India’s economic growth has not lived up to the mark in terms of sustained economic growth, foreign affairs analyst Fareed Zakaria told India Today TV at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
When asked about India’s global image as an emerging economy, Zakaria said, “The world, I think, has viewed India for the last few years as a disappointment.”
“It has been a disappointment in the sense of being the successor to China, the country that was going to generate this massive economic growth, builds a new middle-class, dominate new areas in technology. None of that has really happened,” he added.
India growth muddled
The 55-year-old foreign affairs analyst said India’s growth over the past few years has been muddled as it has not been able to capture the high-ground in terms of achieving holistic growth.
“Indian growth has muddled along, it has done perfectly fine but it has not been able to capture the high-ground in terms of the intensity of the growth or the nature of it,” he said.
Zakaria said the growth pattern has not served the economy well as businesses from all spheres have suffered due to certain policies. He, however, agreed that India has enough resources to accelerate its growth, only if it adopts a clear vision.
Commenting on India’s social image, Zakaria said the performance of the country has been a disappointment on the communal front as well. He put a fair share of the blame on Hindutva politics.
He criticised the idea of Hindutva politics as it has created a divide between the larger Hindu population and minorities. While he did not mention any particular incident, he indicated that Muslim and other minority groups are facing unfair treatment from law enforcement authorities in the country.
All these issues have some way or the other affected the image of India which has always been about the celebration of diversity, he said.
Foreign policy lacks vision
He also spoke at length on India’s foreign policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s influence in forming new ties in the global space.
While he lauded Modi for handling external relations, especially with heads of states, Zakaria feels that India lacks vision when it comes to a concrete foreign policy.
Zakaria went on to say that it puzzles him that India does not devote resources to formulate a clear foreign policy strategy to brush shoulders with developed economies such as the US.
“India does not devote resources, it has no clear strategy and that part of it puzzles me,” he said.
He further disagreed with claims made by Indian government that the country is racing towards the path of progress, albeit a global economic slowdown. However, Zakaria says India has no one but itself to blame.
India is largely a self-contained economy and is unlikely to be affected by external factors like Brexit or the trade war between China and United States, he explained.
The government cannot blame external factors to laud slower-than-usual growth, Zakaria added.
If countries like India and Indonesia have not been able to perform well, it is because of the inadequacies of the government, he said.