Home And The World

India has done well economically compared to the developed nations, but it has to build on its strong domestic economic base to create a truly world-class society

- Udayan Mukherjee

Sitting here in London, it is impossible not to be struck by the stark difference in economic tidings these days from the western world and India. While it has been in vogue for some time to talk of the divergent fortunes of India and China-the two countries inevitably inviting comparison as the rising powers from Asia-less is said of the decay in the developed world. Yet, China's woes, by no means insignificant, seem trivial compared to the unravelling that is playing out in the Western Hemisphere.

To put it bluntly, the US, Europe and the UK are in shambles. The US, which most of the economic world takes its cues from, is staring at a recession. But that is the least of its travails. After all, recessions are not exactly uncommon in any part of the world. But this time, runaway inflation threatens to stall economic progress for an unknown length of time for the first time in many decades. Years of fiscal and central bank profligacy has opened up cracks that are no longer easy to paper over. And the worst news is that all this is leading to a social divide and racial tensions on a scale the country has not seen, perhaps since the days of the civil war. From outside, the US has the distinct appearance of a nation coming apart, and therefore it is not just another bear phase of the stock market that is in question. The empire-and the US despite its democracy, such as it is these days, certainly qualifies as the equivalent of the most powerful modern-day empire-could well be in decline.