Re: Remember the Elephant: India is our real partner, not China
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Posted by CP on 16:45:24 2007/03/07
In Reply to:
Re: Remember the Elephant: India is our real partner, not China posted by Ron
In his zeal to defend India and criticize China, David Harris overlooks a few very important points:
While China's human rights record is deplorable, we must also recognize that despite its democratic government, India has tens of millions of lower caste citizens marginalized by a democratic model that caters largely to the needs of the upper castes.
Equally, criticism of China's occupation of Tibet is warranted, but Harris is curiously silent on India's occupation of Kashmir. If India is a model democracy, then why has it steadfastly refused to allow Kashmiris to determine their own fate through an internationally administered election or referendum?
Then there is the laughable suggestion that India's economic development has been 'equitable'. Hardly. India has world class engineering and business schools, but these are elite driven institutions. Bangalore is a success story worthy of admiration & discussion, but it is not representative of India as a whole.
Harris trots out the familiar refrain that India is the world's largest democracy. It is also a contender for the prize of most corrupt democracy. Any observer of Indian politics will acknowledge that despite having the institutions of a functioning democracy, India has a lot of work to do before it can be described as any sort of democratic ideal.
This is not to say Canada should forget India. But if we are serious about promoting democracy, let's start by taking off our blinders so we can get a better understanding of what's really happening.
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