INTRODUCTION: CONTEXTUALISING INDIA'S RISE

For a brief period in the late 1940s and early 1950s, India showed a robust interest in drawing close to its Southeast Asian neighbours. But this trend did not last very long. Despite their geographical proximity, India and the regional states drifted apart in subsequent years. India declined to renew and leverage its historical links with the region and after the early 1950s, its external policy remained firmly oriented towards the West and the Soviet Union. As Professor Wang Gungwu in his introductory remarks in this book points out, an Indian policy towards this region was conspicuous by its absence notwithstanding India's long historical links with Southeast Asia and the presence of Indian diaspora.

India's interactions with Southeast Asia gradually grew feeble because of its domestic preoccupations. The principal focus of its attention turned to national development and economic self-sufficiency. More effort was expended in getting its house in order leaving it with little energy to pursue a proactive external policy. The Sino-Indian border war of 1962 accentuated this further and made New Delhi more inward looking. India was content with its leadership role in the non-aligned movement and did not show much inclination for a wider Asian presence. All this changed dramatically when India embarked on its economic reforms which coincided with the end of the Cold War. In the last sixteen years since reforms began, India has made impressive strides and is now perceived as a potential economic powerhouse. Nothing exemplifies this better than the “rising India” label pinned on it by the international community.

Is India really on the rise? This is an intriguing question since the country still ranks abysmally low (127 out of 177) in the Human Development Index. Interestingly, Indian leaders themselves are cautious in their assessment of their country. This is for two reasons — one real and the other political. They are well aware that even though India has been notching up impressive economic growth figures, it still faces daunting human and physical infrastructural challenges. More than 300 million of its people are mired in poverty, it has the world's second largest HIV population, and 54 per cent of its female population is illiterate. It is energy deficient, has poor roads, ports and airports, and has vast urban slums.