As images came across the screen of the Mumbai terror attack most Americans were curious why radicals were so angry at India. The targeting of Westerners in the attack was more understandable, but why Indians?

When India achieved independence in 1948 the nation split. All Hindus fled the Muslim designated states of Pakistan and East Pakistan (later forming Bangladesh). A large minority of Muslims however remained in India and became an oppressed subgroup. The eruption of violence over the mountain state of Kashmir has acted like fuel for a religious fire ever since independence.

For much of its 60 years of existence India has struggled to achieve modernity. Its massive population (now well over a billion people) has acted as India’s greatest strength but also it largest weakness. Much of this time India’s focus has been on how to feed its people. Its social system, revolving on an ancient premise of social castes, has suppressed modern India’s economy. Social mobility is the engine for capitalism. India refused to get sucked into the Cold War and kept both the Soviet Union and the United States out of all components of their state. Throughout the Cold War India experimented with socialism and capitalism and for the most part failed to achieve significant advancement. As communism collapsed so did India’s restraint. The country blossomed economically just in time to ride the information technology boom. Its population now became a source of great minds. Though its education system is based on rote learning, it was ideal for mathematics and science. Linear learning produced great computer scientists, engineers and doctors from a pool of over a billion people. India is on the rise.

So what does this mean for America? One fact that few realize is India is the world’s largest democracy. They have a vibrant free press and a tradition of free speech. Women have played a key role in India’s recent history including a woman as Prime Minister in the 60s and 70s. Because of India’s coolness toward the US during the Cold War, India was not looked at as a fellow democratic state. The relationship between the US and India has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Indians are now finding a second home in the US. Trade and business ties between the two nations are now burgeoning. Our two nations on opposite sides of the globe now have more in common than ever before.

As conflicts rage in lands to India’s west, India itself is quickly becoming a powerhouse in the region. Confident, India could provide an ally for America that counterweights India’s northern neighbor, communist China. If China’s dynamism results in a more aggressive stance it would be nice to have a friend in the region. India can provide just that. Surely an American tack toward India would frighten Pakistan but continued aid to the Islamic state would allay most fears. (Stabilizing extremism there will be addressed further up the list.) Obama’s administration should further partner with India and make  strides to build a friendship that will bring the two nations separated by great distance closer together. This is why India comes in at number nine on the list.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.