The Eagle and the Peacock

It's intriguing to read The Eagle and the Peacock by M. Srinivas Chary. The book begins in the depths of the cold war, back when "third world" countries were considered part of the Soviet Threat. Step by step, the book walks you through how Churchill addressed issues, how Nixon addressed them, how Carter addressed them.

We see the various struggles that went on through political channels. Churchill thought that Roosevelt was interfering. The Indians were starving to death but the US wasn't quite sure that it was a real issue. There were challenges revolving around whether India was getting support or Pakistan.

It can be challenging in modern times to realize just how clearly the world used to be seen in terms of East vs West. It was a breakthrough for anybody to see a given country as presenting its own desires, not simply aligning itself with Version X or Version Y.

I enjoyed reading the book. It made me appreciative of our modern world where, by and large, issues are normally not just black or white. We do not tend to see the world in terms of Good or Evil. India is not a country of heart-breaking poverty where we have to intervene or see widespread disaster. If anything, in modern times India is a success story, a place where people worry about "losing jobs to". To me that is an amazing achievement, that they have gone from absolute starvation to a country of strength.

Fascinating reading.

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