India: the road ahead - Couverture rigide

As former chief of bureau for the BBC in India, Mark Tully draws upon a lifetime's knowledge of this most diverse of countries to consider an emerging superpower at a pivotal moment in history.

Twenty years after his acclaimed book No Full Stops in India, Tully once again travels the length and

breadth of the country to discover how the ending of the economic controls which once stifled development has affected the sub-continent. What qualities does India possess today which will secure her central place on the world stage? And which traits might hinder her? Does rapid progress always come at a price?

Today, India is likely to become one of the major economies of the twenty-first century. But there are many unanswered questions about the sustainability of such growth and its effect on the stability of the nation. Tully considers whether the changes have had any impact on the poor and marginalised, and how the development of the country's creaking infrastructure can be speeded up to match its huge advances in technology and industry. With a gift for finding the human stories behind the headlines, he looks at the pressing concerns of different areas of life such as governance, business, spirituality and ecology.

In revealing interviews with captains of industry and subsistence farmers, politicians and untouchables, spiritual leaders and bandits, Mark Tully captures the voices of the nation. From the survival of India's languages and protection of wildlife such as the tiger, to the nation's thriving industries and colourful public affairs, India: the Road Ahead is a testament to India's vibrant history and incredible potential, offering an unforgettable portrait of this important country.

Since the Indian economy was liberated from bureaucratic, socialist controls in 1991, it has developed rapidly. A country once renowned for the backwardness of its industries, its commerce and its financial market is now viewed as potentially one of the major world economies of the 21st century.

But there are many questions which need to be asked about the sustainability of this rapid economic growth and its effect on the stability of the country. Have the changes had any impact on poverty and the marginalised? Can India's democracy contain the mounting resentment of those left out of the new economic order? Can a high growth rate be sustained with India's notoriously corrupt and inefficient governance? Can the development of its creaking infrastructure be speeded up? How is India going to feed itself unless agriculture is reformed?

This timely book will answer these questions through interviews with industrialists and cricketers, God men and farmers, plutocrats and former untouchables. Full of fascinating stories of real people at a time of great change, it will be of interest to economists, business people, diplomats, politicians, as well as to those who love to travel and who take an interest in the rapid growth of one of the world's largest countries, and what this means to us in the West.