China Calling

We have already heard enough about what Chinese are up to courtesy Barack Hussain Obama in his regular addresses to motivate American students. Often, he clubs China with India and labels them as threat to the US and Europe in areas related to science and mathematics. The whole world, to some extent, shares the same views. But there is more to the world if we start looking without an American Eye.

For years, China has been developing ports in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. China is also planning to build a rail network in Nepal, apart from already built roads and bridges to connect Chinese occupied Tibet via Nepal route. Now I read China is developing a small fishing town in Srilanka into a new port, investing millions!

It would be naïve to think that all these projects are to help these small and poor South Asian countries. There is going to be a huge impact on long term political climate of the region if China continues in this way and at this speed. No doubt, the threat to India is now both on security and economy front.

These projects show a resolute attempt by China and Chinese companies to invade these smaller markets and make long-lasting relationships. This would serve many purposes. One, it would help China gain political might in the South Asian region, including coming in nearer to India and counterbalancing the Indian might. It would also help remove dependence of Chinese companies on European or American markets to some extent and in the same time help develop new market for same or outdated (may be outdated at other places; as we know quality constraints in Chinese products) or even for newer products and services. In the short term this is a win-win situation for both China and the other small South Asian countries. But in the long term it is the Chinese who would eat the cake.

Despite all this, I don’t see much effort from government of India to do something proactively. Last time I heard the Maoists in Nepal had stopped Indian firms (most recently GMR Energy) from work at a hydroelectric power project. The future of the whole South Asian region popularly called Indian subcontinent is at the brink of a change in course.

- Rahul

China and Bihar

History is made, and not written. Any low position is an opportunity to aim high. And anyone down with a great past is a sleeping giant.

The sleeping giants

We have listened enough of the Chindia (China+India) debates, now here is something fresh. What is common between China and Bihar? … Both are underdogs, and both are down.
China has been renowned for justifying the negative connotation attached with the word 'cheap'. It can manufacture anything that can be manufactured and at a price which is below others’ raw material costs. However, the product quality will always be broke. The recent scandal in baby milk, which made over 54000 Chinese children sick and many dead, is just the ‘most recent’ visible example. The tainted milk products were contaminated with a toxic chemical melamine, to disguise the protein levels of adulterated milk. Many countries including India have banned such products from China. From farm products to automobile components, Chinese quality is under serious doubt. China is down.

However, Japan was in a very similar situation at the beginning of 70s when its product qualities were not better than junk. It started from there and within years, Japan became synonym with best-in-class quality. A number of Japanese companies like Sony took it personally and in order to remove the poor quality tag from "Made in Japan", they created a history. China has the opportunity to do the same. It is down and the whole world is watching her. It can manufacture a change.

Bihar on the other hand is also in one such situation. Despite having a past that is more glorious than any other part, it lost all its shine in the after years of independence. The land where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, where Lord Mahaveer and Guru Gobind Singh were born, and the place where great men like Chandragupta, and Ashoka ruled, lost its touch with the happenings later on. Out of government apathy and lack of opportunities, people moved out of the state to other parts of India and the unwelcomed migrating populations were targeted in many places. Of late, there has been a general skepticism that nothing can happen in the state. Then, the most devastating flood in the history of modern India happened. For state which had lost its major sources of revenues by creation of a separate Jharkhand, and where corruption eats through any public spending, it could not have gone worse. Millions have been without homes for months and thousands were washed away by the mad water. There cannot be a tougher time. Bihar is down.

However, never before in its recent past the state has been able to generate the genuine interest and pure empathy towards its condition that has happened this time. Even the skeptics who ridiculed the state have been touched at nature's fury at the innocent population. This is the real turning point. Never before in the last many decades, the collective India has seen Bihar with this much empathy. Already the new leadership in the state is doing well and trying hard to turn it around. The state is down and the whole India is watching her. The state can take it from here.