India

INDIA

India (1.4 billion) has just surpassed China in population. It is the world’s fifth biggest economy. The US is anxious for it to be a good friend to counterbalance China. It wants India on its side in the new cold war the US is brewing with China. But is India interested in the role the US has carved out for it? Actually, no. India has since independence in 1947 followed a non aligned policy. It sees the world as multipolar and not bipolar. It gets cheap petroleum from Russia and buys 45% of its weapons from Russia and makes weapons in India under Russian license. India is not interested in confrontation with China, either, although India and China are rivals.

The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, is hugely popular, with an approval rating of 77%. He has a weak and divided opposition and is expected to be around for a long time to come. Modi is a good politician, but no hero: he is a Hindu chauvinist in a country with over 200 million Muslims. And he has bent the media, parliament, civil service and judiciary to his will. In any case India is an important player on the world stage. 

Source: The Economist, 6/23/23