The enemy of my enemy is my friend. On this basis, closer western relations with India make good sense. Joe Biden’s warm embrace of the once-banned Narendra Modi, now its politically dominant prime minister, in Washington and Emmanuel Macron’s equally warm embrace of the Indian leader in Paris are aimed at forging a close relationship with a country expected to be a powerful counterweight to China. Is this a good bet for western powers? Yes. India is indeed likely to be a rising great power. Interests also align. But how far values are shared is a more open question.
Where is India now and where might it go, economically and politically?
Today, India has the world’s fifth-largest economy at market prices and third largest at purchasing power. Its population is 1.43bn, almost exactly the same as China’s. By 2050, however, India’s population is forecast by the UN to reach 1.67bn, against 1.31bn in China.