Professor C Raja Mohan, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, said that India was now in a position to discuss relations with other major powers on reasonable terms at the 48th founding day of IIMB.
“As the interface between India and the West grows by leaps and bounds across a wide area, the present generation has an unprecedented opportunity to become a two-way bridge between the two worlds. The construction of that bridge will be intellectually satisfactory, professionally fruitful and financially attractive. I am sure that many students of IIM Bangalore will be on that bridge, change society on both sides and build a strong strategic partnership between India and the West, ”said Professor C Raja Mohan, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, IIMB this evening. During the Foundation Day Lecture on ‘Reconnecting to the West: India’s New Geopolitics’, to mark the 48th anniversary of the founding of India.
Today marks the 48th founding day of IIMB with lectures, awards and much more. The event is held in online mode. The entire event – from invitations to lighting of lamps, student cultural events, long-term commemorative awards for teachers and staff, from Foundation Day lectures to speeches by the chairperson and director of IIMB – was a non-stop digital event.
Professor Raja Mohan further said that a persistent concern in the Indian foreign policy discourse was the fear that the coming of the United States and the West would harm India’s independent foreign policy and strategic autonomy. “While that fear may be somewhat true in the early years of independence, today India is the third largest economy in terms of PPP. Its GDP has already surpassed that of France, equal to that of Britain, and could surpass Germany by the end of this decade.
“India is the third largest spender on defense and one of the largest armed forces in the world With its huge market, India is now in a position to discuss its relations with other major powers on reasonable terms. As it shakes off the small-nation syndrome and imagines itself as part of the star of the great power that makes up the world, India’s foreign policy must be different from that of a new nation by the middle of the 20th century. India today can and will remain a partner of the United States and the West on its own terms. It is this confidence that is driving India to strengthen its strategic partnership with the West. “
“For many of my generation, West India wanted to escape the lack of opportunities. At home, many saw it as a ‘brain drain’. Today, the movement of professionals is seen as a ‘brain gain’ and a strong impetus for the modernization of India, ”he added.