03-01-2004, 11:26 PM
<b>India Shining and the British Media</b>
India Shining campaign is not sitting well with the Western media. British press in particular has again taken the lead to negate this assertion. The Americans have also followed the suit a bit more cautiously. The âEconomistâ of London did not like the new slogan of progress and prosperity in India and wrote a major article on â India Not Shinningâ. <b>It would appear that this conservative British weekly has taken the role of the opposition in the upcoming Indian elections</b>. The opposition parties (more specifically the Congress) has lost the propaganda war ahead of elections, hence have come out critically against the India Shinning campaign. The Economist just reflected their views. The US weekly âTimeâ also wrote a similar article in its last issue, but was less critical as compared to the Economist. <b>If you read the two articles together, they appear to be the pen work of two people sitting side by side and using same notes to pooh-pooh the India shining assertion.</b>
Let us examine the roots of these unpleasant British feelings. The mentality of the British Raj never left British public psyche. They wish, they were the rulers and had taken the credit for India Shinning. <b>Since India is independent, they just cannot believe that India can shine without them</b>. The Economist has discovered other malaise with the Indian economy, even though the economy is doing very well. The new British mantra about the state of Indian economy is, widening fiscal deficit and unemployment. These have always been there with India and have wreaked havoc with most of the Western Economies including British from time to time. Still the nations prosper. So why target India to highlight this issue
.......
India Shining campaign is not sitting well with the Western media. British press in particular has again taken the lead to negate this assertion. The Americans have also followed the suit a bit more cautiously. The âEconomistâ of London did not like the new slogan of progress and prosperity in India and wrote a major article on â India Not Shinningâ. <b>It would appear that this conservative British weekly has taken the role of the opposition in the upcoming Indian elections</b>. The opposition parties (more specifically the Congress) has lost the propaganda war ahead of elections, hence have come out critically against the India Shinning campaign. The Economist just reflected their views. The US weekly âTimeâ also wrote a similar article in its last issue, but was less critical as compared to the Economist. <b>If you read the two articles together, they appear to be the pen work of two people sitting side by side and using same notes to pooh-pooh the India shining assertion.</b>
Let us examine the roots of these unpleasant British feelings. The mentality of the British Raj never left British public psyche. They wish, they were the rulers and had taken the credit for India Shinning. <b>Since India is independent, they just cannot believe that India can shine without them</b>. The Economist has discovered other malaise with the Indian economy, even though the economy is doing very well. The new British mantra about the state of Indian economy is, widening fiscal deficit and unemployment. These have always been there with India and have wreaked havoc with most of the Western Economies including British from time to time. Still the nations prosper. So why target India to highlight this issue
.......