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YOUR LIFE IS YOUR MESSAGE The Indian response to China’s rise must be defined
By Nancy Stanford Blair & Mark L Gesner; Sage; 495. by an overarching Indian grand strategy for
leadership in the world order, says the new book
“My life is my message” Mahatma Gandhi had said when asked by a
reporter to sum up his life’’s work. Taking inspiration from that, “we CHINA WAS PRETTY much impoverished in the 20th
are similarly offering the opportunity to take stock of century but transformed radically over the past four
your lives and discover your core message, purpose decades, largely due to the reforms initiated by Deng
and desired impact,” write Blair and Gesner, dons at Xiaoping in 1978. There was a paradigm shift when Xi
Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jinping was elected the General Secretary of the CPC
“As authors, we feel compelled to wake you up — just in November 2012 and a year later the President of
as this process has awakened us, Further as Lord the PRC. Be it the global financial crisis of 2008 or the
Alfred Tennyson suggested, we want to urge you to weaknesses in democratic processes and institutions
“drink life to the lees’’ by discovering the path that is exposed in the past few years, Xi saw “an opportu-
most compelling and empowering for you,” Blair and nity in these disruptions-an opportunity to cement
Gesner write. All this makes for compelling reading. his place in China’s history, and China’’s place in the
This book is a call to live life to the fullest and a guide to discovering conduct of world affairs”, write Samir Saran, President
your own path towards transformational leadership. of the Observer Research Foundation and Akhil Deo, a
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Junior Fellow at the ORF, in their new book Pax Sinica
— Implications For The Indian Dawn.
PARTY LIKE A STAR Five stories “showcase Xi’s
By Shilarna Vaze; Penguin; 199 pages; 699 unmistakable ambition and
vision”, the authors say. These
“This book will help you ‘’enjoy your own party’’ without having to are the 19th CPC Congress in
spend big bucks on caterers and event planners (a bit counterpro- 2012; America’s response to
ductive, isn’’t it? Because then I’’ll be out of job), and China’s rise, epitomised by
also help you navigate the waters when you decide the “clumsy arrest” of Huawei
to get professionals involved for larger celebrations, CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada
without losing your mind,” says Vaze, founder of a on the “ostensible charge
leading catering house who has cooked for the best of violating US sanctions on
parties and the biggest Bollywood stars. She goes Iran; the largest every military
about the job methodically, from picking a theme — exercises between China and
will it be casual, formal or celebratory — if it’s a large Russia — the Vostok exercises,
do; or would you prefer something small and inti- which were a manifestation of
mate, in which case there are questions like why have Russia’s response to China’s
a small party, who is on the guest list, where is the picture-perfect rise; Italy signing on the BRI —
setting and what should we eat and drink? the first G7 country to do so; and the Doklam standoff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- — “an event that is perhaps the most significant
escalation in Sino-Indian military tensions in nearly
FACE TO FACE - THE ART OF HUMAN CONNECTION four decades”.
By Brian Grazer; Simon & Schuster; 198 pages; 599 How then, is India to successfully navigate its
relationship with China and its role as a leader in Asia
“In a world where our attention is too often focused downward or at large? Contending that the “most robust alterna-
elsewhere, simply lifting your eyes to meet another’’s gaze can be tive” for post-Western world order, barring the China
transformative...In our chaotic world of perpetual busyness and model, may well be the ‘’India model’’, the book
distraction, eye contact just might be the ultimate differentiator,” states: “As a result, the Indian response to China’s
American film/TV producer Brian Grazer, who in 2002 shared an rise must be defined by an overarching Indian grand
Oscar with director Ron Howard for “A Beautiful Mind”, writes in this strategy for leadership in the world order, and it must
uplifting guide on inter-personal relationships. “We are all human be engaged with now.”
beings. We all have emotions. We all have something External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s recent pro-
to share. We are made for connection. It is the source nouncements offer a template for what India’s diplo-
of growth, discovery, joy and meaning in our short, macy should seek to achieve. “An Indian claim to the
sweet time here on Earth. We need only be willing to stewardship of the liberal world order will not only
open our minds and our hearts and choose to ‘’see’’ breathe new life into a struggling system but also
the people standing with us face to face. Whether offer a response to China’s propositions for ordering
the connection lasts a moment or a lifetime, whether the world. However, it is not inevitable that India will
its easy or challenging, we are always better for define the arrangements for a twenty-first century
it,” Grazer, whose films and TV series have been world order. This will depend on India’s willingness
nominated for 43 Academy Awards and 187 Emmys, to stake its claim,” the authors contend. But then, is
maintains. India’s political leadership ready to bell the cat?

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