I’ve just finished reading this excellent 2006 book by Edward Luce, a journalist who lived in India for five years as the South Asia bureau chief for Financial Times, and who is married to an Indian. His prose is wonderful, his insights fascinating, and his anecdotes amusing. Definitely my favorite non-fiction about India so far [though I still recommend Nilekani’s more recent book Imagining India.] It is a must-read for anyone who wants to begin to understand India.
In his conclusion, Luce cites four major challenges that India must face in order to thrive:
- “Lifting 300 million people out of poverty and providing the remainder with a more secure standard of living…,
- “Overcoming the dangers of rapid environmental degradation…,
- “Heading off the spectre of an HIV-Aids epidemic…,
- “Protecting and strengthening India’s system of liberal democracy….”
Indeed, he quotes Vijay Kelkar in noting that “The twenty-first century is India’s to lose.” Huge challenges, and huge opportunity.
For a more extensive (and professional) review of the book, see the NYT reviews [Macintyre, Grimes]; the NPR interview with the author is also very interesting. The book is available on Amazon.
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David Kotz 