Gautam Mukunda wrote: > This is understandable, of course. It's worth > pointing out - it never makes my Indian friends happy, > but it doesn't make it any less true - that India, particularly in > foreign policy, still a _very_ immature democracy.
Oh, I have no problem with you saying that. Indian Foreign Policy has often induced fits of rage in me - there have been periods and events which are utterly incomprehensible when you view them from the perspective of realpolitik. > The US has been a Great Power - > one of the most powerful nations in the world - for > about 150 years. India probably still isn't one yet. > There is a very large difference in political > maturity. It's not exactly surprising that the Indian > public and military have a little difficulty seeing > things from a global perspective. Again, I have no problem with the assessment that the US foreign policy has, more often than not, served the interests of America very well. Indian military is definitely more concerned with the subcontinental perspective than the global one, and there is more than sufficient reason for that. But as for the global perspective of the public, well, I don't know which country can claim to have a population with a global perspective. I don't think that the US can claim any such thing either. :) > The best IFS people > I've met are world class - as good as the best of the > British system (and the British are the best diplomats > in the world). The median is not so high, but still > impressive, actually. Well, I would have agreed except for that statement you made in an earlier mail about them being unaware of any change in Indo-US relations during Clinton's days. If that was an accurate representation of their position, I'm afraid that some of the guys have been sleeping on their jobs. :) Still, that is a different mail, and I have no idea when I'd be able to answer it. I am not supposed to spend much time sitting up, and tend to focus more on keeping up with the news than anything else. Ritu _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
