Building A Global Narrative
Summary
TLDRIn 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
🤝 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.
🌍 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.
🌐 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.
🚀 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Western Media
💡Perception
💡Economic Advisory Council
💡Agenda
💡Global Rankings
💡Indian Diaspora
💡Geopolitical Role
💡Economic Growth
💡Reforms
💡Investment
💡2047
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
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