He was speaking in a recent interview with Milan Vaishnav on the Grand Tamasha podcast. Grand Tamasha, a weekly audio program co-produced by Hindustan Times and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, has debuted its eighth season.
“Whatever may be the historical situation of China being the preeminent power and essentially [having] no competitors in its periphery, that is not the case today,” said Saran, noting that the possibility of a “China-centric” future is far from certain given the crowded geopolitical space in Asia.
Saran spoke about the major themes from his new book, How China Sees India and the World: The Authoritative Account of the India-China Relationship, published in May 2022 by Juggernaut. Saran’s new volume is a sequel to his acclaimed 2018 book, How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century.
India’s ability to successfully combat the China challenge, Saran stressed, is predicated on how it handles its own complex and uncertain domestic situation. “India, unlike China, whether you like it or not is a very diverse and plural society… You cannot put a monochromatic frame over this plurality.” If the current government tries to do this, Saran said, it will only serve to exacerbate social and political tensions and undermine India’s ability to project strength abroad.
{{/usCountry}}India’s ability to successfully combat the China challenge, Saran stressed, is predicated on how it handles its own complex and uncertain domestic situation. “India, unlike China, whether you like it or not is a very diverse and plural society… You cannot put a monochromatic frame over this plurality.” If the current government tries to do this, Saran said, it will only serve to exacerbate social and political tensions and undermine India’s ability to project strength abroad.
{{/usCountry}}Saran, an expert on China, enjoyed a three-decade career in the Indian Foreign Service, retiring as foreign secretary in September 2006. Saran did two stints in China, first in the mid-1970s and then again in the mid-1980s, in addition to completing Mandarin training in Hong Kong at the start of his career.
Despite the contrasting political systems of China and India, Saran clarified that India can in fact derive many crucial lessons from China, not least regarding how the latter exploited a unique geopolitical moment — the Cold War — to create a much more favorable economic and political environment that fueled its rise.
Citing the abundant reservoir of goodwill and support India can marshal from its friends and partners, Saran urged the Modi government to exploit this present moment to absorb advanced knowledge, technology, and economic linkages with Asia’s leading powers.
“Today, the West — whether it is the United States, Western Europe or Japan — they all have a stake in India’s economic success,” Saran explained. While they may be invested in India for their own narrow reasons, Saran reasoned, India nevertheless stands to gain by leveraging this sustained interest. “The stronger the relationship that India has with the US and other countries, that does help India to manage the China challenge much better than if we were more isolated.”