India may never be a superpower : London school of economics

[LETHALFORCE]

It is better for India if we do not become a superpower in the U.S. mold. All I want is for India to regain the respect of the world as well as of its own citizens; I look forward to the day when every Indian, regardless of where he/she may be in the world, can proudly proclaim his/her Indian nationality and identity, and I look forward to the day that "India" once again becomes a by-word for enlightenment and prosperity.

I agree superpower can be defined in many ways but I am assuming it means an economic
and military power combined is the current definition.By this definition I would say India is
a superpower but in many ways it is better not to have this label but show the potential if needed. If
the author claims India cannot be a superpower because the standard of living is not as high as western
Countries for many citizens it is true but even if that is the measure India would still score higher on
a happiness and stress free life compared to many Nations.

 

[civfanatic]

I agree superpower can be defined in many ways but I am assuming it means an economic
and military power combined is the current definition.By this definition I would say India is
a superpower but in many ways it is better not to have this label but show the potential if needed. If
the author claims India cannot be a superpower because the standard of living is not as high as western
Countries for many citizens it is true but even if that is the measure India would still score higher on
a happiness and stress free life compared to many Nations.

We will inevitably become an economic superpower as we push for higher standards of living; imagine what a billion and a half economically-empowered Indians will demand and the economy that will form to meet those demands. However, I do not believe India should use this economic might to become a global policeman like the U.S., as such actions will only prove to be a liability in the long-term and will paint a negative picture of India in the eyes of the world. If the "definition" of a military superpower is one that regularly intervenes in the affairs of far-off nations and starts meaningless self-perpetuating conflicts in said far-off regions, then it is better for India to avoid becoming a "military superpower".

Our long-term military goal, which is invariably tied to our long-term geopolitical goals, should be the creation of an Indian sphere of influence covering the entire IOR from East Africa to Indonesia, along with the break-up of Pakistan and establishing land connections with Central Asia. To ensure our economic security we should use a combination of military might and diplomatic finesse to ensure control of major trade routes in the Malacca Straits, Straits of Hormuz, and Bab al-Mandeb. Essentially, our objective should be to establish our own "pole" in a new multi-polar world, and we should engage in diplomacy on a global scale to encourage the development of such "poles" in other developing areas of the world like Brazil and South Africa. We should strive to dismantle the current world order, which is dominated by the West, and help bring out a more equitable and stable world order where all countries can be partners in progress.

 

[Shaitan]

Do India want to be some type of global cop??

 

[A chauhan]

Poverty and inequality are plaguing India due to black-money and unemployment,and they are the major reasons or barriers who are stopping us to become a superpower and our development. How many of us buy our daily household things with proper bills ? we tend to buy without proper bills and this way VAT and other taxes are being stolen, this direct theft of tax makes the seller rich, though no one sees that his property is made up of black money,yet we say that he has became rich by his hard work and efforts, and this is the trend to become rich in modern India every second businessman is using this way to make money, and in fact that's the way which is making our country poor.In any of Indian cities you will find thousands of shops but perhaps 70-80% shopkeepers are using this method to gain illegal profit. They will offer you two deals, one with bill which would be 10-20% costlier than the other, you will opt to buy without bill to save your money, and that gives birth to black money.How many people pay Income tax honestly ?

We are unable to stop tax theft and some people asking to become a superpower !!?

 

[amitkriit]

India must first take care of her internal problems. A "Superpower" India where people die of hunger, disease and lack of shelter is not the country I would like to live in.

 

[arya]

India must first take care of her internal problems. A "Superpower" India where people die of hunger, disease and lack of shelter is not the country I would like to live in.

now jats are breaking law in hisar haryana

its so esy to break law in india , poor policeman

 

[noob101]

India must first take care of her internal problems. A "Superpower" India where people die of hunger, disease and lack of shelter is not the country I would like to live in.

people need to realize that there is a limited amount of resources in our country... simply said people are not dieing of hunger because of corruption or lack of leadership but it is because the amount of land that India has can't feed its population at the rate that it is growing at!

 

[aerokan]

In my opinion, a country of people who has most freedom to roam and pursue their ambitions and dreams across the world is a super power.

Why do we have to think that a superpower should coform to a particular set of standards??
If being superpower means invading and taking away the liberties and freedom of people why would i want one?
If being 1st in HDI means, kidnapping kids who doesn't conform to their standards, i don't want to be in a country with 'great' HDI index.
If being secure means, kids can't jump off the walls of the house and return back safely to home after secretly sneaking out, i don't want to live in that place.
If i can't even have the choice to decide fully what kind of garden i should have out in my yard.. do i want to be in that country??
If i can't speak my mind freely, without being feared of prosecution, what value would an extra 50 cents and pair of biscuits have?


If these are the kind of superpower countries aspire for, i don't want my country to follow suit. Despite many shortcomings, india still has the freedom which even the superpowers have. Aspiring to be like one of them current ones is a retarded way and self-insulting. I want a new paradigm.. not the beaten down win-lose or lose-lose scenarios.. I want a better india, a better power, a new path to show for the rest of the world.

And yes.. i will see one in my lifetime :thumb::thumb:

 

[Ray]

I knew it before the London School.

Who cares?

 

[panduranghari]

I knew it before the London School.

Who cares?

Hindustan has always been a superpower in many facets of life. Its the colonial ambitions of a few European nations who screwed up the way of life. However the London School looks at superpower from military perspective. Its a very narrow view of the big picture.

But then these guys are still hanging on to their past as there is nothing going on for them. I doubt if they would be able to claim another empire ever?

 

[Singh]

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought
and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
-- Rabindranath Tagore

I would rather if we follow Tagore than any hegemonic superpower ambitions.

 

[panduranghari]

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought
and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
-- Rabindranath Tagore

I would rather if we follow Tagore than any hegemonic superpower ambitions.

Nice. What is the source of this excerpt?

 

[niharjhatn]

And The same people argued half a century ago India and other commonwealth nations should not be independent, as they would not be able to survive without the support and leadership of England.

As to the definition of "superpower" - it has NOTHING to do with per capita GDP - hell, look at Russia, and all of its 'satellite' states - serfdom etc was still rife, just placed under a different name.

 

[balai_c]

And The same people argued half a century ago India and other commonwealth nations should not be independent, as they would not be able to survive without the support and leadership of England.

As to the definition of "superpower" - it has NOTHING to do with per capita GDP - hell, look at Russia, and all of its 'satellite' states - serfdom etc was still rife, just placed under a different name.

These are the same people who could not predict the real estate recession crisis in US, clueless about the Eurozone crisis being unfurled now. They cannot even predict events that could happen 5 years in the future; and they are attempting to fortell about a incredibly large and complex nation like India 50 years in the future? Boy, these guys are smoking some really potent herbs here! 50 years is a veeerrry long time.

And The same people argued half a century ago India and other commonwealth nations should not be independent, as they would not be able to survive without the support and leadership of England.

Very right! History is a chronicle of people's actions. Nobody, other than fiction writers (especially science fiction) can predict the mind and hence the direction of peoples actions. Future is a clean slate, which would be populated by the story of peoples actions. Looks like they refuse to learn from their past!

 

[amitkriit]

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought
and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
-- Rabindranath Tagore

I would rather if we follow Tagore than any hegemonic superpower ambitions.

Yes that is what I want India to be like. Fate of 1/6th of humanity is tied with the fate of India. We must be so strong that our enemies will have to think thousand times before laying their dirty eyes on our soil, but we must strive for peace.

 

[natarajan]

Ah the looters who became super power by looting from INDIA say that INDIA cannot become a super power. How stupid it is for them to say this. It is like a thief talking about the development of a person who does HARD WORK and is prospering due to his HARD WORK..........

how many years to blame them ,what about internal looters who loots in trillion dollars like 2g,3g etc

 

[JayATL]

Unfortunately this article is spot on. The issue as I see it is not lack of intelligence, brain power, innovative thinking etc. that is going to hold India back( India has best and dare say leads in that category). Rather beyond infrastructure ( you can spend and build it all up at some point), but what I fear is cultural traits . My father used to say we Indians lack discipline, disciple and pride in being more civic minded and being civilized period.

Take for example driving a car - when you see another car wanting to come into your lane, what do indian drivers do? something as basic, something that calls for simple courtesy- Indians don't have it in their blood. You are wired to be " chalta he" attitude and wired to be "selfish". Till you have that sense of " shame" like most Americans do, " we don't throw garbage on the streets, it's not cool to do so" ( that thinking), till you take personal pride in how you treat others or interact individually in your real live interactions. I say there is no chance to be a global power...

The very first comment on this post. THE VERY FIRST ONE! --- gives you an insight into what I speak off. It attacked the messengers, the intelligent authors, the pure academia's behind the study vs., looked introspectively. Chalte hai bahi. that bhai's country ruled us close to 7 decades ago hence is anti Indian now... chalta hai

 

[amitkriit]

Unfortunately this article is spot on. The issue as I see it is not lack of intelligence, brain power, innovative thinking etc. that is going to hold India back( India has best and dare say leads in that category). Rather beyond infrastructure ( you can spend and build it all up at some point), but what I fear is cultural traits . My father used to say we Indians lack discipline, disciple and pride in being more civic minded and being civilized period.

Take for example driving a car - when you see another car wanting to come into your lane, what do indian drivers do? something as basic, something that calls for simple courtesy- Indians don't have it in their blood. You are wired to be " chalta he" attitude and wired to be "selfish". Till you have that sense of " shame" like most Americans do, " we don't throw garbage on the streets, it's not cool to do so" ( that thinking), till you take personal pride in how you treat others or interact individually in your real live interactions. I say there is no chance to be a global power...

India is changing. Money changes the way people behave.

 

[p2prada]

Unfortunately this article is spot on. The issue as I see it is not lack of intelligence, brain power, innovative thinking etc. that is going to hold India back( India has best and dare say leads in that category). Rather beyond infrastructure ( you can spend and build it all up at some point), but what I fear is cultural traits . My father used to say we Indians lack discipline, disciple and pride in being more civic minded and being civilized period.

Take for example driving a car - when you see another car wanting to come into your lane, what do indian drivers do? something as basic, something that calls for simple courtesy- Indians don't have it in their blood. You are wired to be " chalta he" attitude and wired to be "selfish". Till you have that sense of " shame" like most Americans do, " we don't throw garbage on the streets, it's not cool to do so" ( that thinking), till you take personal pride in how you treat others or interact individually in your real live interactions. I say there is no chance to be a global power...

Even civic behaviour can be learned in time, especially with a new generation.

 

[JayATL]

Even civic behaviour can be learned in time, especially with a new generation.

Hope so because that is your only chance. unfortunately you and generations before were always taught to keep your streets clean in school. But rather learnt uncivilized behavior of throwing your litter on the street from ? ( parents) . Learnt bad traits not from school but from cultural traits. The pan eaters will spit the pan on the walls, the drunk educated parents will drive drunk on the streets.... etc etc. May need 2 generations before it cleanses itself of the horrible traits.