2024 CAMDEN CONFERENCE

Ambassador Nirupama Rao asserts that India does not see the world through either a Western or Eastern ideological lens. “Our prime minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, says that this need not be an era of war…that climate change, terrorism and pandemics are the greatest challenges we face. We believe technology and new frontiers can change the story of our development, leapfrogging us into the future that awaits.” Remarks delivered at the 2024 Camden Conference, held February 16-18, in Camden, Maine.

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Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s brief but multi-faceted account of the history of India from its independence, in 1947, up to the present day. "It is particularly important," says Mehta, "to de-exoticize India and try to think of it in familiar terms." These engaging remarks were delivered at the 2024 Camden Conference.

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Could electoral democracy in India prove the undoing of its liberal constitution? Professor Ashutosh Varshney sheds light on this "essential paradox" at the 2024 Camden Conference.

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Brown University Professor Prerna Singh describes the three major sources of diversity in India as religion, caste and language. On the one hand, diversity in modern India is not a "curse" leading to low development and conflict. On the other hand, India's current government increasingly embraces Hindutva, the ideology that justifies Hindu nationalism, and this marks a move away from the secularism enshrined in its constitution. Remarks delivered at the 2024 Camden Conference, held February 16-18, in Camden, Maine.

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Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, gives a sweeping overview of India's economy. Following independence in 1947, democratic India immediately instituted full suffrage, only to fail to achieve economic growth on par with other Asian economies. This state of affairs is now changing. Quickly. Remarks delivered at the 2024 Camden Conference, held February 16-18, in Camden, Maine.

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A Q&A session from the 2024 Camden Conference following talks by Princeton Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta, "India's Post-Colonial History," and Brown Professor Ashutosh Varshney, "India's Politics and Governance." Moderated by American Public Media's David Brancaccio.

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A Q&A session from the 2024 Camden Conference following talks by Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Ambassador Nirupama Rao. The title of Tellis' talk had been "India's Regional Role," while Ambassador Rao's was "How India Sees the World." Moderated by American Public Media's David Brancaccio.

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India has been "walking a tightrope" since its 1947 independence, but has managed to expand its global reach and “use the world in order to leverage its own rise to power.” So says Ashley J. Tellis, Senior Fellow and Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Remarks delivered at the 2024 Camden Conference, held February 16-18, in Camden, Maine.

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India wants to be an independent power and the key phrase is "strategic autonomy." India will not form alliances, which pledge military support in the event of war, instead choosing to form "partnerships," including partnerships with the U.S. Remarks delivered by Tanvi Madan, senior fellow in the Center for Asia Policy Studies in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, at the 2024 Camden Conference, held February 16-18, in Camden, Maine.

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New York Times correspondent Emily Schmall gives a glimpse into the chaotic world of journalism in India, and of a dedicated press fighting to keep it free. Remarks delivered at the 2024 Camden Conference, held February 16-18, in Camden, Maine.

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The exchange highlights the ongoing challenge for US policymakers to uphold American values while securing concrete national interests in an imperfect world. Finding the right balance remains central to effective US global leadership.

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