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 world’s 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
today’s 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 then
government, 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 me
take them up one by one.
First is International politics. There seems to be no major international political event with which
India is not linked in one way or another. India’s 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. India’s 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 India’s 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 India’s 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. Hollywood’s 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
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 India’s 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 today’s 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.