Kissinger liked to say that to be America's enemy is dangerous but its friend is fatal. India is hugging the US ever-closer. I think Mantri is correct in warning that the party may stop once/when India decides to be more than just a docile undersupplier to Western firms.
Is the Indian elite ready for such a situation? One key difference is that the Chinese elite is much more insular and less Westernised. By constrast, India's elite (especially in tech, media etc) are very Westernised and often have members of their extended family in the West. This creates dual loyalties.
If Indian elite loyalty is fraying because of this factor, it will be harder for India to stand up for itself. Not because it can't, but because a significant part of its elite don't want to, if it will materially harm their financial and family ties with the West.
For this reason, I am less sanguine about the prospects of India doing the hard but necessary work of building its own capacities than China, because it implies much worse relations with the West. I'm far from convinced that getting all elites (and even the upper-middle-class) on board in India will be as easy as it was in China.
Kissinger liked to say that to be America's enemy is dangerous but its friend is fatal. India is hugging the US ever-closer. I think Mantri is correct in warning that the party may stop once/when India decides to be more than just a docile undersupplier to Western firms.
Is the Indian elite ready for such a situation? One key difference is that the Chinese elite is much more insular and less Westernised. By constrast, India's elite (especially in tech, media etc) are very Westernised and often have members of their extended family in the West. This creates dual loyalties.
If Indian elite loyalty is fraying because of this factor, it will be harder for India to stand up for itself. Not because it can't, but because a significant part of its elite don't want to, if it will materially harm their financial and family ties with the West.
For this reason, I am less sanguine about the prospects of India doing the hard but necessary work of building its own capacities than China, because it implies much worse relations with the West. I'm far from convinced that getting all elites (and even the upper-middle-class) on board in India will be as easy as it was in China.