كوكب الهند : النهضة المضطربة لأكبر نظام ديمقراطي ولمستقبل عالمنا

by Mira Kamdar, هلا الخطيب (Translator)

الهند موجودة في كل مكان : في نشرات الأخبار , في دور السينما , في المكاتب , وفي مبنى كابيتول هيل ( مجلس النواب الأمريكي )

تحكي ميرا كامدار من خلال تقرير إخباري دقيق وتحليل إيضاحي ثاقب القصة المثيرة للمحاولة التي تبذلها الهند بهدف تحويل نفسها من دولة نامية إلى كيان ذي طاقة عظيمة وتأثير كبير . وهي تطلعنا على الرؤيا الإستراتيجية الجديدة لأمريكا تجاه الهند , وتعرفنا على مجتمع الأميركيين من اصول هندية الذي يزداد نفوذاً وتأثيراً . كما تأخذنا الى داخل الهند فتخبرنا بأمور شتى عن الناس والشركات والسياسات والتحديات التي سوف يكون لها بالغ الأثر في مستقبلنا

إنه كتاب لا غنى عنه مثير للإهتمام وياتي في الوقت المناسب تماماً ( كوكب الهند ) هو الكتاب الذي يفتح أفاقاً جديدة ويقول لنا بالضبط مدى خطورة الرهانات وما الخسائر وما الأرباح التي تنطوي عليها نهضة الهند التي تخطف الأبصار

Genres: Nonfiction, India, Business, Audiobook, Society

399 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Born to a Gujarati father raised in Burma and India and a Danish-American mother raised on a farm in Oregon, Mira Kamdar has navigated between different localities and identities her whole life. As a four-year-old, she asked her mother: “Which way am I half? Up and down? Or sideways?” She is still trying to find the answer to this question.Educated at Reed College, the Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California at Berkeley, Mira Kamdar studied philosophy with Jacques Derrida, Jean-Francois Lyotard and Michel Foucault and wrote a doctoral dissertation on the politics of mimesis in Diderot under the direction of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe. Unhappy teaching in America’s hinterland, she made her way to New York in the late 1980s where she began writing on current affairs and joined the World Policy Institute.




Mira Kamdar’s first book was a critically acclaimed memoir, Motiba’s Tattoos: A Granddaughter’s Journey from America into her Indian Family’s Past (Public Affairs 2000; Plume 2001). It was a 2000 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection and won the 2002 Washington Book Award.
Her latest book is Planet India: The Turbulent Rise of the World’s Largest Democracy and the Future of our World (Scribner 2008). The book has been translated and published in over a dozen foreign editions, including Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and French.
Mira Kamdar’s work has appeared in publications around the world, including Slate, The Washington Post, The Times of India, Daily News & Analysis, Outlook, The International Herald Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, World Policy Journal, Tehelka, Seminar, the Far Eastern Economic Review and YaleGlobal. She writes on issues that concern her deeply: globalization, climate change, agriculture and the food crisis, sustainability, consumption, violence, India, France and the United States.
Perfectly bilingual in French, she provides expert commentary to CNN International, Bloomberg TV, the BBC, MTV Iggy, National Public Radio, TV Ontario, Public Radio International, Radio France, TV 5 Monde and FR 3. A contributing editor to The Caravan magazine and a member of the editorial board of World Policy Journal, she writes the “Mot de l’Inde” column for Courrier International and blogs for Le Monde Diplomatique’s “Planète Asie” and the Huffington Post.



In 2010 – 2011, Mira Kamdar will be affiliated with the CEIAS (Centre des Etudes de l’Inde et l’Asie du Sud) at the EHESS (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) as a Fulbright Senior Scholar under the auspice of the Franco-American Commission for a project on Enlightenment images of India as they contributed to the construction of European identity.

Mira Kamdar is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute and an Associate Fellow at Asia Society in New York. She is a regular speaker on India and international affairs for university, business and community audiences and, circling back to her days as a budding academic, is teaching again in Montreal, New York and France. Her ambition is to continue to make a living as an essayist at large in the world, to bring philosophy back into her life and work, and to play jazz violin as brilliantly as Stephane Grappelli. She lives in Paris.

Reviews

[Halah Baqer · Rating 5 out of 5]

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تساهم شبه القارة الهندية في تكوين نسمة الكرة الأرضية بأكثر من مليار شخص وبسبب هذا العدد الهائل من الارواح فيها نجدهم في كل المجالات المتوفرة في العالم سواءً الجيدة أو السيئة فهم منتشرون في كل مكان وبالتأكيد هم يأثرون ويمسون حياة باقي البلدان لهذا يجب علينا ان لا نتجاهل الفئة الهندية وننظر إليها بأعين الإستحقار فهم بحق يظهرون ويمثلون عالمنا والتباين فيه فبالنسبة لي اعد هذه المنطقة الواقعة على خط الإستواء نموذج مصغر لكوكبنا يحتوي على مشاكله وإزدهاره

ابدعت ميرا كامدار في هذا الكتاب إذ حولت موضوع اجتماعي إقتصادي سياسي ممل إلى موضوع شيقٍ متكامل الوحدة غنية بالمعلومات عن هذه البقعة وعن كل ما تخصها في كل نواحي الحياة وقسمت الكتاب بشكل مذهل

شمل القسم الأول شرح مفصل وموجز عن ازدهار الهند والمناطق الحيوية فيها ونواحي تقدمها واسباب جمالها وتطرقت في الفصول اللاحقة إلى عرض المشاكل والمأسي في شبه القارة هذه بدءاً من عوائق الزراعة مروراً بالصحة ,التعليم, الطبقية , العنصرية , إنتهاءً بإنعدام العدالة الإجتماعية .

وتخللت هذه الفصول لقاءات اجرتها الكاتبة بنفسها مع اشخاص تولوا مهمة تغيير الواقع الهندي على عاتقهم وساهموا بشكل فعال في مقاومة الظروف القاسية وزرع الأمل والثقة بالجيل القادم وتقديم كل الجهد لرفاهيتهم مثبتيين بذلك وجود اناس لا يزالون يتحدون ولم يستسلموا للهزيمة واليأس يحاولون صنع مستقبل يفتخر به الكل .
وشهدت الفصول الأخيرة طرح موضوع العلاقة الهندية الامريكية وتعاونهما في المجالات العسكرية و الإقتصادية

ميرا عبقرية إختارت عنواناً ملفتاً (( ولمصير عالمنا )) إستغربت !! لما قد يتوقف مصير العالم بأسره بالهند ذلك البلد الذي يشبه الوان الطيف بإختلافاته وتباين سكانه لكن مع نهاية الكتاب يتكون لديك يقين بأن الهند ضلع مهم في جسد الكون وإذا اراد أحدٌ ما قيادة دفة التغيير فعليه ألا يتجاهل الهند ببساطة لأنها تمثل 40% من سكان الارض وإذا ما نظرنا في تاثير مشاكلها على غيرها من الدول نجدها مثلت 65 % وهذه النسبة ليست بقليلة ونحن وإن اردنا التغاضي عنها لن نستطيع فهي تفرض وجودها علينا

ببساطة الهند جزءٌ من كل ازدهار ودمار في عالمنا

كتاب ممتع مفيد محفز للقدرات ومصقلة للنفس فهي تأخذك بجولة في الأراضي الهندية تطلعك على كل خيراتها وسر جمالها وجوانبها السوداء الموحشة فقط بــ 399 صفحة لهذا فهو يستحق بجدارة 5 نجوم

[kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book enumerated on India's current and growing role as an economic powerhouse, and as an important player in international security. However, the book did not do enough to elucidate India's cultural influence. In fact, the author spent more time explaining how America shapes India. It is a good read for a bit of trivia, but the book does nothing to shatter paradigms, and it certainly is not life changing.

[Patty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, this book was so boring; it took me forever to finish it. The genre of contemporary issues/political science/news articles-in-book format tends not to produce a lot of page-turners, but this one was particularly bad. It's another of those books (of which I have read many) that attempts to capture a picture of 'modern India', good and bad; Planet India leans very heavily to the 'good' side, probably due to the research all having taken place in 2005-6, pre-Global Recession. On the one hand, it focuses a great deal on India-US interactions, which I am interested in for obvious reason. Most books like this pay greater attention to India-UK connections, which of course makes sense, but I'm not above wanting to read about myself. On the other hand, I have now read enough statistics on the growth rates of India's agriculture in 1990 vs 2000, or imports vs exports, or that Reliance made $5 billion in 2005, but is projected to make $6 billion in 2006, etc, etc, than I have ever wanted to do. If you're interested in the topic, there are better books.

[Janel Atlas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about India and U.S./Indian relations in this fascinating book. The author conducted hundreds of interviews all over India and gives anecdotal evidence to support her empirical claims about India's future.

[Merredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the August book club book for my office book club. It started out interesting, then just started repeating itself. When I found out I had a scheduling conflict with the book club meeting, I decided not to finish this book. The concept was good, I think it could be more succinct.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really happy about this book so far. It's a survey of modern India and its indicativeness (not a word, I know) of global change, much of it positive.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second- I didn’t realise there would be such an emphasis on the relationship between the US and India. While it is interesting, what is more fascinating is understanding the issues India faces in its own country. Realising the differences between city and country living in a huge country like India was the most engaging part of the book. I realise that time has moved on since this book was first published, but having that sense of hindsight gave more depth to what I was reading and allowed me to think about it more in comparison to the India of today.

[Stefano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro completo e ricco di informazioni, letto molto rapidamente per il mio imminente viaggio in India. Tende a descrivere un’India un po’ diversa da quella attuale: nel 2007 l’attenzione era rivolta soprattutto al boom economico appena iniziato, e non ancora, ad esempio, alle sue conseguenze nel medio periodo.
Libro preso in prestito dalla biblioteca

[I.G. Frederick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dense and very well researched. Although a little dry in places, it's a fascinating study of what many Americans don't realize will soon be the most populous country in the world.

Incredibly helpful in my world-building research for The Lady & The Spyder series (as Korin I. Dushayl).

[Faisal ElBeheiry · Rating 3 out of 5]

ممل نوعا ما

[Dilip · Rating 1 out of 5]

while the book gives a good summary of the economic side of nda..i disagree with the author calling pilgrms who were set on fire by islamc terrorists hindu militants .

[Durrah]

ينطوي داخل هذا الكتاب صورة الهند بعد العولمة، بصورة لم يصورها أحد قبله

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

While some of the statistics are dated, this remains an excellent overview of the potential and problems of 21st century India, with special reference to its relationship to the United States

[Crossings · Rating 4 out of 5]

With every Desi writer and their brother writing a tome about India’s short and long term fate with the conclusions ranging from over the top optimistic to absolutely dire, the average reader (Desi and otherwise) must view the slew of books on this subject with some consternation not to mention confusion. All opinions, conjectures and projections are not equal and certainly not everyone has the same qualifications to be dispensing the wisdom, foresight and commentary on the future and fortunes of India that they do.

Mira Kamdar brings a whiff of fresh air into this over-crowded genre with her book Planet India. She tempers her enthusiasm for everything there is to be excited about in India with the right measures of sobriety and caution. She shows us the potential and opportunities that lay ahead of the country and its people but never fails to draw attention to the numerous impediments along the way or as this Businessweek article reports – we’ve already hit the wall.

Her writing is factual and objective ; the content well researched. There is a lot of fresh information and insights even for a native born Desi who has spend most of their adult life in India - a rarity for books in this segment that aim at aiding a “discovery” of modern India by non-Indians while insulting the understanding and awareness of its natives.

Unlike a lot of book-about-India writers, Kamdar does not come off as having recycled old news paper editorials and magazine articles in the name of yet another tome about India. But most importantly, she “gets” India and cares about what does or does not happen to this country. Having said that, it is commendable that she is able to remain detached from her subject matter yet present her case in such an engaging and compassionate tone.

I would highly recommend Kamdar’s book to anyone who has enjoyed reading Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City and Ronhinton Mistry’s Fine Balance. Between the three we have viewed India through a composite lens of fact and fiction, dipped into the past, taken stock of the present and tried to glimpse into the future. I would love recommendations for books on a couple of themes that I have not read about yet – applying lessons learned from India’s history to solve today’s problems and to better prepared for the future; opportunities and challenges for India’s rich spiritual heritage in a time when consumerism reigns supreme.

www.heartcrossings.blogspot.com

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems that no matter how old, big, diverse or culturally rich a country is, it is still susceptible to Western influence (or contamination). India may soon surpass China as the most populous country in the world and is also developing quickly from a third world country, with which come all the challenges (problems) that have been plaguing the US and others already. Environmental problems such as pollution and lack of water, economic, health and social problems. Some see India as the test case for the way the rest of the world will face these challenges and how successful it will ultimately be.

India is poised on the precipice. It can leverage the immense creative resources it possesses and take a revolutionary approach to these issues, as several local movers and shakers interviewed by the author describe--adhering to the "Triple Bottom Line," environmental, social and financial--or choose to ignore the lessons demonstrated by the way the Western world has already done things and run into the same pitfalls.

Some corporations in India already operate under a different philosophy than being governed strictly by the financial bottom line. They seek to do business in a sustainable way that benefits not only the company, but also helps the Indian people, by providing employment or fair compensation for their goods and services and does no harm to the environment. This is truly admirable.

However, because a lot of the successful executives were educated and have worked in the West and the enormous profit potential such a populous country provides, Western companies have already infiltrated and influenced India's corporate culture. What remains to be seen is whether they will overpower the more benevolent forces that are also already in action.

The author did a great job of explaining how the stage is set for this struggle to play out and so I for one, will keep an eye on India as they move forward into the future to see which path they follow and how they, in turn, influence the rest of us.

[Karim Sayani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it gave me the other side of my home country. It showed me the different unseen issues and dealings of India. I never thought that India had that much information to show to people while speaking economically and politically. India has potential within its people except there are always obstacles for people to express their best. The deficiency of a good running system in the market and government doesn’t do any good in improving India. The talking of making things better doesn’t result in any benefit to the poor. I understand how the words to give hope and there is prosperity in some part of India yet the overall goal has not been achieved yet. The author did do an excellent job in showing the urban and rural side of India. I can look at my family being a victim of the poverty back in the day around the years of my birth and having the dream of moving forward in life. There is a lot of evidence shown to prove the points and the demonstration of various points of views helps give the range of different endpoints of ideas. This definitely gives me something to look forward to when it comes to seeing the improvement in economy and standard of living for people. It is thrilling to see the goals being achieved and the happiness it can bring to the people of a country that haven’t reached that level yet. There are obstacles except there is hope in some form or other depending on the extent of the destination.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All things India.....Planet India provides the reader with a vast array of knowledge and information about the emerging powerhouse country of Asia, and it's expanding recognition in all global areas.

Mira Kamdar satisfies the readers with a passion for India, while at the same time providing much research and an informed knowledge base to placate all serious students and readers on this topic. As a strong, populous democracy with many serious challenges before it India is revealed through various topics including economy, job growth, urban development, agricultural issues, education, AIDS and healthcare, and every other pertinent topic that affects India today. All the information is interesting and informative.

The reader is left with an appreciation of all the accomplishments India has made since it's independence along with what is on the horizon to come. The author portrays a comprehensive representation of a cultural revival where Indians look with hope and confidence to their future.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book in a long, long time that I quit reading. I got about halfway through, and I just couldn't do it anymore.



I know, understand, and agree that India is an important part of our global community. I get that it is important to understand a culture that is such an important player in the world today. But Mira Kamdar's book was written like an impossibly long article.



The introduction held all of the points that were to be discussed throughout the book, and they were concise. Meanwhile, every chapter that they were brought up again was filled with useless names, numbers, dates that just rolled right out of my brain and formed a goopy puddle by my feet.



I believe that I know Kamdar's thesis for Planet India, and I even think I agree with her. But I just could not waste my time with the last half of the book. I suggest that you pick this one up at the library, read that first chapter, and then promptly return the book to the library. You don't want to suffer overdue charges.

[Chade66 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Its is written from an southeast asian-centric view point and talks in depth about many economic and global realities that someone who is looking for a casual read about India might find daunting.

It has an interesting section towards the beginning of the book that talks about the media industry and bollywood, interesting timing considering the way that "Slumdog Millionaire" is sweeping the awards ceremonies for film right now.

Parts of it shocked me and some of it made me mad or frustrated, some of it is shockingly depressing, yet there were shining moments too.

It certainly made me think. One point that the author made very clearly is that if development nations grow their economies the way the United States has and consume at the same rate that the US does, we will strip the planet dry in no time. Its time for everyone, especially the US to reconsider how it does business in the world and what values we as a society should embrace.

[Shikha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a good read and a decent overview of India's burgeoning status as a world power. However, if you are fairly in the know about India, much of the information is not especially new. Also, towards the end of the book, the reading became a little rushed through, as if Mira Kamdar was trying to meet her deadline. (I found it particularly odd that in the last paragraphs, as she's closing the book about India, she goes into a little blurb about the U.S.-China relations, which was very random.) But, for those of us involved with India on a personal and professional level, I will say that Planet India does create (or rather, fuel) the excitement, the anticipation, and the hope so many of us are experiencing in the current climate.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half of this book tells us what most people already know, or at the very least suspect: India, with vast amounts of human and financial capital, is and will be a major factor in the global economic and cultural scene (I don't need 150 pages of information to understand that the 2nd most populous country on earth is significant.) The other half indicts the social systems that the capitalism glorified in the first half enables. Kamdar is sympathetic, but she seems woefully naive about the root cause of India's ills, including sexism, poverty and caste oppression. The lack of any real proposed solution verges on irresponsibility, especially since she might have done so much better if she had sharpened her focus to address the problems, rather than merely acknowledge them.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a whole slew of books out now with a similar message: watch out american worker! Indians are smart, plentiful and willing to work for less. You're screwed! I work with a lot of people from India. The ones I know are smart, great people. They don't want to live on dirt piles any more than I do. I suspect that as India becomes more affluent, the bargains will dry up. There will be more competition, but there will also be more to do. Somehow I don't feel all that threatened. Maybe I'm naive. We'll see.

[Sapna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though it is a few years old, I've wanted to read this book for a while and am so glad I did. It was a great modern perspective of India from a woman who was born to an Indian father and an American mom..a few years older than me. Kamdar is a media correspondent on India and writes objectively on the subject but you can feel her connection to the country in a way that many of us native and first generation Indians do. I found this book to be very informative and made me very proud of the progress India is making as an emerging key global economy.

[Natasa Tovornik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the book it really makes you feel india is on another plante. Grasping the enourmousness of the country, coming from a 2-million population is a challange on his own. There you can really understand what economies of scale mean.

And the country apparently has a strategy. Unbelivable!

And doing good by doing well is it's moto. I cannot believe I knew so little about india before I read this. If one is interested in the world of tommorrow you definately need to read this.

[Krishna Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mira explores 21st century India - a country of many contradictions: India is a country undergoing rapid development as the premier destination for software and business process outsourcing, yet at the same time, it is grappling with a host of issues - poverty, poor infrastructure, and social and religious tensions. The book does a great job of showing both the optimism that the country feels and the challenges that it faces.

[Mj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have you ever read an article on the Internet that felt like it went on and on and on and no matter how far you scroll down, there is no end in sight?

That is this book.

I tend to agree with the premise, which is that we need to look to India as a burgeoning economy with real impact on American life, but everything needed for that is laid out in the introduction. Everything after that is just extra. And that's not necessarily a good thing.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It start out praising everything about India - it is the best of Asia. Reading it I kept thinking, what about the gap between rich and poor? Environmental issues? Impact of caste? But the last half focuses on all of this. I think it is written more for the Indian diaspora than for the general public in that it mentions many Indian names unfamiliar to the general public. Interesting.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book, and actually was unable to finish it completely by the time it was due back to the library. I didn't like it enough to renew for two more weeks. This book would be good for the hard core non-fiction readers who like textbook-like reading. Personally, I had enough of that in college so it just wasn't for me.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting beginning, focusing on bollywood and the entertainment industry. I come away sensing the dynamic problem of the philosophies Ghandi vs. Technology, the hunger of Captalism vs. the hunger of the poor. I feel she really puts me in the mind, and perhaps, hearts of the elite in India, but not of the poor, those who the system seems to work against.

[John Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been curious to know more about contemporary India, and stumbled upon this book after hearing the author give a fascinating lecture. Planet India is very readable as well as informative as the author is quite knowledgeable about the political, social, and economic aspects of this country that will become more important in the coming years.