India Express: The Future of the New Superpower

by Daniel Lak

In evocative prose and with street-level reporting, Daniel Lak argues that India has become a global superpower because of its religion, caste, politics, and poverty, and not in spite of it. He looks presciently to the future, and concludes that the strength that democracy gives it means that India is much better positioned to sustain its newfound status than China, whose political system is sure to eventually hinder it. As an expert who has covered the region for the BBC for the last twelve years, Lak weaves together his substantive knowledge of Indian politics, economics, and culture with fascinating stories of everyday people.India Express incisively explores the most urgent challenges facing India in the 21st · The governance and development of the most religiously, culturally, and linguistically diverse population on the planet· Crushing poverty--with 300 million on less $2 a day--despite the rise o

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2008

Reviews

[Marcelaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay book. It took me a while to get into it. I don't think Lak is making a convincing enough argument that India will be the next superpower. He spends the entire book outlining all sorts of significant problems that India has (sanitation, poverty, illiteracy rates, ineffective and corrupt leaders, bad roads, pollution) but still declares that in a few decades India will not only overcome those problems, but get better than the rest of the world. I don't disagree that India has the potential to become a superpower, but I don't think those problems should be brushed aside in the way he does. I think he should have taken a softer approach instead of saying India absolutely will be the next superpower. The index at the back of the book was also poorly written, by the way. Pakistan doesn't even show up in the index.

But, I did find many of the stories interesting. He talked about a man who started breeding farms for worms in order to make good soil without copious amounts of chemicals. The problems with disposal of human waste are heart-wrenching. Much of India just doesn't get the concept of sewage systems, and they're still using a system of sweepers--people who make a living collecting and disposing of the waste. It's a horrible job and those people have no hope of rising out of poverty because they are so susceptible to disease and nobody wants to come anywhere near them. I also didn't realize how bad the pollution is. Indians are going to have to develop an understanding of how their actions affect their environment--i.e. they can't just throw whatever they want to into the river, they can't use prolific amounts of chemicals to fertilize the soil, and they can't just "do their business" in a field somewhere.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by a (British? Canadian?) journalist, the book was a tad tedious at times, but it is informative in addressing the how and why of the citizens of India gaining ground in the world marketplace, with some colorful characters along the way. I learned much about the culture, but I found myself bogged down by the writing at times. The end projects India's potential future as an "Asian America," given that it's a liberal democracy.

[The Tick · Rating 3 out of 5]

He makes some good points in the early chapters, but he also makes some assumptions that weaken his case.

[Jamac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and a good initial overview of recent developments in India and gaps that need to be addressed if it is to move forward. Can be a bit cumbersome at times but it's short.

[Umesh Kesavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A typical foreigner's introduction to India.But nowhere near the works of Edward Luce or Patrick French.