Fareed Zakaria’s latest release ‘The Post American World’ is a disappointing study. I expected a lot from a scholar of his stature. Fareed talks about ‘The Rise of the Rest’ but got stuck with China and India. There is no mention of the rising importance of a country like Australia, a major raw material supplier to China and a significant Naval Power. Brazil has been mentioned in passing where as it is an important part of the ‘BRIC Countries’. Brazil poses the most serious challenge to the United States in that region. Out of the four major emerging economies, Brazil is the most significant country in terms of technology and agriculture. It might be the next food basket of the world. Canada is the largest trading partner of America and an emerging competitor in the manufacture of commercial aircrafts. Dubai could be the next airline-hub of the world. There is a lot to be said about the emerging Eastern Europe. I expected him to talk a lot about a revitalized Japan. And what about Israel, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea and Vietnam. The rise of Chindia is very misleading.
Zakaria is obviously quite taken in by the Chinese line of the next major power, but lacks the in-depth knowledge about their old civilization. China is too complex and carries lot of contradictions with it. I would rather refrain from commenting at this time. Talking about India, Fareed shows a typical mind-set of an 18 year old coming to America and making it. When he left India, it was a Nehru-Gandhi fiefdom. I also left India at the same time but was much older. Since then I have spent enough time going back and forth and understanding the post Nehru India. Fareed Zakaria and his family are the products of a Nehru legacy. Fareed has completely missed the second independence struggle led by P V Narasimha Rao (father of Modern India), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (the diplomat of India) and Dr Manmohan Singh (the architect of India). Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi only laid the foundation for India. It was Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh, Vajpayee, Advani and Chidambaram who actually built the country. Zakaria has dismissed a full term of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) as a brief accident. He considers BJP a ‘Hindu Nationalist Party’ and therefore not significant. Fareed must understand, we wouldn’t be talking about India but for BJP and the ‘Nuclear Explosions’. The world did not hear the GDP or the growth rate.
A conversation between Charlie Rose and Fareed Zakharia on May 1, 2008
Filed under: American, International | Tagged: Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, BRIC Countries, Chindia, Chinese Line, Commercial Aircraft, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Eastern Europe, Emerging Economies, Fareed, Fareed Zakaria, Father of Modern India, Food Basket, Hindu Nationalist Party, Indira Gandhi, Naval Power, Nehru Legacy, Nehru-Gandhi, Next Major Power, Nuclear Explosions, P V Narasimha Rao, Pandit Nehru, Post Nehru India, Rajiv Gandhi, Second Independence Struggle, The Post American World, Zakaria | Leave a comment »
THINK! 