India Briefing

Since 2001, India has gained new attention as an emerging world power with a rapidly growing economy, a world-class science and technology sector, and a huge English-speaking labor pool. After a period of escalating tension with neighbor Pakistan, wide-ranging peace talks are underway. Within India, there is an unprecedented mood of optimism about the future. At the same time, the nation wrestles with difficult questions about the place of secularism in society, the role it sees for itself globally and within Asia, and the reality that millions of Indians still live at the subsistence level. This volume of India Briefing examines India's changing fortunes through chapters that cover the economy; the twists and turns of domestic politics; labor in the large informal sector; the cultural roots of Hindu nationalism; the foreign relations rollercoaster; the business of Bollywood; and a special chapter on the range of new resources about India available on the web.

Preface, Editors' Note, Map of South Asia, Map of India, Introduction, Politics in India's Decentered Polity, The Indian Economy: Pushing Ahead and Pulling Apart, From Bangalore to Silicon Valley and Back:How the Indian Diaspora in the United States Is Changing India, The Subordinate Caste Revolution, The Challenges of India's Health and Health Care Transitions, Representing India: Indian Literature on the World Stage, 1998-2000: A Chronology, Abbreviations and Glossary, About the Contributors, Index