– India's hour or not?

This is an article from the Economist:

In the coming year India will enjoy greater international prestige than at any time since independence in 1947. With an economy that could grow at more than 7% for the fourth year in succession, that prestige is based in part on sheer clout. Over the next half-century India will emerge as one of the world’s biggest economies and great powers

This is what Vijay Sappani is discussing in his blog on Intentblog.com:

I found this quote as a footnote in one of my friends email and thought it might be of some relevance to this blog.

Recently The New York Times ran a three part series on India. “India Accelerating: Building a Superhighway: Articles in this series are examining India’s highway modernization, a vast undertaking reflecting the country’s overall transformation.”

December 04, 2005
Mile-by-Mile, India Paves a Smoother Road to Its Future.

The article talks at great length about the prosperity and development that India is going through now. My friend, who calls himself a ‘hardcore desh patriot’, was all excited about it and in all praise for NYT.

December 05, 2005
On India’s Roads, Cargo and a Deadly Passenger

“NELAMANGALA, India – Hot water: 10 rupees. Cold water: 8 rupees. Toilet: 5 rupees. Sex: no price specified on the bathhouse wall”.

This article talks about how India’s upgraded highway system acts as a conduit for AIDS, passed by prostitutes and truckers to unsuspecting wives. My friend who calls himself a ‘hardcore desh patriot’ was not happy at all. Ahhh, I wish I had earplugs.

At the end of the tirade, there was only one thing that resonated with me. Are western media groups acting responsible when reporting on stories from developing countries or are they profiting from the adversary developing countries are facing? Maybe Rubin Frank was right, maybe not.

So is it India’s hour .. yet.. or is this just an ephemeral moment?