George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 48

< Episode 47 >

When people think of India, they often picture the land of curry, or perhaps crowded urban areas with a chaotic web of power lines. Others might envision Bollywood movies filled with vibrant dance, music, and action, or a nation that has quietly produced numerous Nobel laureates.

Those with a keen interest in global militaries might bring up India’s troubled defense projects, such as the Arjun tank. Those focused on economics or diplomacy might recognize it as a pro-Western, and particularly pro-South Korean, trading partner.

This was roughly the extent of Kim Gap-hwan’s understanding of India before he began working in construction. However, as he settled into life at the construction site, he encountered a diverse range of people, including Indian workers among the various nationalities and personalities.

One of these Indian workers was Vivek Hassan, who was three years older than Kim Gap-hwan. Hassan was a kind and approachable man who quickly picked up Korean, allowing them to have many conversations. He had a university degree in IT, but whether the IT sector wasn’t flourishing or something else had gone amiss, he never explained why he was doing manual labor instead of working in his field. No one really knew the reason.

However, Kim Gap-hwan eventually learned why Hassan had left India. Hassan revealed that the average annual salary in the Indian IT industry was only 4 to 5 million won [approximately $3,000-$3,750 USD]. This shockingly low figure highlighted the poor compensation in the Indian IT sector.

In any case, Hassan and Kim Gap-hwan became good friends, and Hassan helped dispel some of the common prejudices about India that often develop in people living in developed countries. After about two years, Hassan left, promising to invite Kim Gap-hwan to his home if he ever visited India. As a result, Kim Gap-hwan started eating curry at a curry restaurant about once a month.

Hassan’s legacy wasn’t just ‘curry once a month.’ It also included insights into Indian history.

Consider this: how could a country where the cities alone often evoke pity also win Nobel Prizes and launch satellites? When Kim Gap-hwan once asked about this, Hassan began to explain in detail, his expression turning serious.

Since they were usually drinking, their conversations were often punctuated by rounds of drinks. Hassan would often repeat himself when drunk, but on this particular night, he spoke coherently until the owner closed the shop. It was a street stall, so they essentially stayed up all night.

The gist of that long conversation was this:

“It all goes back to the Mughal Empire.”

Before Bush was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India, looking surprised. Vajpayee, concerned about the growing closeness between Russia and China, had urged Bush to visit India, and Bush had readily agreed.

However, this time he couldn’t fly a fighter jet because the Chief of Staff strongly objected. The concern was that it could severely provoke Pakistan, which, unlike North Korea’s struggle to acquire nuclear weapons, was already a fully established nuclear power.

The Mughal Empire story arose because Bush and Vajpayee were casually discussing India’s advanced basic sciences. Frankly, it felt a bit forced, so Vajpayee needed to gauge the U.S. President’s genuine interest in India.

There was no point in seeking help from someone who wasn’t truly interested. He needed to assess Bush’s knowledge, the level of support he could expect, and what treaties or agreements might be necessary. Originally, since the United States had a federal government, there shouldn’t have been a need to go this far. But in Vajpayee’s eyes, the United States was a country where the President wielded considerable power.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to pull off the audacious move of visiting Korea in a fighter jet.

“That’s unexpected. Not many people are aware of this. Do you happen to have any Indian friends?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t.”

To be precise, it wasn’t Bush who knew, but Kim Gap-hwan. Bush was right not to know.

‘To be precise, it starts with the Timurid Empire, the predecessor to the Mughal Empire.’

The Timurid Empire controlled a vast territory stretching from just before Constantinople to Central Asia, bordering India. However, its final years were as tumultuous as its golden age. The empire, founded by the lame Timur [also known as Tamerlane], was ultimately destroyed by the invasion of the Uzbeks, leading to its complete collapse.

But only for a short time.

It wasn’t that the Uzbeks were particularly strong, but these warrior people were not weak either. They migrated to North India, plundered and occupied the region, and established a new empire: the Mughal Empire.

These warrior people, skilled only in conquest, completely subdued the Indian subcontinent in about 170 years. However, the Mughal dynasty had a critical weakness: they were not native to India, and the ruling ethnic group was very small.

In other words, the Mughal Emperor lacked even a trace of legitimacy in the eyes of the Indian people.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great was an exceptionally wise and capable ruler. He deeply understood that if this situation persisted, the empire would inevitably collapse in the generation following his death. Akbar the Great needed to find a way to secure legitimacy for the Timurids’ rule over India.

And he finally succeeded in finding that legitimacy, which was ‘overwhelming technology.’ Akbar the Great believed that the key to controlling and governing such a massive population was ‘superior technology’ that surpassed the sheer numbers of the people.

In simple terms, his idea was to dominate a large population with cutting-edge technology, much like modern America.

The problem was that while the idea of ‘securing and developing technology!’ was sound, they blindly invested the vast wealth flowing out of India, to the point where the phrase ‘pouring money down the drain’ would be an understatement.

However, even if they were truly ignorant and clueless, things inevitably changed when they invested money steadily and massively over a period of 100 years. Since basic research requires time to mature, even when India was under British rule, its basic sciences partially surpassed those of Britain.

However, Akbar the Great never envisioned that this would lead to the advancement of basic science. The technology he had in mind was unbreakable armor, a sharp sword, and a bow and arrow that could shoot great distances.

The seed inadvertently planted by the Timurid nomadic people sprouted during British colonial rule. Since it was impossible to control India and defend its borders solely with reinforcements from Britain, they had to actively utilize Indians, which meant employing sepoys [Indian soldiers in the British army].

However, this decision during the British Empire era transformed ‘India’ into ‘the British Eastern influence’ itself. As a result, ships from various developed countries frequented the region, and technology was steadily transferred to the seed of basic science, causing it to grow into a deeply rooted tree. This is ‘applied science.’

This legacy has been passed down to the modern Indian government and is the reason why the Indian government prioritizes basic science.

Thanks to this, India is still able to compete with most countries. While there are embarrassing weapons like the Arjun tank, which leaks in the rain, and the INSAS assault rifle, which breaks on its own, India is not lacking in simple weapon systems.

They have a capable navy, an aircraft carrier, and a sizable army, benefiting from the world’s second-largest population of 1 billion. The air force is one of the few recognized by the U.S. military, and the training and capabilities of individual pilots are also quite impressive. They also possess their own military satellites that can monitor the entire army.

It wasn’t just conventional forces either. India was a de facto nuclear power, with approximately 110 nuclear warheads always ready to strike India’s enemies.

However, India was militarily more cooperative than China. India has consistently been a pro-Western market since the British colonial era.

‘American companies that have entered India include Hewlett-Packard (HP), Intel. What else was there?’

It wasn’t just the United States. German car companies? They all had branches in India and were actively doing business. India’s large fleet was also sourced from various Western countries, including the United States, and was regularly maintained.

In terms of politics, it is known as the world’s largest democracy. It has a parliamentary cabinet system composed of 7 union territories and 28 states, led by the Prime Minister. Its political system blends tradition with modern democracy.

The introduction was lengthy, but the conclusion is that India is one of the pro-American, powerful countries that is thriving without the United States needing to intervene significantly.

However, India faces many internal challenges. To rephrase the above statement, India lacks its own competitive products, barely managing to survive. Even in the military sector, it is heavily reliant on foreign sources, abandoning the Arjun tank and switching to the Russian-made T-90.

There were local self-government organizations under the local government, and below that, they were divided into villages, blocks, and regions. In order to dilute the caste system, there had to be parties to which leaders from all walks of life belonged, so there were over ‘200’ parties. The local self-government organizations were showing clear limitations under the secularized caste system.

Due to the excessively large number of parties and the entrenched caste system, the central government lacked the power to enforce control effectively.

‘Small peace in unstable chaos.’

This was Bush’s perception and commentary on India.

“Let’s decide on just one thing and conclude the meeting.”

“What do you mean?”

In fact, Vajpayee’s intention was to make the United States aware that India was eager to confront China. The specific decisions could come later. The visit request was more of a trial balloon to see if it would work. The problem was that Bush, whom he expected to arrive at least a week later, responded too quickly and flew in on Air Force One on the same day the visit was requested.

Time was short, and the Indian government, with over 200 factions to appease, had no concrete agenda to present. Nothing!

Of course, it wasn’t that they had nothing to say. There were countless things they wanted to ask for. But wouldn’t it be impolite to simply bring them up randomly in a meeting like this? So, the purpose of this meeting was framed as promoting friendship.

“Having said this much, I think we’ve sufficiently conveyed that India is one of the most geopolitically important areas for the United States, right?”

The majority of the world’s busiest ports were in Asia, and as China’s influence grew, most of the world’s trade volume also had to pass through Asia. The United States wanted to maintain the existing order.

But there were only two countries that were disrupting the order that the United States desired, and those happened to be Russia and China.

“What I want is just three things: to compete with China, to restrain it, and to win. To that end, the United States of America is willing to use its military strength to bring order to India.”

In addition, Bush clearly remembered China, which was economically dominating other countries through initiatives like the Chinese Dream and the Belt and Road Initiative.

“Will you join us?”

The result was predictable. Soon, the Indo-Pacific Strategy Report was released by the Pentagon under the leadership of George W. Bush, and China and Russia criticized it.

In response, Bush said unofficially:

“Are you… perhaps displeased?”

It goes without saying that this statement was refined into a formal speech by the Chief of Staff’s sophisticated wording and was eventually made public.