India, not quite in focus
Play
Patrick French's glowing appraisal takes too many cues from the past, ignoring modern realities
India: A Portrait
By Patrick French
Published by Penguin Books, 2011
Available at Asia Books, Bt931
Reviewed by Jitendra Nath Misra
After many false starts, India has become promising terrain for economic and social projects. India has probably never had such a sustained economic surge, with millions being lifted out of poverty.
While debate continues as to whether this growth will make a difference in the lives of the absolute poor, its scale is impressive. Historians will probably record it as one of the transforming events in human history.
In this irresistible setting, Patrick French has written a glowing account of the country, describing India as "the world's default setting for the future".
But he fails to write about the poor. It's easier to write about success elsewhere when the West faces economic gloom. By depicting the lives of the super-rich and mavericks, he creates intimacy with the reader, and sells the product, while glossing over the other, darker India.
However, even if his analysis lacks novelty, we remain enamoured of this work, because India is in fashion.
To enliven Western enthusiasm for the book, French writes about British economist John Maynard Keynes, whose philosophy he says inspired Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's economic strategy.
French illustrates this by citing the reforms of 1991, which were bolder than the demands of the International Monetary Fund. Singh also dealt with the global financial crisis of 2008 in a Keynesian manner, boosting spending to avoid greater problems, says French.
This connection between Keynes and India's economic strategy comes at the very end of the analysis, and we are then able to understand why the author speaks about Keynes in a book on India.
French shows his mettle in sketches of personalities. Nehru had a "warming and didactic" secular vision, and Sonia Gandhi's dark hair and light brown complexion made her more acceptable to Indians than a blond or black would have been.
Rajiv Gandhi "was often better than Indira Gandhi at making a connection, but he lacked her strategic sense". Lakshmi Mittal's wife, Usha, is described as a "squat woman with movable assets on her neck, ears and fingers".
French describes Indian elections as "a self- balancing ecosystem", and yields disturbing information on hereditary politics, even quoting Rahul Gandhi admitting that he was in politics because of family history.
In the 2009 elections for the Lok Sabha - the lower house of Parliament - 19 per cent of Bharatiya Janata Party MPs and 37.5 per cent of Congress MPs were hereditary. French says "India's next general election was likely to return not a Lok Sabha, a house of the people, but a Vansh Sabha, a house of dynasty."
The urban and educated younger MPs find greater comfort in each other's company, across party lines, asserts French.
Despite such incisive analysis, there is also the curious observation that the absence of large-scale migration for the last 500 years allowed integration within existing communities, and built social stability.
Actually, the Mughal Empire was strengthened by the influx of new blood into the ruling class, of the Iranis, Turanis, Afghans and others. If the converse of French's argument were true, migration should cause disintegration. But the migration of the Shakas, Scythians and Huns in the preceding millennium had enriched Indian society.
On terrorism in Kashmir, French says that even if India offered "truth and reconciliation to the Kashmiri people, there was no sane reason to believe Lashkar-e-Taiba and similar organisations would shut down".
In the same breath he says that Kashmir should have gone to Pakistan, but for the Hindu ruler's thinking, which caused war. The richly researched sequence of events, including Maharaja Hari Singh's procrastination and the invasion by Pakistani tribesmen, with at least a complicit, if not a participating Pakistani army, is ignored.
The book is divided into Rashtra (Nation), Lakshmi (Wealth) and Samaj (Society). This seems neat, but how does it help us deal with the different voices and truths that emerge from these broad themes? Even if certain passages sparkle, the sum total of the parts fails to convey a central idea, or even a core of ideas.
French is better as a historian, in assessing the impact of British rule and the economic stagnation of that period, than he is in dealing with contemporary India. His heart is in the past.
With globalisation, urbanites have assumed extravagant lifestyles. The consuming class forages on brand names - anything frugal, even symbolic abstention, is out. As Indians anticipate the arrival of a would-be superpower, many see India's economic rise as novel, forgetting that the country had a quarter of the world's GDP in 1600.
Therefore, India's so-called rise is actually a restoration of its earlier position. Rather than writing a paean to India, French could have dwelt upon this.
The consequences of rampant consumerism are now being felt. Public outcry against corruption draws support because Indians, even the urbanites who gain the most from it, have begun to question high growth unless it benefits the poor.
Indians have historically made moral choices informed by a warm humanity, but morality is no longer enough. Practical action is needed. They want reforms in governance, and a clear moral compass that guides public conduct. Future writers on India should take note.
Jitendra Nath Misra is India's ambassador to Laos. The views expressed are his and do not reflect those of the government of India.
By Patrick French
Published by Penguin Books, 2011
Available at Asia Books, Bt931
Reviewed by Jitendra Nath Misra
After many false starts, India has become promising terrain for economic and social projects. India has probably never had such a sustained economic surge, with millions being lifted out of poverty.
While debate continues as to whether this growth will make a difference in the lives of the absolute poor, its scale is impressive. Historians will probably record it as one of the transforming events in human history.
In this irresistible setting, Patrick French has written a glowing account of the country, describing India as "the world's default setting for the future".
But he fails to write about the poor. It's easier to write about success elsewhere when the West faces economic gloom. By depicting the lives of the super-rich and mavericks, he creates intimacy with the reader, and sells the product, while glossing over the other, darker India.
However, even if his analysis lacks novelty, we remain enamoured of this work, because India is in fashion.
To enliven Western enthusiasm for the book, French writes about British economist John Maynard Keynes, whose philosophy he says inspired Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's economic strategy.
French illustrates this by citing the reforms of 1991, which were bolder than the demands of the International Monetary Fund. Singh also dealt with the global financial crisis of 2008 in a Keynesian manner, boosting spending to avoid greater problems, says French.
This connection between Keynes and India's economic strategy comes at the very end of the analysis, and we are then able to understand why the author speaks about Keynes in a book on India.
French shows his mettle in sketches of personalities. Nehru had a "warming and didactic" secular vision, and Sonia Gandhi's dark hair and light brown complexion made her more acceptable to Indians than a blond or black would have been.
Rajiv Gandhi "was often better than Indira Gandhi at making a connection, but he lacked her strategic sense". Lakshmi Mittal's wife, Usha, is described as a "squat woman with movable assets on her neck, ears and fingers".
French describes Indian elections as "a self- balancing ecosystem", and yields disturbing information on hereditary politics, even quoting Rahul Gandhi admitting that he was in politics because of family history.
In the 2009 elections for the Lok Sabha - the lower house of Parliament - 19 per cent of Bharatiya Janata Party MPs and 37.5 per cent of Congress MPs were hereditary. French says "India's next general election was likely to return not a Lok Sabha, a house of the people, but a Vansh Sabha, a house of dynasty."
The urban and educated younger MPs find greater comfort in each other's company, across party lines, asserts French.
Despite such incisive analysis, there is also the curious observation that the absence of large-scale migration for the last 500 years allowed integration within existing communities, and built social stability.
Actually, the Mughal Empire was strengthened by the influx of new blood into the ruling class, of the Iranis, Turanis, Afghans and others. If the converse of French's argument were true, migration should cause disintegration. But the migration of the Shakas, Scythians and Huns in the preceding millennium had enriched Indian society.
On terrorism in Kashmir, French says that even if India offered "truth and reconciliation to the Kashmiri people, there was no sane reason to believe Lashkar-e-Taiba and similar organisations would shut down".
In the same breath he says that Kashmir should have gone to Pakistan, but for the Hindu ruler's thinking, which caused war. The richly researched sequence of events, including Maharaja Hari Singh's procrastination and the invasion by Pakistani tribesmen, with at least a complicit, if not a participating Pakistani army, is ignored.
The book is divided into Rashtra (Nation), Lakshmi (Wealth) and Samaj (Society). This seems neat, but how does it help us deal with the different voices and truths that emerge from these broad themes? Even if certain passages sparkle, the sum total of the parts fails to convey a central idea, or even a core of ideas.
French is better as a historian, in assessing the impact of British rule and the economic stagnation of that period, than he is in dealing with contemporary India. His heart is in the past.
With globalisation, urbanites have assumed extravagant lifestyles. The consuming class forages on brand names - anything frugal, even symbolic abstention, is out. As Indians anticipate the arrival of a would-be superpower, many see India's economic rise as novel, forgetting that the country had a quarter of the world's GDP in 1600.
Therefore, India's so-called rise is actually a restoration of its earlier position. Rather than writing a paean to India, French could have dwelt upon this.
The consequences of rampant consumerism are now being felt. Public outcry against corruption draws support because Indians, even the urbanites who gain the most from it, have begun to question high growth unless it benefits the poor.
Indians have historically made moral choices informed by a warm humanity, but morality is no longer enough. Practical action is needed. They want reforms in governance, and a clear moral compass that guides public conduct. Future writers on India should take note.
Jitendra Nath Misra is India's ambassador to Laos. The views expressed are his and do not reflect those of the government of India.
