Building A Global Narrative

Summary

In this engaging discussion, the esteemed member of India's Economic Advisory Council and renowned economist, Sanjeev Sanyal, addresses misconceptions about India perpetuated by Western media. He argues that the media's agenda-driven narratives are not due to a lack of information. Sanyal emphasizes the importance of India's economic success and the need for continued reforms to maintain growth. He also highlights India's geopolitical role and the positive impact of the Indian diaspora on global perceptions. Sanyal concludes by inviting global investment and feedback, expressing India's commitment to becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Western media's portrayal of India is often agenda-driven and not due to a lack of information.
• 🎙️ Direct communication through social media and events can be more effective in shaping India's narrative than relying on traditional media coverage.
• 📉 Global rankings by think tanks often unfavorably portray India, reflecting a bias rather than a misunderstanding.
• 💪 India's rapid economic growth and geopolitical role are changing its international image and influence.
• 🔄 The success of the Indian diaspora worldwide contributes positively to India's global perception.
• 🚀 India's future growth depends on sustaining its economic performance and implementing necessary reforms over the next 25 years.
• 🏛️ India needs to modernize its judicial and bureaucratic systems to support continued growth and development.
• 🏙️ Urban and municipal reforms are crucial for improving city infrastructure and services within India.
• 🚫 Policymakers should not dictate investment areas; instead, they should facilitate an environment conducive to entrepreneurs and investors.
• 🤝 India is open to feedback and investment from global partners to mutual benefit.
• 🇮🇳 India aims to become a developed country by 2047, marking 100 years of freedom.

Q & A

What is the main issue with Western media's portrayal of India according to the guest?

The guest believes that Western media often gets their portrayal of India wrong due to agenda-driven narratives, rather than a lack of information. They are not interested in understanding the true situation but rather in telling a particular story.

How has the guest's view on Western media's portrayal of India evolved over time?

Initially, the guest thought that Western media was misinformed and needed education. However, over time, they concluded that the bias is intentional and driven by various factors such as ideology and corporate interests.

What was the guest's experience with a New York Times journalist during the COVID lockdown?

The guest had an interview with a New York Times journalist during the COVID lockdown where they felt the journalist was not interested in understanding their perspective. Instead, the journalist was trying to trip them up to get a quote for their story. The guest recorded the conversation and posted it on YouTube.

How does the guest suggest India should respond to negative global perceptions and rankings?

The guest suggests that India should focus on succeeding and building its own think tanks and capabilities to create its own indices and rankings. They also emphasize the importance of using social media and direct engagement with various stakeholders to change the narrative.

What impact has the Indian diaspora had on the global perception of India?

The success of the Indian diaspora globally has significantly changed the perception of India. Indian expatriates have become CEOs of major companies, and there are Indian-origin Prime Ministers and presidents in various countries, which has positively influenced how India and Indians are perceived internationally.

How is India's rapid economic growth reshaping its global narrative?

India's rapid economic growth has changed its global narrative by increasing its geopolitical significance. India is becoming a major economy and a key security provider in the Indian Ocean region, which was not anticipated a year ago.

What are the key reforms the guest believes India needs to focus on in the coming years?

The guest highlights the need for judicial system reform, administrative reforms to modernize the bureaucracy, and municipal reforms to improve urban services. These reforms are essential to sustain India's economic growth and development.

What is the guest's stance on the government deciding where investments should be made?

The guest strongly believes that policymakers should not decide where investments should be made. Instead, they should ensure that the government provides the necessary infrastructure and then allow entrepreneurs to take risks and drive the economy.

What is the guest's final message to the audience?

The guest encourages the audience to recognize that this is an exciting time for India. Policymakers are committed to keeping India on track, focusing on necessary reforms, and being open to feedback and investment from global partners.

How does the guest view the role of social media in shaping India's narrative?

The guest sees social media as a powerful tool in directly reaching out to various stakeholders, including investors and the general population, which has led to a palpable change in India's image internationally.

What is the significance of India's demographic situation in relation to its economic growth?

Despite being the world's fastest-growing major economy, India remains a poor country when considering its large population. Sustained economic growth and development are necessary for India to reach developed country status by 2047, its 100th year of freedom.

Outlines

00:00

🤝 Introduction and Western Media's Perception of India

The paragraph begins with a warm welcome to the session and introduces a distinguished guest, an economist and member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. The conversation quickly delves into the topic of Western media's portrayal of India. The guest shares that while initially he believed the media was misinformed, he has come to realize that the coverage is driven by certain agendas rather than a lack of information. He provides an anecdote from the COVID lockdown where his interview with a New York Times journalist was used out of context, highlighting the media's tendency to shape a particular narrative. He concludes that the Western media no longer solely influences perceptions of India due to the prevalence of social media and other direct communication channels, and suggests that India should focus on reaching out directly to various stakeholders to change the narrative.

05:01

🌍 Deliberate Misrepresentation in Global Rankings and Indices

This paragraph discusses the deliberate misrepresentation of India in various global rankings and indices, particularly those produced by Western think tanks. The guest argues that these entities often rank India poorly across different metrics, such as democracy, academic freedom, and media freedom, without a fair or accurate representation. He shares his experiences of engaging with these think tanks by providing evidence that challenges their methodologies. However, he notes that despite these efforts, the negative portrayal persists. The guest emphasizes the importance of India building its own think tanks and creating its own indices to reverse this gaze and shift the global narrative. He also highlights the success of India's image internationally through direct communication with investors, academia, and the general population, regardless of the biased media and think tank reports.

10:01

🌐 The Impact of India's Growing Economy and Geopolitical Role

The guest discusses how India's rapid economic growth and evolving geopolitical role are reshaping its global narrative. He emphasizes the significance of India's size and economic performance, which have led to a change in its image, especially post-COVID. The guest notes that India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy within the next 24 months and highlights the country's newfound role as a security provider in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea area due to the Indian Navy's involvement. He suggests that India's focus should be on building partnerships and continuing its growth trajectory, while also acknowledging the need for continuous reforms in various sectors, including the judiciary system, administration, and urban infrastructure, to sustain its development over the next 25 years.

15:02

🚀 India's Vision for the Future and Policymakers' Role in Investment

In the final paragraph, the guest outlines India's long journey towards becoming a developed country by 2047, the 100th year of its freedom. He stresses the importance of sustaining economic growth and continuing reforms over the next 25 years to achieve this goal. The guest also addresses the aging population issue, which India will face in the coming years, similar to China. He talks about the need for reforms in the judiciary system, administration, and urban infrastructure to build the India of dreams. Regarding investment, the guest believes that policymakers should not dictate where investments should be made but should instead focus on providing the necessary infrastructure and creating a conducive environment for entrepreneurs to take risks and invest. He invites global partners for collaboration and expresses openness to feedback and policy reassessment to ensure India's continued progress.

Keywords

💡Western Media

Western Media refers to news and information outlets based in Western countries, which the guest believes may not always portray India accurately. The guest feels that instead of being misinformed, these media outlets have a particular agenda that influences their narratives. This is evident when the guest talks about their experience with a New York Times journalist, where there was a lack of genuine interest in understanding the guest's perspective.

💡Perception

Perception refers to the way something is regarded or understood, which in the context of the video, relates to how India is viewed by Western media and the global community. The guest argues that despite negative coverage, the perception of India is changing positively due to direct engagement through social media and other platforms, bypassing traditional media.

💡Economic Advisory Council

The Economic Advisory Council is a group of experts that provides advice to the Prime Minister of India on economic matters. The guest is a member of this council and discusses India's economic progress and challenges, emphasizing the importance of reforms and maintaining growth to achieve developed country status by 2047.

💡Agenda

Agenda refers to a set of goals or a plan of action, which in this context, the guest suggests is driving the narrative presented by Western media. The guest believes that this agenda is not based on a lack of information but rather on ideological, corporate, or other interests that shape the stories told about India.

💡Global Rankings

Global Rankings are lists that rank countries based on various indices such as democracy, academic freedom, or media freedom. The guest criticizes these rankings, stating that they often portray India unfavorably and are driven by biased methodologies. The guest suggests that India and other countries should develop their own think tanks and ranking systems to counter this bias.

💡Indian Diaspora

The Indian Diaspora refers to the spread of people of Indian origin across the world. The guest highlights the positive impact of the successful Indian diaspora on the global perception of India. The success of Indians abroad, such as CEOs of major companies and political leaders, has changed the stereotype of Indians and positively influenced India's international image.

💡Geopolitical Role

Geopolitical Role refers to the influence and involvement of a country in international political affairs. The guest mentions India's growing geopolitical role, particularly in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea region, where the Indian Navy plays a crucial role in maintaining trade routes. This development has enhanced India's status as a significant security provider in the Indian Ocean region.

💡Economic Growth

Economic Growth refers to the increase in a country's productive capacity and wealth. The guest emphasizes the importance of sustaining economic growth for India to become a developed country by 2047. This growth is seen as essential for improving the living standards of India's large population and for the country to maintain its global competitiveness.

💡Reforms

Reforms are changes made to improve or modify a system. The guest discusses the need for continuous reforms in India, including judicial, administrative, and municipal reforms. These reforms are necessary to maintain India's economic growth, improve the delivery of services, and create a more efficient and effective government.

💡Investment

Investment refers to the commitment of money or resources with the expectation of achieving a profit or benefit. The guest encourages investment in India, stating that the government's role is to provide infrastructure and create a conducive environment for entrepreneurs to take risks and innovate. The guest refrains from specifying particular areas for investment, believing in the market's ability to identify opportunities.

💡2047

The year 2047 holds significance as it marks 100 years of India's independence. The guest mentions this year as the target for India to become a developed country, emphasizing the long-term goal and the sustained effort required to achieve this status. It serves as a milestone for India's progress and development.

Highlights

India's story is a 10,000-year-old epic, highlighting the country's deep historical roots.

The guest is a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, an economist, historian, writer, and author, showcasing the multidisciplinary approach to understanding India's story.

Western media's portrayal of India is often driven by certain agendas rather than a lack of information, indicating a shift in understanding the reasons behind media narratives.

The perception of India in Western media has evolved over time, with the speaker noting that education does not necessarily improve the situation.

The COVID-19 lockdown exposed the media's tendency to focus on specific narratives rather than accurately understanding and reporting the situation.

The speaker served as an unofficial spokesperson for the finance ministry during the pandemic, providing firsthand insights into India's economic management.

The rise of social media and alternative platforms has diminished the influence of traditional Western media on perceptions of India.

India's image internationally has seen a palpable change despite negative media coverage, due to direct engagement with various stakeholders.

Agenda-driven narratives are prevalent in global rankings produced by Western think tanks, often placing India in unfavorable positions.

The speaker advocates for India and the global South to build their own think tanks and create their indices, as a way to counterbalance the current narrative.

The success of the Indian diaspora globally has positively influenced perceptions of India and changed stereotypes over time.

India's rapid economic growth has reshaped its global narrative, with the country becoming the world's fastest major economy.

India's geopolitical role has expanded, particularly in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea area, where the Indian Navy plays a crucial security role.

The focus for India is to sustain its economic performance over the next 25 years to achieve developed country status by 2047.

India faces the challenge of aging population in the future, similar to China, emphasizing the importance of seizing the current opportunity.

Continued economic reforms are essential for India's growth, including upgrading the judicial system and bureaucracy to meet 21st-century demands.

Municipal reforms and urban service delivery are key areas of focus for India's intra-city infrastructure development.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of policy makers not deciding where investments should be made, but rather creating an environment conducive to entrepreneurs.

The message to the audience is that India is at an exciting stage, with policy makers committed to keeping India on track and open to feedback for further improvement.

Transcripts

hello everyone and a very warm welcome

to our next session and uh I have a very

very special guest with me here today

thank you so much for joining us however

first and foremost um did you know that

India's story is a 10,000 year old epic

so I'm told and we are incredibly lucky

to be joined by the member of the

economic advisory Council to the prime

minister of India you're also an

economist a historic a writer and an

author and you are here to tell us

exactly what has shaped the story of

India so very one welcome to sanjie

saniel thank you so much pleased to be

here right I think we're going to dive

straight into Western media okay just

dive straight in there um what do you

think what do you think Western media

gets wrong about India and especially as

Western media is very sort of very

watchful in terms of of of political and

Global Affairs here as well what do you

think they get wrong and how does this

type of coverage change perceptions of

the country as

well so let me say that my views on this

have evolved over time so in the till if

you ask me 5 six years ago I would have

said they're misinformed and they need

to be educated but over over time I've

come to the conclusion that it is not a

lack of

information uh and education is not

going to improve anything because

basically it is driven by certain agenda

it may be ideological it may be

corporate interests it may be you know

all kinds of other reasons but it is not

because they don't have the correct

information they just want to tell a

particular story and they're going to

tell that anyway and that really came

across to me when during the covid

lockdown there was as you know there was

a lot of disruption uh everywhere in the

world and I was kind of like The

Unofficial spokesperson of the finance

ministry at that time and you know I was

trying to explain to the media um how we

were managing our uh economy now today

everybody agrees that it we did a good

job but at that time it wasn't clear and

there is a there was a New York Times uh

journalist who decided to interview me

and unknown to her I recorded the whole

uh session and then I put it up on

YouTube so any of you can listen to it

as well so if you listen to it you will

see it's in one hourong conversation in

which the journalist is trying

repeatedly to put words in my mouth

there's literally no interest in

understanding what I'm saying they just

trying to uh trip me up to say something

which they would then quote it's a

different matter I recorded the whole

thing and put it up in YouTube and it it

became quite a bestseller in its own

right but I'm just telling you I don't

think um it's a matter of

Education the good news is twofold first

of

all the Western media actually no longer

drives perceptions of India or anything

indeed in the west because most Ordinary

People or even opinion makers in the

west do not derive their opinions from

their own

media otherwise you know president Trump

would not be on a comeback Trail right

now if you went by the media reports

right so since they do not believe

anything in their own countries they do

not consequently believe what they say

about India either the second thing is

there are now lots of different Avenues

of getting your story out so there's

obviously social media of all kinds

Twitter Etc

um then you have um

podcasts uh you have events like this

and so what I have found is that as a

country the more the better use of our

time is to actually directly reach out

using social media using events reaching

out to universities reaching out to

investors and so on and you can see a

palpable change in The Narrative of

India with very little change in the

coverage of India in the

media so it tells you very clearly that

actually we shouldn't bother so much

with what the Western media says at all

so you're quite untrusting when it comes

to to Western Media or media I suppose

in general and you think I conclusion

it's a it's irrelevant now and as you

said agender driven basically but as you

said you know the rise of social media

it really has completely changed the

media landscape and as you said you can

reach different segments and it's uh

it's your own narrative at the end of

the day as well um what about you know

recent anti-india sentiments do you

think it's from uh misconceptions or a

lack of understanding and do you think

that India's got to stand up for itself

in some respects or is it just business

as usual like just carry on so as I said

um a lot of the coverage is not a

misunderstanding it is deliberate um

agenda driven narratives and this is

done in all kinds of ways we discussed

the media but there are all kinds of

other ways in which is done for example

you know there is now a proliferation of

these think tanks uh again mostly in the

west who uh now routinely come up with

these Global rankings of everything on

Earth

and in all of them almost India does

spectacularly badly so for example if

you have the global democracy index you

know we'll be lucky if you know the

world's democracy uh gets ranked

anything above

90 okay there'll be the global academic

freedom index in which ironically India

is ranked below

Afghanistan and then there is the world

media Freedom index in which also we are

are below Afghanistan and Pakistan so

I'm what I'm trying to say is that

there's not even a pretense of trying to

be fair to India now historically what

we used to do is to try and explain to

these think tanks and so on uh I have

written myself lots of papers some of

you have read it in the newspapers Etc

showing how their methodology is

absolute

garbage and uh yet U these These are

still done so you know what what can we

do about it one is as I said we this

lives in the world of social media um we

actually talk to the investors and we

actually talk to you know Academia we

actually talked to the general

population and there's been a palpable

change in India's image internationally

irrespective of these um sort of think

tanks media and so on and so my own view

is that the time has come one is keep

doing what we are doing succeed the best

antidote to the all of this is to

actually succeed the second is at some

point in time India and more generally

the global South will have to build up

its own think tanks its own uh

capability of

creating indices rankings Etc and

basically be able to reverse the Gaze

until this is done we will have to use

other media but basically we should not

Pander to this that's the main point I'm

making there is no real reason to Pander

to it

so reaching out to sort of different

areas globally do you think the global

perception that's on social media and a

using different Avenues they have quite

a good perception then absolutely I mean

The Honorable prime minister himself has

some 78 million followers on Twitter

Alone um why does he need a some

Broadcasting Corporation or something to

to be talking about him he can he can

say whatever he wants to say directly um

so how do you think that the growing

Indian diaspora across the world has

also changed perceptions and The

Narrative of India as well it has in

multiple ways I mean obviously the

success of India's diaspora globally um

has has has changed things and I'll tell

you how it has changed if you went back

to the early uh to the early '90s as

recently the early '90s Indian diaspora

was seeing as poor immigrants coming to

the country somehow trying to make their

lives by the 2000s that image changed

okay these are the it guys so it still

happens to me occasionally I'm in some

airport somewhere in the world and

somebody will walk up to me and say you

know my computer isn't working can you

do something about it and you know

assuming that I actually understand

anything about it and by the way

switching it on and off

works that has also now moved on we have

our image has changed further because as

Indian CEOs uh have gone and gone on to

lead some of the biggest companies in

the world uh the UK and many other

countries now have Indian origin uh

Prime Ministers and presidents and so on

so I think over time that image has

changed and and and that has reflected

back to um how Indians are perceived in

back in India because you know much of

this had at the back of their mind

certain preconceived colonial era images

uh um certain you know with culturally

loaded images of what Indians are and

their obvious success outside of India

does reflect back in the to the mother

country well as one of the key policy

makers that actually runs the India

Indian economy um the economy as we've

seen you know has rapidly evolved you

are literally the world's fastest major

economy in the world right now so how is

that Evolution reshaped as well the The

Narrative and what are the implications

when it comes to Future growth as as

well what do you think is going to

happen off the back of that well Size

Matters in terms of your narrative

because other people are trading with

you they are investing in you your

geopolitical uh sort of bulk goes up so

there's no doubt that India's image in

very recent times particularly coming

out of covid has completely changed um

and so uh you know obviously we will be

in the next 24 months or so the become

the world's third largest economy we are

the world's fastest economy uh already

by by some margin so this matters but

let me give you another area where we

have just in the last 6 months

established itself uh geopolitically um

not many people even in India realize

that um the Red Sea and the swis canal

that entire trade route is basically

currently functioning because of the

Indian Navy and so what it has done is

out of the bat India has become kind of

the uh single most important security

provider in uh you know the Red Sea uh

Arabian Sea area and so as we evolve as

a as a major security provider in the

Indian Ocean region you know India is

playing a geopolitical role which even a

year ago people would not have imagined

we would be playing in fact we would

ourselves not have imagined we are

playing but we are playing it so we are

beginning to fill out

spaces uh as we become bigger and um

others recognize it

and of course the idea is now to build

Partnerships with others so that you

know we I mean we would like to go on

this long journey and we would like to

have our friends along with us so what

does that long journey look like what is

the sort of next chapter when it comes

to India's Global narrative see it's one

thing to be the world's third largest

economy but do remember we are the

world's largest population so when you

divide one by the other we still remain

a very poor country so we have to

sustain this performance for 25 years

only then are we going to get to the

bottom echelons of being a developed

country in you know 2047 when we will be

100 years of Freedom so this is a big

effort we have to do and we can't slip

it up right this is this is an

opportunity but at the end of that

process remember even we will begin to

age just like China is aging today in 25

years we will also begin to age so this

is our opportunity we have to make it

work so very important we remain focused

on economic growth we remain focused on

um sort of building out uh India of our

dreams and not get uh distracted by

other things uh it also of course means

that we have to keep doing reforms see

growth is not some uh god-given thing

that happens naturally it has to be

earned and so that means that you have

to keep doing reforms all the time so

the last 25 years of reforms has got us

here we have another 25 years of reforms

going ahead and a lot of difficult

things need to be done so we have done

some things difficult things included

but there are things like for example we

need to do something about uh a Judicial

System uh enforcement of contracts is a

serious issue in this country uh we've

heard other speakers also allude to that

but really we need a Judicial System

meant for the 21st century not one which

is stuck in the 19th century and so this

is a huge area of Reform of course the

government can only do a little bit the

Judiciary itself has to get on with it

and do something about it um but the

government for example needs to also

upgrade the and reform the

administration and the bureaucracy um so

the last 25 years of progress has been

essentially by weakening the

bureaucracy's ability to stifle growth

uh but it hasn't meant that the

bureaucracy itself has been reformed but

now we need to reform it so that it

begins to deliver the services it's

supposed to do we need a 21 century

bureaucracy that requires administrative

reforms something that's been discussed

for last half aent Cy but we now we need

to get on with it and do it so that's

another one uh another major area that

we need to work on is on Municipal

reforms U delivery of you know Urban

Services uh so the last decade we have

worked very hard on intas City uh

infrastructure you know highways

airports and so on now we need we are

now focusing on in intra City uh

infrastructure so we are shifting from

in City to int City infrastructure

Mumbai is one of the first places we are

working on this uh but you know it's

it's a big area of work that we need to

work on well as obviously this is the

investment Forum what what in your mind

are the sort of

key key the most exciting areas of

investment when it comes to uh India

maybe Mumbai in particular as well well

I have a phys philosophical problem with

answering that question I I am a strong

believer that policy makers should not

be deciding where investment should be

made people in the audience there are

lots of entrepreneurs in there you know

what to invest on my job is to make sure

the government provides the

infrastructure and then keeps out of the

way so I will pass that question uh

because I I believe it's not my job to

decide uh or the or the job of any

government official to decide where this

economy should go um let the

entrepreneurs do their job my job is to

keep the overall system running while

they take their risks very well said uh

we only have a couple of seconds left

but do you have a key message as

obviously we have a lot of people online

watching us uh and obviously our

audience here and that's how you like to

to speak to people obviously as well so

what what's your sort of key final

takeaway and message for our audience

here today so my message is look India

this is an exciting time to be in India

um and we and as policy makers uh are

absolutely determined to keep India on

track obviously as I mentioned we have

to do the difficult reforms of the of

the next few decades and we are all uh

on this together not just Indians but

you know our partners around the world

um we uh want your uh investment we want

to your feedback uh if there are new

areas or policies you need uh relooking

we are our doors are open we would be

very happy to um you know uh relook at

anything um you know as I said uh we

will uh do what is necessary to get to

being a developer country by the year

2047 very very well said we cannot thank

you enough for your words of wisdom here

today thank you so much to sanjie sel

thank you thank

[Applause]

[Music]

you