What the West Should Learn from India : Insights from a German Diplomat

<p>The geopolitical coordinate system has long known only two axes: the East and the West. Increasingly a new one is gaining prominence: the Global South of which India is a crucial part. According to former German ambassador Walter J. Lindner India is everything that the West is not –young dynamic and innovative. The world’s most populous country is being courted like no other as a gigantic sales market a reservoir of skilled workers and an IT hub. </p><p>Lindner knows India like few others. In his incisive new book he discusses India from a Western perspective in a way that builds bridges – even as he does not shy away from critical observations. For instance India’s democracy might not always conform to Western ideals being shaped and challenged by the rise of Hindu nationalism its caste system pervasive poverty and violence against women. With India’s example Lindner shows exactly what the world could learn from the countries of the Global South to better tackle tomorrow’s challenges. </p>