This lecture is sponsored by the Brown-India Fund and its parent and alumni donors in collaboration with the Watson Institute.
Location: Sayles Hall. No backpacks or banners will be allowed.
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Event Summary
“There is no precedent in history for a democracy of one billion people,” said K. Natwar Singh, India’s minister of external affairs. In his lecture, “The Argument for India,” on Friday, Singh laid out a case for India’s importance in world affairs. He discussed what the world could learn from how India’s democracy has dealt with potential problems arising from its population’s diversity and economic development. Singh’s visit to Brown was the first event in the distinguished lecture series of the Brown-India Fund. It was also Singh’s only major public appearance during his trip to the US for the United Nations General Assembly meeting.After gaining independence from Britain in 1947, “India took democracy beyond its Western and European roots and made it universal,” he said. In Singh’s opinion, the strength of India’s democracy lies in its tolerance for various beliefs and ways of life. “In the Indian ethos, no one is outside the pale. India is stretching the definition of inclusion,” he said. “The Indian system worked because it accurately reflected our social structure and did not attempt to make and artificial majority society. In a country of a billion people, everyone is a minority.”
Singh cited the state’s history of religious tolerance as an example of India’s democratic strength. In the West, Singh said that “secular” means “non-religious.” But in India, he defined “secular” as “respect for all religions,” and “religious equality.” Singh focused on the issue of Islam, particularly since September 11. “It is essential for all of us, especially in the West, to see that this kind of fear against the Muslim world does not take root," he said.
"Otherwise the twenty-first century will be a bumpy ride,” he said. “Islam came to the US on September 11. It came to India in the 8th century.” According to Singh, no Indian has joined al-Qaeda. He considered this an indicator of the “strength of the democratic system to deliver,” and said that all Indians, including Muslims, can address their problems within India’s democratic system.
Though when asked about how India deals with tensions between Muslims and Hindus, Singh said, “The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. We would like it to be a more perfect secular democracy, but all institutions are run by people who are imperfect.”
India’s economic growth is also a positive regional influence, in Singh’s view. “The expansion of our local economy and link to the global economy has profound regional effects,” he said, pointing out that countries such as Sri Lanka, which have close economic ties to India, have experienced economic growth despite internal difficulties. With India’s growth, Singh said, “There are new options for long term problems emerging.” Singh discussed the improvement of relations between India and Pakistan. He said that the attitudes of the two states are “warm and full of good will.” He will leave soon for his second trip to Pakistan this year.
“Today India can bear more responsibility,” said Singh. Singh listed India, along with Russia, China, and the US, as one of the great powers of the twentieth century. He wants India to play a large role in reforming the United Nations and to have a permanent seat on the Security Council. “The Security Council in no way reflects current realities,” he said. “Why those five countries have the veto is incomprehensible to me. We need more consensual decision-making.”
“How many countries can compete with global technology and also manage issues such as literacy and health?” Singh continued. “India has demonstrated its character as a responsible democratic country.” He referred to India’s contributions to UN peacekeeping missions and to tsunami relief efforts.
Yet India still faces many challenges. In Singh’s opinion, it must “raise large segments of people out of poverty while meeting the demands of the middle class for a better quality of life,” and must continue to strengthen its economy through the modernization of infrastructure.
Singh believes that the tolerance and “intellectual questioning” that have strengthened its democracy will allow India to be a world leader in the 21st Century. “The argument for India is that argumentative people make the world a better and safer place,” he said.
Submitted by Watson Institute Student Rapporteur Phoebe Sloane ’08