Artigo sobre a Índia publicado com o apoio do South Asia Democratic Forum no último número do Think South Asia, aqui.
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The
Republic of India is a country with 3.287.590 square kilometres of area and an estimated population of 1,24
billion people. Its borders are with Pakistan to the northwest, Tibet (under
the Chinese administration), Nepal and Bhutan to the north, and Bangladesh and
Burma to the northeast. On the Indian Ocean, India’s neighbours are the Maldives to the southwest and Sri
Lanka to the southeast.
These
numbers mean that India has a larger population than Europe (all countries
together), or the Americas (North and South), or Africa. We can find an Indian
identity, or at least a harmonic set of similar identities within India, making
of it the most populous liberal democracy in the world. And, with a birth rate
bigger than China, India is set to overtake its neighbour country as the world’s most populous nation by 2030, according to the
latest United Nations projections.
With
a GDP per capita of approximately 1.345,50 EURO and the Economy growing around
6,5% each year, India is strengthening its industrial and services power. On
the same hand, India’s middle class is increasing rapidly, giving to millions
the purchase power that is attracting the attention of many foreign investors
and businesses. Culturally, we can say that India main religious influence is
Hinduism (approximately 80,5% of the Indians are Hindu) but also Buddhism (born
in the region of Bihar, India), Islam (through the Mughal Empire) and Christianity (through the Portuguese and the English) were
important influences to its unique cultural blend of different ingredients.
Politically,
India is a federation composed by 28 states and 7 union territories, each of it
with very characteristic issues, problems and challenges. As Editor of this
magazine, I would like to stop here this very short country profile of such a
big and complex reality and leave for the soonest future a deeper analysis done
by experts, state by state.
Generally,
I would just reinforce the idea that India is a liberal democracy which respects
the rule of law. Of course India has its problems to be solved, as other countries
in the region have, but what makes of India a different country is the
democratic tools they have to make Human Rights be respected within its borders.
This
should be regarded as a hope for the western countries who want to engage in
South Asia, as well as for SAARC countries to follow India’s example and find
their own path to have stable democracies across the region.
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