguy is right. My post on the previous page basically says the same thing. Economy and industrial might is the most critical component of "superpowerdom". As far as democracy is concerned, democracy is a necessity for India. There is no other option for our nation.

 

[thakur_ritesh]

If I get it right, it was ToI which obsessively pushed the talk of, India, a superpower in making, just the way they have done the aman ki asha, though may I add, better sense prevailed in the end, and they cut short the campaign. The campaign stopped, but the thought lingers on. Technically, and looking at the track record, a lot of rhetoric, but very less substance.

The author takes an example of Indian diaspora, and their success overseas, fair enough, but then these people have a vision, and then that vision gets supported by a conducive atmosphere, in contrast, we have a successful private sector, but a government which is lost in it's act, and continues to remain pretty much directionless at the moment.

If we reflect back and go back to the early 90s and look at our track record since, has it been something to really boost about, I have some serious doubts. If anything, even in the post liberalized economy, the good growth has happened in only a patches and nothing more, and by and large we have remained misdirected with half hearted measures taken which have remained no more than, if anything, stop gap measures.

Economy remains in tatters, like wise and largely because of a pretty bad economy, also thanks to a political class with a rather clueless vision, the defence continues to again remain in a state of filling the loopholes as stop gap, and if a thing like artillery is to be taken, then nothing of the sort even exists there.

The only thing which has sustained decently over a period of time is the foreign policy, and this is where some appreciable measures continue to be taken.

All in all, there is a desperate need to have the economy back on track, doing growth rate numbers of at least 8%(+) for the next decade or so, and then we would be better placed to take some sort of a call, at the moment, far-far from it.

India continues to remain a country with potential, nothing more so far.

 

[Yusuf]

This statement needs to be addressed by our leaders ( Political, Diplomats and Defence Forces)



I am marking to the gentlemen for their comments on this @Ray, @Yusuf, @Bangalorean @thakur_ritesh, @Kunal Biswas @sayareakd @leathelforce @p2prada @Singh @Virendra @W.G.Ewald @civfanatic

Economy. Key to it and yes it's in our own hands but its not something that's "inevitable" and waiting to happen just like that without strong leadership, vision and some good deal of thought on how we move forward.

I have written about how Economy is a strategic weapon and how India will lose to China diplomatically because of weak economy. If your economy is strong and motoring along, everything else falls in its place. Look at China which is now a great power because it has grown into an economic power house and compare it with the fall of the erstwhile superpower Britain which has declined because its economy is in shambles.

A powerful economy can come only when all sectors of economy grows. From infrastructure to industries, manufacturing, services, I mean the whole hog. That allows you to create a base for good defence industry, increased defence spending which overall makes you a superpower. India already has the soft power that will come in handy.

 

[civfanatic]

Like Virendra said, the desire is definitely there. Who would not want his nation to be a "superpower"?

Why should we become a "superpower"? I have yet to see one good reason why.

Is it the goal of every country to become a "superpower"? To become like the United States or former Soviet Union? India is a unique country that is totally different from any other on earth, and so we must forge a unique path for ourselves.

Personally, I do not want India to become a superpower, as I do not want India to be engaged in the same kind of global policing and exhausting geopolitical madness that comes with superpowerdom.

 

[Yusuf]

Why should we become a "superpower"? I have yet to see one good reason why.

Is it the goal of every country to become a "superpower"? To become like the United States or former Soviet Union? India is a unique country that is totally different from any other on earth, and so we must forge a unique path for ourselves.

Personally, I do not want India to become a superpower, as I do not want India to be engaged in the same kind of global policing and exhausting geopolitical madness that comes with superpowerdom.

If you don't play the game, you become a pawn in the game

 

[civfanatic]

If you don't play the game, you become a pawn in the game

Pawn of who? Weak and vulnerable countries become pawns. I am not advocating that India become weak and compromise on its sovereignty.

India, as it currently stands, is one of the few countries on the face of the planet that can be called truly sovereign. Most other countries are subject to a significant degree of foreign influence and control, directly and indirectly.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

@nrj, sorry missed out on marking to your attention
.

And how could you that?:shocked:

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Pawn of who? Weak and vulnerable countries become pawns. I am not advocating that India become weak and compromise on its sovereignty.

India, as it currently stands, is one of the few countries on the face of the planet that can be called truly sovereign. Most other countries are subject to a significant degree of foreign influence and control, directly and indirectly.

Is there an argument that India should become like Sweden or Switzerland during WWII and afterwards, that is, surrounded by potential threats and with a relatively powerful military? I think India should develop advanced weapon systems and highly trained military forces: army, navy, air and space.

Pakistan seems to be a special case in the array of threats to India. It is a thorn in India's side and must somehow be neutralized permanently.

 

[Yusuf]

Pawn of who? Weak and vulnerable countries become pawns. I am not advocating that India become weak and compromise on its sovereignty.

India, as it currently stands, is one of the few countries on the face of the planet that can be called truly sovereign. Most other countries are subject to a significant degree of foreign influence and control, directly and indirectly.

You cannot be a big and powerful country and not end up playin the games. As you grow, your interests grow, be it commercial, security, or defence. Well it all gets interlinked. Take China for example. It's economy booms mainly due to manufacturing. It requires market for it. Which means use of sea. It requires raw materials that have to be imported which again uses the sea. To protect that and also expand resources, it starts to lab claims for territory all over the place. In increases defence spending to push those claims. Surrounds its potential rivals by cracking deals with neighbors of that rival.

I mean you cannot grow big and say you will remain aloof. It's just not possible.

 

[Virendra]

It is not that India isn't a regional power. The fact is that our region has far too manny strong players. Going by your logic, even China cannot totally be considered a regional power in Asia pacific. China is as much of a player there as the USA.

China's economic clout in its neighbors is well known and though there's a lot of grudge these neighbors haven't been able to really do something that directly harms Chinese interests.
There's only the diplomacy and verbal duels going on till now.
Besides, China is taking on successful countries of South East Asia as well as Japan.
While India is yet to pin down the likes of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Have you heard of any neighboring country's soldiers barge into China, surround villages and fire at villagers in peace time?
Well Bangladesh did it to us once.
It isn't as simple as having the power or not. How the power is manifested, how it is leveraged are crucial factors.
That is where we have work to do.