What is 'Indian Century'?

You may be wondered by the title of the post, and mainly with the term 'Indian', Right? Well, after reading the complete article, you will be filled of proud to your motherland, and will be moved to take actions, in the right way.

Written by Jairaj Prasad, Administrator

The Indian Century (or India's Century) is a term referring to the possibility that the 21st century will be dominated by India, similarly to how the 20th century is often called the American Century, and the 19th century as Pax Britannica (British Peace).

And as we all can see, this all is happening today! we are already on the way of a new revolution. Read on to clear up how/what/who type of questions, about 'Indian Century'.

Background

According to scholars, media sources and economic historian Angus Maddison in his book The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, the polities of India constituted the largest economy in the world from ca. 1 CE to 1000 CE. Also, during the period when China was the dominant economy in the world, India held the second position of the largest economy. India's share of the world income (economic output) went from 27% in 1700 (compared to Europe's share of 23%) to 3% in 1950.

In the 17th century, India and China accounted for 60-70 percent of world GDP.

A number of modern economic historians have blamed the colonial rule for the reduced status of India's economy, investment in Indian industries was limited.

Factors

India has been identified as a potential superpower. It is also often referred as South Asia's natural hegemon because of its overwhelming dominance of the region in all aspects – political, economic, military, cultural, and demographic. India contributes 77% of South Asia's population, 75% of its GDP, 77 percent of its territory, 80% of its defence budget, and 82% of its armed forces. One of the key factors includes its populous democracy. It has the largest economy in the region, and has impressive GDP growth which sits today at 9.2% According to political analyst C. Raja Mohan: "India's omnidirectional engagement with the great powers has paid off handsomely. Never before has India had such expansive relations with all the major powers at the same time—a result not only of India's increasing weight in the global economy and its growing power potential, but also of New Delhi's savvy and persistent diplomacy." 

India is generally considered an emerging power due to its large and stable population, and its rapidly growing economic and military sectors. With the largest defence budget in the region, India possesses nuclear weapons, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and operates two aircraft carriers. It has successfully developed a Ballistic Missile Defense system, becoming only the fourth country to do so. In 2007, India became the fourth nation in the world to complete atmospheric reentry for Manned Space Mission, an indication of its recent scientific progress. India has also successfully sent probes to the Moon and to Mars.

Many industries are established in the country due to investments in technology and in the professionalism of manpower, in addition to its tradition of Exact Sciences. However, several problems such as economic, political, and social problems need to be overcome to be considered a superpower.

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