It would be a mistake to ignore India, the new kid on the block with huge economic potential and unique ties to London
When Russia and China took to the world stage as the future masters of the universe, we wanted to believe they were the good guys. Countries with whom we could do business, exchange ideas, and co-develop an international order. Instead, what we have is territorial aggression, spying and increasingly dictatorial forms of governance. They were the centre of attention from real estate agents, lobby groups, and our often too craven universities.
Bitten by the Russian bear and scratched by the Chinese panda we now know better. India, the new kid on the block, or should I say, “on the moon”, may now get a more cautious reception. In my view this would be a big mistake. Britain is best placed to help India land safely in this new multipolar world.
The stars should have aligned for Rishi Sunak at the G20 summit. Here was a man of Indian descent, who now leads the United Kingdom. He went to an India that is now one of the biggest economic forces on the planet. Yet something was missing. If truth be told, India is much closer to us in so many ways than Russia and China, yet we have done little work on resetting Indo/Anglo relations. We are well placed to really understand our common goals and discover mutual benefit in a plethora of dimensions. Instead, we have just heard a lot of chatter about trade agreements and nothing wider.
In many ways we have been stuck in a post-colonial distance. Yet ironically British Indians have increased their influence both economically and more recently politically. This has been done because of the demographic and cultural power of British Indians living here. They have achieved this through what I call “Immigrant Optimism”, where the status of being an outsider actually works in your favour. Britain is seen as the land of opportunity compared to “back home”. This driver comes alongside strong families and spirituality.