Please identify yourselves. Yes. My name is Anu Singh and I'm also a student at the Liewanu School originally from India. Five years ago at the founding dinner, you had predicted great things for China and India. I'm cited to India's secular democracy as key to its future success. Five years on, I just wanted to ask your opinion on how well you think India's government is doing in separating religion and politics and perhaps what advice could you give to India's new breed of leaders. I think all the governments want your advice. Nearly it's nearly as sensitive and difficult a question as the last one. But I'll give you a my experience of India. I think despite all the failings uh highly bureaucratic red tape uh inefficient uh linkages between central and state governments, unwieldy coalitions in the center and unwieldy coalitions in the states. The progress is made is quite remarkable. six, seven, eight% growth once Manuan Singh and uh Chidamaram opened up in the '90s after the IMF said you got to open up. Uh I think India's under some constraints not the result of the politicians but the result of the nature of the constitution and nature of the society. China is homogeneous 90% Han. So when the president stands up and the TV is on more than 90% understanding because the minorities are also learning Chinese. So given the those constraints is done well. Any Indian leader speaking in any language at one time doesn't reach more than say 40%, you speak in Hindi, you might get the Hindi north. You speak in English, you get the upper classes throughout the country, maybe 30%. You speak in Tamil, you get 70 million in Tamil Nadu and Tagal. Uh you speak in Mallayalam, I don't know how many, 40 million. So that is an enormous uh diversity which makes it difficult to get the same policies through and you can see that after each election you get a tussle of how to form co governing coalitions. But on the other hand because it's kept this uh constitution fluid. So a country with about 30 40 different ethnic groups and 320 dialects and languages has held together. That's quite a an achievement. Uh then you have the problem the constitution. I was in Bombay two years ago and uh now this is a fact and I don't think deputy chief minister will take offense at my recounting what actually took place and his position. So he asked me if I would spend three hours discussing how to make Bombay a world financial center. So I thought well why not? So he brought all his main ministers, state ministers and his officials. Halfway through the dialogue I asked him who governs Bombay. He said there's a committee that runs Bombay. I said but who provides it with the revenue? Said we do. The state government. What happens to Bombay's revenue? It goes to the state government. I said, then how do you dispense with that revenue? Says, well, we spread it throughout the Russia state because there are so many farmers and so on. Everybody has got to be looked after. I then said to him, if you want Bombay to become like uh Shanghai Pong, then you make it a self-governing unit, which the Chinese have done in Shanghai, in Tenin, in Chunking and a few other cities in recently. Then they deal direct with the central government. The central government gives them the funds for the infrastructure and the revenue is shared with the central government, not with the Shanghai doesn't share revenue with either Changu or Changang or any of the neighboring states. it shares it with the central government and the central government has invested enormous sums of money to make it a dragon head that goes up the Yangi River right up to the Tibetan mountains and uh you there was a period when you had empty building blocks but it doesn't matter central government has decided this is going to be a great international center and they set out to make it one and now it is one. So I said do that. He looked at me says what will happen to my farmers? I said you've just got a deal with the central government says the central government won't give me anything more. So the discussion ended there. So I said well then how do you solve this airport which is not world class a road from the airport to the city which is not what you expect of a first world financial center and the city itself the planning is not as good as it would be if it were governed separately can't be done. So two days later I was I was in Delhi and I met the prime minister. I said this problem can be solved. You see China make it an independent unit. The prime minister looked at me and said you don't understand. I will never get this pass to parliament. I said why you have to go to parliament? Yes. said all this requires an amendment in the legislation and in the constitution and that requires a twothirds majority or some in the central government and in the states we'll never get it passed. So Bombay will always be at the mercy of the Maharashtra government and the Maharashtra government quite wisely takes its revenue and gives it to the farmers because they are the people who voted them in. So I until you break that chain, how do you break the chain?
The transcript appears to capture a dialogue between a student, Anu Singh, and an experienced commentator discussing the political landscape of India, especially the intersection of religion and politics, as well as the economic potential of major cities like Bombay (Mumbai). The conversation touches upon significant themes such as governance, constitutional constraints, and the comparisons between India and China.
The transcript underscores the complex interplay between India's democratic framework, its rich diversity, and the challenges of effective governance. While the country has made significant strides economically, the structural constraints imposed by its constitution and the political landscape limit its potential. The discussion serves as a call to rethink governance structures, particularly in major urban centers like Bombay, to foster a more conducive environment for growth and development.
Former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew discussed why it was difficult for India to become a superpower like China. He was at a Pravasiya Bharatiya Diwas meeting in New Delhi (10 Oct 2008). He contrasted India's complex political landscape with China's streamlined decision-making, explaining why India's aspirations to rival Shangha had remained unfulfilled. He examined the impact of the bureaucratic obstacles holding back cities like Mumbai. His insights offered valuable lessons for policymakers worldwide. As Lee recalled conversations with Indian officials and the Indian Prime Minister, the entrenched barriers to transforming India's cities into global powerhouses became unmistakably clear. 15 years on and India continues to grapple with persistent structural and bureaucratic hurdles. Timestamps 00:00 Question about India & China 02:07 Challenges of Indian Cultural Diversity 03:13 Mumbai's Challenges to be Financial Capital 06:37 Indian Prime Minister's Concerns about Geopolitical Struggles