India is a pluralist society that creates magic with democracy, rule of law, and individual freedom, community relations and [cultural] diversity. What a place to be an intellectual. I wouldn't mind being born ten times to rediscover India.
-Robert Blackwell, former US Ambassador to India, 2003
I wrote and re-wrote four full-length posts on this subject before I decided that I had bitten off too much.
So I will keep it short, and just say this:
I came to India not expecting much.
But India is by far the most interesting country I have visited on this trip. Maybe even in my life.
More interesting than Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and perhaps even (and this is very dear to my heart) China.
This is the first country on the trip where I know that I will return to live some day.
When I studied Indian history before I arrived, I wondered how India continues to exist as a country, much less a democracy.
But after being here, and more importantly, talking with countless Indians, the answer is more than obvious.
There's much talk here in India about the 'Chinese century' and America's purported demise. Many Indians I spoke with asked me how I feel about this. They were surprised to learn I'm not too concerned.
I refer back to a statement by Niall Ferguson that I initially strongly disagreed with, but after much meditation have come to accept as profoundly true.
He said (and I'm paraphrasing from my memory): "Sooner or later American will realize that it's just not cut out for these wars in the Middle East. And when it does, it can go back to doing what it does best, which is, quite frankly, being smarter than everyone else."
But now, for the first time, I think I've found a country that could one day be smarter.
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