Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for Time Fareed Zakaria in this April 26, 2011 file photo.Fareed Zakaria is a prolific Indian-American journalist, author and commentator. He is an editor-at-large of Time magazine, hosts a show on CNN, has written three books, and is a regular contributor to various journals and papers, including the prominent journal Foreign Affairs, which he edited from 1992 to 2000.
Mr. Zakaria was recently in Mumbai to film a documentary on India’s politics and economy for CNN. He took time out from filming to meet with India Ink at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in southern Mumbai to discuss a wide range of topics, from America’s domestic problems to India€™s place in the world â€" as well as what a Mumbai native like him makes of this rapidly transforming mega-city.
You recently wrote that India is going through its own version of the Arab Spring. Can you explain
The average person in the Arab world was stuck in a system that simply was not performing and delivering.
Now it is true that India is very different. India has been a democracy for 65 years. Sixty percent of the Indian electorate is women, and yet when you look at how women fare in any international ranking, India fares poorly. So clearly there is some problem that democracy has not solved for the emancipation and empowerment of women.
It derives from the fact that much of the oppression we see in India comes from society and not the state. In India the oppression you find is social oppression, because of caste or religion or ethnicity, and most acutely in terms of gender.
!You are finally beginning to see these forces of oppression challenged, for three reasons. The first is democracy, which has certainly enabled people. The second is capitalism, which produces this great churn where anyone can succeed. The third is technology. I’ve been struck by the degree to which, just like in the Arab Spring, the media has been able to publicize this issue of women’s rights.
The urban issue has become a national issue. This is a reflection of the rise of a much bigger middle class. Urban India has generally been seen as a place where politicians extract resources. Rural India is the place where they get the votes. That’s changing.
Given the recent tensions along the Line of Control and the public anger within India, what should the government of India’s response be
Manmohan Singh has been quite shrewd to diffuse the public pressure. The real story between India and Pakistan over the last five years has ben one of remarkable improvement in relationship, particularly in relation to trade and travel. These kinds of skirmishes have gone on since 1947. I would hope this doesn’t derail what is a promising shift.
Has the Indian media been saber-rattling for a war with Pakistan, perhaps to increase viewers, in your opinion What role should the media play in such a situation
It’s mainly a problem with television. India has 325 television channels. You have 40 news channels in Hindi alone. So these people are in a desperate search for market share and the result is a bias towards sensationalism.
The print media was saying ‘We’ve got to be careful.’ The television media- I’ve talked to some of the people involved and they themselves felt that the coverage was getting too jingoistic. It is interesting to see this distinction between print and television media here which is now very dramatic.
I! n the cur! rent issue of Foreign Affairs, you wrote about a new crisis of democracy in the United States. What do you mean
It is a crisis of democracy because the nature of the problem is one that is inherent in democracy, and therefore one that India faces as well: How do you impose short-term pain for long-term gain
This is the great challenge for the United States economy. There are things the United States has to do, whether it’s a cumbersome tax code or reform of entitlements in pension and health care. Instead, we privilege present consumption over investments for the long term.
India has a similar problem. It is hard to stop subsidizing power or giving people rice and instead divert those resources either towards putting your fiscal house in order or making long-term investments in infrastructure and education that will have huge payoffs 20 years down the road. America’s fundamental challenge is: ‘How does it do this’
How ca India restore its growth story
All India needs to do is make a few key decisions. For instance, if India could genuinely open up agriculture, retail and the supply chains relating to that, you would bring down food inflation. People don’t realize that India has some of the highest interest rates in the world. If food inflation goes down, the Reserve Bank could lower interest rates.
Businesses are borrowing money at 14 percent and they still thrive. Imagine what they could do if rates were four points lower.
Then there’s the obvious thing that India has to build infrastructure. To be fair to the reformers in India, they’ve done a lot. Most of the economy is fairly open. So what you have are a few remaining obstacles, and they are very large and hard to do politically.
India has been shaken by a series of recent corruption scandals and then the recent Delhi gang rape. How does India restore its image overseas
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