It is a moment which will never be forgotten. Caught on video, and naturally now viral, the moment when Senator James Lankford is interrupted by an aide saying, “The protestors are in the building,” will no doubt be analysed for decades to come. It represents a tipping point in what had been assumed almost to be the natural order of things—a stable world order led by the U.S.
This stability did not mean, ever, that there would not be chaos in other parts of the world—other conflicts, other upheavals, other wars. A coup was for others.
In that fateful moment on January 6, in fact, it was demonstrated that so make-belief has politics become in America that even a ‘coup attempt’ can only happen—as Bruno Maçães has memorably written—only as a role-playing farce. This would have been less sinister has there not been actual deaths during the storming of Capitol Hill. This could have been taken more seriously if it were not for the simultaneous drumroll of social media alongside, including the removal of a sitting President from Twitter and Facebook.
This could have been read as the moment when China breaks through, when the pains of the Opium Wars, the last time China challenged the hegemony of the West, could be reversed, and maybe even healed—but for those rather inconvenient facts, Hong Kong is still in turmoil, as is the Uighur issue, and Jack Ma, arguably China’s most influential business tycoon, has gone silent, and become invisible it seems, after criticising the administration.
Where does that leave the world? In unique flux. For all their contested histories, both the U.S. and China claim a certain moral power or global power for themselves. The U.S., its role as a ‘city upon a hill’, as John Winthrop famously said, and later Ronald Reagan and John Kennedy borrowed; and China as a great civilisation, one of the oldest continuing cultures in the world. Both these notions can, and have been challenged, but that these two countries derive inspiration from them is unmistakable. And therefore, it is also hard to ignore that events of the recent past make it ever more difficult for the world to see such virtues in them.
This, I would like to argue, creates a unique opportunity for India. In this essay, I would like to present three narratives themes that India must present to the world to make its case for leadership:
Healing (vaccine plus Ayurveda plus yoga): First, India brings to the table a special combination of healing—ancient, modern, and holistic. Not only did India not create Covid-19, but it was also the only country of its size that could control Covid-19 in an effective way. India did not add to the Covid-19 crisis, it provided solutions—from early supplies of hydroxychloroquine to mass manufacturing of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. With Ayurveda, it has one of the most ancient and holistic medicinal traditions in the world which is based on natural remedies, and rooted cure rather than mere suppression of disease. Rather, it is the wellness regime that is more beneficial than yoga (along with its meditative practices).
Where does that leave the world? In unique flux. For all their contested histories, both the U.S. and China claim a certain moral power or global power for themselves. The U.S., its role as a ‘city upon a hill’, as John Winthrop famously said, and later Ronald Reagan and John Kennedy borrowed; and China as a great civilisation, one of the oldest continuing cultures in the world. Both these notions can, and have been challenged, but that these two countries derive inspiration from them is unmistakable. And therefore, it is also hard to ignore that events of the recent past make it ever more difficult for the world to see such virtues in them.
Tech for good: India is the only country which can show how technology can be used for massive public good within the parameters of democracy and at a scale that no other country can match. India’s fintech industry is also showing the path on how transition from cash to cashless can happen at scale, and yet coexist. Its digital education and health plans (and startups) are some of the best in the world. It is likely to roll out digital health at a scale which could become the global marker on the future of public healthcare. It has already announced its intention to showcase how artificial intelligence can be used for public good at the grassroots.
Regular, smooth regime change: The use of technology will make regime change around the world, especially in democracies, more cacophonous than ever. The storming of Capitol Hill is unlikely to be an aberration. As technology disrupts lives and livelihoods on an ever-greater scale, this kind of political upheaval might become more frequent, unfurling at ever higher decibels. India is the only country in the world which can demonstrate regularly, through elections in its many states, and nationally, systematic, safe, and smooth regime changes. This demonstration is undervalued today but will become a major talking point of the future.
These three narrative points—and the successful delivery of public policy around them would be the pillars of the next stage of India’s rise.
Views are personal. The author is a multiple award-winning author, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
