India Geopolitics

With almost one billion four hundred million inhabitants, India can no longer be ignored by the world. Certainly, its halo and power today seem weak if we refer to its neighbor, China. But its potential is asserting itself and its role is increasing in world affairs, in the political, economic, and military fields. How India became an emerging country and what challenges is it facing today? First, we will see India’s geography and history, then its demographics. To continue, we will reach its economic and political class. To finish, we will study India’s regional and international relationships.

First, India occupies a major part of the south Asian subcontinent. It is divided into 28 States (divided into districts) and 8 union territories. The country is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. It borders Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west; China, Bhutan, and Nepal to the north; Myanmar to the east; and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal. India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh are defined according to the Radcliffe Line. China and India are separated by the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

To continue, India has an history of colonialism. Indeed, during the modern age, India was invaded by many European country to become, at the end, a British colony. In 1600, merchants started a powerful private trading company called the East India Company. They traded in Asia to get spices, cotton and indigo dye and then sold them in England for profit. Initially English traders were welcomed by the Mughal rulers, both countries benefited and trade each other goods. Throughout the 17th century, English trade in India expanded. However, by the end of the century, relations exacerbate, and the conflict broke into the Anglo-Mughal War, it lasted from 1686 to 1690. Afterward, India became the British Raj in August 1858, after Indians were defeated during the rebellion of 1857. It started in March, after an Indian soldier attacked his British officer and was executed. Many Indians felt like the British didn’t respect their values and traditions. In the end, the East India Company allowed Britain to export vast quantities of goods such as tea and pepper and sell them for a great profit and subsequently helped to fund their Industrial Revolution. However, for many Indians, it meant poverty and violence from British merchants. They were forced to sell their goods to the British at extremely low prices and were then made to buy British products at much higher prices. From then on, the Indian independence movement first gained momentum at the beginning of the 20th century. Gandhi organized his first passive-resistance campaigns in protest of Britain’s oppressive rule in India, after WWI. In the 1930s, the British government made concessions to the Indian nationalists, but it was rejected, and the nonviolent “Quit India” campaign was organized. Anti-British demonstrations accelerated after the war, and, on August 15, 1947, the Indian Independence Bill was acted. Nevertheless, the partition of India led to the Kashmir conflict. Both India and Pakistan claimed the state Jammu and Kashmir. In 1947, Pakistani tribals invaded Kashmir, leading the region’s ruler to join India. It resulted into the Indo-Pakistani War that ended with UN mediated a ceasefire along the Line of Control. After the wars of 1965 and 1971, the Simla Agreement formally established the Line of Control between the two nations.

Thereupon, India is the 2nd most populated country in the world, just behind China. Its population reached 1,393 billion in 2021, making it three times bigger than in 1960. It is estimated that India will be the most populated country in the world by 2023, overtaking China. Moreover, it is most likely that India will attain 1,5 billion inhabitants by 2030. In addition, the median age of Indians is 28,7 years old, as for China, it is 38,4 years old. The number of children under the age of five peaked in 2007, and since then the number has been falling. The number of Indians under 15 years old peaked slightly later and is now also declining. However, there was only 944 females for 1000 males in 2016. India is facing a big challenge trying to encourage Indians to have girls. Indeed, in India, there is the dowry system. Even though it is prohibited (Dowry Prohibition Act 1961), most families are traditional and keep this custom. Durable goods, cash, and real or movable property must be given to the groom’s family during a wedding. It can easily make the bride’s family in financial discomfort. In addition, the literacy rate in India is 74% with a big gap between men and women. 82% for men whereas it is only 65% for women. On top of the lack of women, girls are sent less to school then boys. India is facing lots of demographics challenges.

Subsequently, India has become an emerging country, taking a place in the world economy. It has one of the largest and diversified economies in the world. India is the world's fourth largest agricultural power. A central pillar of the Indian economy, agriculture contributes 18.3% of GDP and employs 42.6% of the working population. India is also the fifth largest producer of cattle and sheep, as well as the second largest fish producer in the world. But, because of its enormous population, it is one of the poorest countries on Earth, in terms of income and gross national product (GNP). Since independence, the country has promoted a mixed economic system in which the government plays a leading role as central planner, regulator, investor, manager, and producer. The government based its economic planning on a series of five-year plans influenced by the Soviet model. It started with an attempt to boost the domestic savings rate. It doubled in the half century following the First Five-Year Plan (1951–55). Afterwards, the focus began to shift to import-substituting industrialization. A broad and diversified industrial base developed. However, the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s forced India to adopt a series of free-market reforms. It allowed the growth of the middle class. Its highly educated and well-trained workforce made India one of the global centers of the high-technology boom. On the other hand, the country possesses a wide range of minerals and other natural resources and, therefore, advantages its industrial development. On top of that, India’s government created an owned and regulated banking system. Its principal institution is the Reserve Bank of India. Most commercial banking are in the public sector. Furthermore, in 1975, the government created a system of regional rural banks, allowing small farmers and tenants to make credits. However, in 2011-2012, 22% of the population lived in extreme poverty. This figure is supposed to have declined to 5% by now. But with the pandemic,

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