By Dr. Sawraj Singh
India just surpassed France to become the sixth largest economy of the world. India has also become the fourth strongest military power after America, Russia and China. India is finding out more and more areas of cooperation with China. Even though there are some areas of disagreement between the two countries, areas of agreement are far more prevalent. American bullying of the two countries with the America First and the new trade policy of coercion and sanctions are also pushing the two countries together. The sooner the two countries come together sooner the reality of Asia’s Century will become apparent.
Based upon the GDP, India has moved to the sixth place after the USA, China, Japan, Germany and the UK. However, the GDP does not give you the whole truth. The PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) is closer to the ground reality. It not only tells you how much money you make but also how much this money is worth. In other words how much you can actually buy with that money. I feel that if we take PPP into consideration then the standing of the countries will be different. Most likely standing based upon this criterion will show China in the first place, America in the second place and India in the third place.
Even if we continue to use GDP as the only criterion for the economic standings, things are going to change soon. I feel that India is going to surpass the UK very soon. I feel that by 2030, the standings are going to be most likely like this; China, the USA and India in the third place. I also feel that by 2050, it can be China first, India second and the USA in the third place. Sooner or later the world is going to realize that the Asia’s Century has already dawned.
China was the first to assert that the twenty first century is going to be Asia’s century. It took much longer for India to accept the fact that the balance of power has shifted to the East and Asia is now the leading base of power in contrast to the earlier two centuries (19th and 20th centuries). We can say better late than never. It is a welcome sign that India is now trying to correct its tilt to the West which it developed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Even though India has always been leaning to the West and was never completely proud of its Asian heritage, this phenomenon became most marked after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Somehow India seems to have concluded that western domination of the world was an established fact and a western country will always lead the world.
However, China’s rise as a world power made India reconsider its perception of the global realities and in a way convinced it of its own potential and claim to be a world power. In a way China helped India to gain self confidence and self respect. We can hope that India will continue and strengthen its Look East policy and find more areas of commonality with China so that the two largest countries of Asia can work together for the dawn of a new era in the world, the Asia’s Century. It is a very good development that China is looking positively at India’s rise. India should also start to look at China more as a partner and less as a competitor in Asia’s Century and multipolar world.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
