Notable Change

By Fareed Zakaria

Look at Indian politics today. After every parliamentary election over the last two decades, commentators have searched in vain for a national trend or theme. In fact, local issues and personalities dominate from state to state….

Over the last 20 years, India has been moving toward a different model of nationhood.

The power of regions and regional parties is now undisputed. Starting in the early 1990s, New Delhi has been overturning the licence-permit-quota raj and opening up the economy.

The result: an India quite different from the one its founders might have imagined: a motley collection of communities, languages and ethnicities living together in an open political and economic space.

Some older nationalists find this new India too marketised, decentralised, noisy, vulgar and messy, but it reflects India’s realities. Without central plan or direction, there are forces pushing India toward a greater sense of nationalism.

Economic liberalisation has created a national economy, and technology is creating a national culture. While there has been a proliferation of regional news and entertainment TV channels, national programmes and media events are growing. From cricket to Bollywood, a common popular culture pervades every Indian’s life. As India grows, its people will discover that there is much that distinguishes them from other Asian countries — and that binds them together.