OK b4 I forget what what I have read here (I actually read everyone’s replies.. jeez…
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I want to address this first:
CH asked: What does Soverign Rating have to do with FDI
CH, doesn’t a nation’s S&P/Moody’s credit rating have an effect on foreign direct investment, basically advising foreign investors of the confidence that analytical firm has in a country’s economy and projected growth? So, basically, if the sovereign rating is downgraded a notch, that means investor confidence is lowered, and even if India had huge amounts of foreign investment last year, it will prolly be lower this year? Could u pls. explain this to me? I did take finance classes, magar aab mai bhool gai. 
India had surplus of foreign reserves in 2002, I think about $58-$60Bn, but that isn’t FDI, that’s our own wealth.
OK, now to the main post.
I don’t think Friedman gave any good enough reason for India to be included in the UNSC as a permanent member. He harps on France and its shortcomings, but nothing concrete about why India should be selected. Just because India is “the biggest emerging computer society” does not make it a strong and stable economy.
His reasons: “Because India is the world’s biggest democracy, the world’s largest Hindu nation and the world’s second-largest Muslim nation” are not as important as this one: “quite frankly, India is just so much more serious than France these days”. The article was about FRANCE, with emphasis on France’s bad points, not about India at all.
How can you call India the world’s largest Hindu nation? It is, officially, the world’s only Hindu nation. It is not the world’s biggest democracy but the world’s biggest socialist democracy… there is a slight difference. The US, I believe, is the world’s biggest democracy that way. Capitalism is not a political ideology, it is an economic philosophy. Political ideologies are slow to change and the change affects each aspect of society; economic philosophies are more easily susceptible to change, and the changes do not affect every aspect of established society. Also, India is not an official “Muslim nation”. U cannot be a nation of two, officially. It is home to the second largest body of muslims in the world, after Indonesia, yes. But not a Muslim nation. For that, it will need to undergo a tremendous change, in government, on paper documents, etc.. etc..
So I think factually, his piece is a bit messed up. However, what you guys took up on was the “computer society” phrase, and spun it to span the whole economy. Friedman neglected to mention that that we are still very much an agrarian society… overwhelmingly 70%. He has used his own set of polemics to pin France, but not done a good enough job for proving India’s case. Disappointing.
I think personally that India does not deserve to be a permanent member in the UNSC. It is a very jahil country still. Sorry to be so blunt. Political climate is still not as stable as one would like it to be, foreign investment is coming in, true, Masha’Allah. But India is still very nazuk, and has too much of that slave mindset. We have not become detached enough from our past to be able to function objectively in the global arena. Being a permanent member of the UNSC entails a lot of responsibility. I don’t think India is very responsible… it’s in it’s young adulthood still, and needs more time to mature.
Just going by demographics alone is not enough to be on the Security Council. We have centuries of colonial history, shackles that we haven’t been able to break off too well. Japan has proved itself on the world stage, Germany has proved itself even after horrific Hitler… I don’t think India is good enuf. Too emotional. Besides, economic growth is a relatively recent nasha, wait till we have experienced it atleast another two decades at a steady rate, before claiming to be as anywhere near global players.
Japan and Germany deserve to be on the Council tho. I don’t think Russia cuts it anymore, and China is an emerging economy better than India in many ways. It should be Britain, the US, Germany, Japan, France, China and South Africa. Bringing in an African nation will cover issues in Africa, which everyone neglects most of the time.
Sorry if it all sounds off, it’s just my personal opinions.