Yin, yang and assumptions

Sandeep Hasurkar explores how India and China, through contrasting governance and developmental paths, have shaped their unique trajectories on the global stage

Dance of the Elephant, Walk of the Dragon: How India and China are Reshaping the World in Different Ways

Author: Sandeep Hasurkar

Publisher: Rupa

Pages: 352

Price: Rs 595

India and China are two of the world’s largest civilisations, countries and economies. Both have adopted strikingly different routes to reach the position they are in today. India adopted the path of a democratic governance while China moved towards the one-party authoritarian state. The author asserts that “this yin-yang of national narratives has unfolded uniquely for each nation over the centuries, shaping their individual, path-dependent trajectories”. The book also explores major events, policy decisions and bilateral realities that have shaped the path of both nations.

The author says he hopes to provide an overview of how India and China are affecting the global order in their own way. In effect, though, he has presented a comparative study of the two countries. The book certainly provides detailed information about the changes and developments that have been underway in each country. But it doesn’t engage with any one specific development in detail. In the process, the quality of the analysis is inadequate.

The main premise of the book is that both nations have had different growth trajectories and thus are today at very different positions on the development scale. The book also offers a look at how both countries can exploit their current realities. The author sums up the present position of the two countries in the following way: “Multicultural diversity versus monocultural unity, centrifugal versus centripetal forces, non-violence versus war, democracy versus communism, continuity versus disruption, long-term stability and social consensus versus short-term growth risks and imposed views highlight the swirl of yin and yang through the contrasting histories of the two nations”.

These are the yins and yangs that the author discusses in various chapters of the book. The author has identified five yangs, which have been the drivers of growth. They are agricultural land reforms and markets, special economic zones, real estate and urbanisation, policy and infrastructure and entrepreneurship. He has identified five yins as the cost of growth. These are debt, corruption, geopolitics, demographics and environment. However, there is so much information and personal opinion packed into each of these aspects that reading becomes daunting and exhausting. The author also seems to lose the primary argument in the welter of fact and his own opinions, making it difficult to understand what he is trying to convey. The conclusions are mostly accepting of everything that the Chinese government had pushed as a narrative.

One needs to accept that though India and China are Asian nations with superficial civilisational similarities, the social realities of the states are very different. Indian governments have had to look for ways to manoeuvre within the vast differences. India being a democracy has always had to be accommodative of people’s demands and aspirations. Indian governments are answerable to the people and thus the policies also have to cater to their demands. On the other hand, China as a Leninist Party state looks at dissent and challenges in a different fashion. It does not face elections and is thus not put to the test every few years. It has also had a history of suppressing dissent militarily, the most recent being the 1989 Tiananmen Square. After reading the book one craves for some critical analysis, not just narration and opinion.

The other consistent argument he makes is that since 2014 Indian policy and planning have been better because it has been ruled by a majority government. The author also argues that the coalition governments have not achieved much compared to China during the same time period. He writes that, “During the coalition era in India, multiple political forces and interest groups diluted the intent, effectiveness and implementation of the reform programmes’ opportunities. This contrasted with Chinese leaders’ relatively long tenures and authority, as well as the consistency of policy intent, experimentation, speed and implementation in the Chinese economy during the same period”.

These assumptions indicate the lack of a nuanced understanding of domestic politics and social realities of India as well as China. As a result, it seems to be in awe of what China as an authoritarian state has managed to achieve. It is now central to global supply chains. It cannot be denied that China has successfully managed to lift millions out of poverty. But the question that looms large is at what cost. When we discuss economic growth and achievements, should we not look at the cost paid by the people in the form of human rights violations, income and gender disparities, and environmental degradation?

The author attempts to provide a parallel for similar events in both countries. However, when one is trying to understand India and China, one needs to acknowledge that it is impossible to find similarities and refrain from predictions. This is on account of the very same thing the author talks about at the beginning of the book — the contrasting histories of the two nations. Though the book provides a range of information, the lack of comprehensive analysis detracts from its value.

The reviewer is associate professor, O P Jindal Global University