Commonwealth Ganes 2010 v/s Beijing 2008: A new Dimension to India v/s China Debate

Part I

The quotes above reflect the urge of two Asian giants, which have had a gargantuan influence over the ancient and medieval worlds, to announce their claim – for global leadership and supremacy. In the recent years, especially after the term BRICS came into being, India and China have been touted as the next economic superpowers. A lot has been said about how the twenty first century belongs to India and China, and a lot have been achieved by both the countries to substantiate it. In 2007, China’s GDP was growing at the rate of 13% and India’s was 9.7%, as compared to 2% of United States- a feat very difficult considering the size of their economies. Never before, the world has seen such a phenomenon: the emergence of two ancient civilizations - yet nubile nations from the shadows of deprived state of being. It is the redemption of two phenomena, which have served as the womb for innumerable feats in human civilization. It is similar, yet grander than the emergence of United States on the global scene in the late nineteenth century. They possess enablers like favorable geo-political realities, a young and dynamic workforce, and a large domestic market which fueled the great American rising in nineteenth century: strengthened by more than one-third of the world’s population. To cut the long story short, India and China are growing rapidly and feel an urge to announce it to the world.

However, looking at the timing and consequences of the two similar sounding quotes, this clubbing of India & China as a phenomenon seems devoid of sense. The former is from the inauguration ceremony of Beijing Olympics 2008, which was also dubbed as the greatest opening ceremony ever by media across the world – followed by a sporting heaven been witnessed: the stadia, and the city infrastructure. The latter is from a ceremony to launch the Games Anthem, while construction work was still ongoing, roads were still occupied by construction materials, tiles were coming off the walls, roofs of the stadia were still leaking, wash-basins were being crapped into, beds were being occupied by stray dogs, over bridges were about to fall, a national shame was about to emerge while charges of corruption were already being leveled. Both these quotes sound similar, yet paint two different and contrasting pictures of seriousness of intention and efforts on the part of China and India.