Indian Century

Republic of India

The Indian Century[1][2](or India's Century[3]) is a term referring to the possibility that the 21st century will be dominated by India, similarly to how the 20th century is often called the American Century,[4] and the 19th century as Pax Britannica (British Peace).[5]

Background

The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 AD to 2003 AD according to Angus Maddison's estimates.[6] Before 18th century, China and India were the two largest economies by GDP output.

According to scholars,[7][8][9] media sources[10][11][12] and economic historian Angus Maddison in his book The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, the polities of India constituted the largest economy in the world from ca. 1 CE to 1000 CE.[13][14] Also, during the period when China was the dominant economy in the world, India held the second position of the largest economy.[13] India's share of the world income (economic output) went from 27% in 1700 (compared to Europe's share of 23%) to 3% in 1950.[15]

In the 17th century, India and China accounted for 60-70 percent of world GDP.[16][17]

A number of modern economic historians have blamed the colonial rule for the reduced status of India's economy, investment in Indian industries was limited.[18][19]

Factors

Projected economies of India and China compared to US between 2009-2050.

India has been identified as an potential superpower.[20][21] It is also often referred as South Asia's natural hegemon because of its overwhelming dominance of the region in all aspects – political, economic, military, cultural, and demographic. India contributes 77% of South Asia's population, 75% of its GDP, 77 percent of its territory, 80% of its defence budget, and 82% of its armed forces. One of the key factors includes its populous democracy.[22][23] It has the largest economy in the region, and has impressive GDP growth which sits today at 9.2%[24] According to political analyst C. Raja Mohan: "India's omnidirectional engagement with the great powers has paid off handsomely. Never before has India had such expansive relations with all the major powers at the same time—a result not only of India's increasing weight in the global economy and its growing power potential, but also of New Delhi's savvy and persistent diplomacy." [25]

India is generally considered an emerging power due to its large and stable population, and its rapidly growing economic and military sectors.[26][27] With the largest defence budget in the region, India possesses nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and operates two aircraft carriers. It has successfully developed a Ballistic Missile Defense system, becoming only the fourth country to do so. In 2007, India became the fourth nation in the world to complete atmospheric reentry for Manned Space Mission, an indication of its recent scientific progress.[28] India has also successfully sent probes to the Moon and to Mars.

Many industries are established in the country due to investments in technology and in the professionalism of manpower, in addition to its tradition of Exact Sciences.[29] However, several problems such as economic, political, and social problems need to be overcome to be considered a superpower.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nayan Chanda; Clyde Prestowitz. A World Connected. Yale University Press.
  2. ↑ Martin Halliwell; Catherine Morley. American Thought and Culture in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. p. 10.
  3. ↑ D. Arora, N. Political Science for Civil Services Main Examination. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 35–7.)
  4. ↑ "21st century is going to be Indian century: Alagappan." December 1, 2007. OneIndia News/(UNI).
  5. ↑ Halliwell, Martin; Catherine Morley (2008). American Thought and Culture in the 21st Century. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-0748626021.
  6. ↑ Data table in Maddison A (2007), Contours of the World Economy I-2030AD, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199227204
  7. ↑ "Cover Story: India, the Silicon Jewel of the East". Digital Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "All the riches of the east restored". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "India and China Will Catch Up with the United States". Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Ruin of India by British Rule". Marxist Writers’ Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Gems of Pre-British India". Infinity Foundation. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "When – not if – China overtakes the US, normality will have returned". The Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "The World Economy (GDP) : Historical Statistics by Professor Angus Maddison" (PDF). World Economy. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  14. ↑ Maddison, Angus (2006). The World Economy - Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective and Volume 2: Historical Statistics. OECD Publishing by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. p. 656. ISBN 9789264022621.
  15. ↑ Madison, Angus (2006). The world economy, Volumes 1–2. OECD Publishing. p. 638. doi:10.1787/456125276116. ISBN 92-64-02261-9. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Will China really dominate?". World Finance - The Voice of the Market. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Asia: A Profile of Economy and Finance" (PDF). Future Of Financial Markets (FOFM). Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  18. ↑ Booker, M. Keith (1997). Colonial Power, Colonial Texts: India in the Modern British Novel. University of Michigan. pp. 153–154. ISBN 9780472107803.
  19. ↑ T.R. Jain; V.K. Ohri. Statistics for Economics and indian economic development. VK publications. p. 15. ISBN 9788190986496.
  20. ↑ Perkovich, George (2003). "Is India a Major Power?" (PDF). The Washington Quarterly (27.1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  21. ↑ Dilip Mohite (Spring 1993). "Swords and Ploughshares- India: The Fourth Great Power?". Vol. 7, No. 3. Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS). Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  22. ↑ "‘India’s decade could pave way for an Indian century’." Hindustan Times.
  23. ↑ "Next century will be India's, says WSJ - Oman Tribune". omantribune.
  24. ↑ "India's Economic Growth Unexpectedly Quickens to 9.2% (Update7)". bloomberg.com.
  25. ↑ "RealClearPolitics - Articles - India and the Balance of Power". realclearpolitics.com.
  26. ↑ A Índia como economia emergente: a importância das energias renováveis na estratégia de sustentabilidade energética - Universidade Tecnológica de Lisboa
  27. ↑ Lydon, Christopher. "Real India: A Historian's Cautions on "The Indian Century" (AUDIO)".
  28. ↑ Hindustan Times Giant step in space as capsule returns
  29. ↑ O outro Vale do Silício - Veja Online
  30. ↑ A Índia e a nova ordem mundial Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Further reading

  • "Is this the Indian century?" The Guardian.
  • Is it the dawn of the Indian century, asks Wharton forum. India Abroad.
  • Action: the Indian Century and China-India relations. SBS.
  • China's Century — or India's?
  • India, China to become superpowers in two decades The Economic Times.
  • China and India: The Power of Two Harvard Business Review
  • Lesson From Old India
  • How China and India will be more powerful than the U.S. by 2030 Daily Mail
  • India, the Next Great Basketball Superpower? The Atlantic.
  • Dirks, Nicholas (2008) The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain. Belknap Press ISBN 978-0-674-02724-4.
  • Durant, Will (1930) The Case for India. New York: Simon and Schuster.
  • India: The Rise of an Asian Giant ISBN 978-0-300-11309-9
  • Kennedy, Paul (1989) The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Vintage; 1 edition ISBN 978-0-679-72019-5.
  • Lak, Daniel (2009) India Express: The Future of the New Superpower. Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 0-230-61759-X.
  • Luce, Edward (2008) In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India. Anchor ISBN 978-1-4000-7977-3.
  • Marks, Robert (2007) The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-first Century. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers ISBN 978-0-7425-5419-1.
  • McKinsey & Company Inc. (2013) Reimagining India: Unlocking the Potential of Asia's Next Superpower. Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1-4767-3530-6.
  • Meredith, Robyn (2008) The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us. W. W. Norton & Company ISBN 978-0-393-33193-6.
  • Parthasarathi, Prasannan (2011) Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not : Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850. Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0-521-16824-3.
  • Sieff, Martin (2010) Shifting Superpowers: The New and Emerging Relationships between the United States, China and India. Cato Institute ISBN 978-1-935308-21-8.
  • Smith, Jeff (2013) Cold Peace: China-India Rivalry in the Twenty-First Century. Lexington Books ISBN 978-0-7391-8278-9.
  • Tharoor, Shashi (2012) Pax Indica: India and the World of the Twenty-First Century. Penguin Global ISBN 978-0-670-08574-3.
  • Gupte, Pranay (December 29, 2013). "The Indian Century, great war to 2014".
  • Pascaline Winand; Marika Vicziany; Poonam Datar. The European Union and India: Rhetoric or Meaningful Partnership?. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 174.

External links