The Change in Balance of Power

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    THE CHANGE IN BALANCE OF POWER

    Rise of the Indian

    By Anirudh Bainwala

    America won its independence in 1783, 228 years ago. Today it is unarguably the biggest

    superpower in the world. India gained Independence in 1947, 64 years ago, and today it stands in

    the line to be the next superpower. What America achieved in 228 years, India will probably achieve

    in the next 50 years, still a good hundred years ahead America. Now, I am not comparing the past

    with the present. I am aware of the fact that the pace of development has increased today. All I am

    trying to draw out is that India, which was nearly robbed of all its wealth after the British rule, has

    stepped up to be a strong contender in the future struggle for the balance of power.

    Indians have risen in every field imaginable be it science, international politics, sports or

    entertainment. That India which was once seen as a colonized nation under the British crown, a

    village with knife-throwers and snake charmers, has taken in a whole new identity. It is, today, the

    largest information systems service provider in the world, with the worlds largest IT industry.

    It is said that the balance of power shifts in the favour of those who have the newest technology.

    The Roman Empire had weapons and armours, the British had the navy, the US has nuclear weapons

    and India has Information Technology. Today, when everything is based on IT and information is

    treasure, then India undoubtedly is the king. The Indian IT industry is responsible for a major chunk

    of cash flows and huge contributor to the GDP. Moreover, this industry forms the backbone of many

    major corporates and MNCs.

    When it comes to workforce, Indians are everywhere. Every third person working as a software

    engineer in America is an Indian. One can even say that without the Indian workforce working in US,

    their economy would crash within a day. Indians are working as doctors, as lawyers and in some

    cases even as politicians in other countries of the world.

    But how did India, which was not even free up till 1947, come achieve this position of power in

    todays Information oriented world. India at the time of its independence was in shambles. Half the

    country was poverty stricken, there was no industry to speak of and then there was the question of

    the settlement of the millions of refugees. If one goes into the depth of how brilliantly the thengovernment, under the leadership of people like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and others, rescued

    India from its decadence, it would be a whole history book altogether. All we can say is that they

    acted with such tenacity and grace that can rarely be found today. The initial economic policy

    adopted by India was one that of protectionism. Protecting the indigenous industries from outside

    competition and almost all industries were owned by the government. But this policy led to a

    horrible state of affairs and finally led to the adoption of the liberalisation policy, wherein India

    opened its door to the world.

    The changing balance of power in favour of India can clearly be seen, if we consider the following

    areas International politics, Industry and Business, Military and Entertainment and Culture. Let metake them up one by one.

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    First is International politics. There seems to be no major international political event with which

    India is not linked in one way or another. Indias importance in the international domain can be

    supplemented by the fact that it was one of the strongest voices in the UN Climate Change

    discussions last year or by the fact that it has once again secured a seat in the UN Security Council

    and has backing from the US President for a permanent seat in the same. Indias voice is one of

    reason and its opinions are highly valued in International discussions. India, which has taken the role

    of leadership of small and developing nations, argues for policies that favour the developing nations

    and tries to forge ties for beneficial development of all. It is the largest country in the Indian

    subcontinent and is looked upon as a provider by the smaller nations. Its work with the UN, SAARC

    and other organizations is a testimony to the fact that India is in the league of big boys like US and

    UK, who also have come to recognize Indias position of power.

    The next point I would like to illuminate is that of Indian industries. I have already described the

    value of the Indian IT industry to the world. Nearly, every major company in the world has

    outsourced its operations to India. This has been in many ways a boom for India itself, as it allowed

    development of parts which were lagging behind and introduction of many better services. But all in

    all, it has improved Indias position at the International level by raising the standard of living. Looking

    at the other aspect, there are a large number of Indian companies who have been immensely

    successful in International markets. Eight companies including RIL, TATA Motors, IOC, SBI and others

    have even made it to the Fortune 500 List. Personalities like L.N Mittal, Indra Nooyi have made it big

    and our powerful names in the business sector. International companies are hungry to make their

    way into Indian markets because of the gains they face to make from it. Indian firms merging with

    foreign firms or acquiring a foreign firm seem to have become everyday news. All this shows a

    gradual change in the balance of power, which is shifting in favour of India.

    In terms of Military strength too, India is not far behind. Although India has never boasted much of

    its military strength, India has the 4rth largest military force in the world after US, Russia and China

    all of whom are much larger in terms of geographical area. India has one of the best border security

    force and counter-terrorist force in the world. India and USA have also entered into a mutual

    agreement to fighting terrorism.

    India has the second largest entertainment industry in the world, largest when it comes to the

    releases per year. The American film industry surpasses it only in terms of international distribution

    and budget. However, all that seems to be changing. The Indian Film industry has dwelled into

    unchartered territory and has found new audiences throughout the world. The International

    audience too has been mesmerized by this new style of entertainment and have accepted it

    wholeheartedly. International directors, actors, producers are eager to work with their Indian

    counterparts. India has been identified as a new it destination by foreign filmmakers. Indian

    filmmakers, technicians are being hired by foreign firms. Hollywoods huge animation industry is

    being invaded by Indian techies, who are opening new portals to the incredible world of live

    animation. Indians are a frequent sight in all international movie or television projects, proving the

    fact that the image of an Indian is an international one.

    All this inter-industry partnerships has also led to the spread of Indian culture abroad. Ancient Indian

    techniques of Yoga and meditation have gained tremendous popularity in the West and they are

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    coming in flocks to learn this form of art. If power be calculated in terms of influence, then India has

    gained much power by virtue of its culture.

    Having seen the spread of the Indian influence in all fields internationally, one must analyse the

    reason for this and why has it been so rapid in recent years. In the early 21st

    century there was an IT

    explosion. There has a huge demand of IT professionals which was not being met. India immediately

    recognized this demand and set to works the machine to produce such IT professionals. And under a

    decade it became the largest IT sector in the world. The secret to Indias power lies behind the large

    number of professionals in the field of IT, computers, electronics being produced in India every year.

    Indian IT, software and electronic professionals are considered best in the world and despite a huge

    number already present, their demand keeps on increasing. Although unnoticeable, a reverse trend

    in terms of education destination has started being observed. Foreign students are coming to India

    to enter train in the IT sector. The brain drain which was once a major phenomenon has started to

    wear off and Indian professionals have started to realize that India itself is the hotspot of a changing

    world.

    The times have changed .The balance of power which was shared between USA and USSR in the

    post WW2 era is now being shared by USA, China and India. While USA and China boast their military

    strength to justify their power, India boasts something far more valuable in todays world:

    information. Wars in the future will not be fought on the ground and they will not be fought using

    weapons, they will be fought using information. And in those terms, India, today, has the power to

    cripple the information networks of nations. The amount of dependency on India is so much, that if

    ever the information chain here broke, the communication networks in other nations would go

    down. A close analogy to this, could be the American Depression of 1930s, when due to the

    American market crash, economies of other nations were crippled.

    To conclude, all the points explained above show that a change in the balance of power is clearly

    taking place. Old criteria of military strength being the judging parameter can no longer be held

    valid. As society changes the key which decides which civilization or country will hold the power also

    changes. The Romans had the first organized form of Empire with senates and a ruler, which helped

    them conquer most of the known world. The British with the help of its vast navy colonized nations

    and trained slaves by imposing their superiority. Whereas, India is gaining power through its IT

    sector and the vast workforce of trained professionals who are working in almost every area in the

    world in almost every sector there is.