Could Audrey Hepburn Have a Lesson For Beijing?
In 1950, the phrase, “Hollywood on the Tiber” was coined to note the sudden influx of American film productions that used Rome as a destination for filming across the 1950s and 1960s. And the first American film to be filmed entirely in this scenic destination was none other than beloved Audrey Hepburn’s full feature debut film in 1953, Roman Holiday.
Our story follows a young Crown Princess Ann, from an unnamed European country, who finds herself in Rome as part of a hectic cross-European tour. Upon her arrival in the fair city, the expectations placed upon her as a young royal begin to weigh on her.
In an effort to escape her day-to-day diplomatic responsibilities, our Crown Princess escapes the embassy and is found by a young American reporter (played by Gregory Peck) Joe Bradley, who stumbles upon her real identity, but rather than reveal that he knows the truth, is convinced to take her for a guided tour across Rome.
But Ann (or Anya as she asserts as her ‘commoner’ name) eventually realises she can no longer forget (nor deny) the reality of her title, and tearfully asks Joe to drop her off at the Embassy (I’ll stop there and spare you all the spoilers) so that she may resume her responsibilities.
Much like our disillusioned Crown Princess who tried to forget her life as a royal, Chairperson of Takshashila’s Indo-Pacific Studies Programme, Manoj Kewalramani, argues that Beijing may be losing sight of the bigger picture in the India-China bilateral relationship. In his recent Op-Ed in NDTV, Manoj argues that compartmentalising may not be beneficial for this relationship.
Following the recent meeting between the Special Representatives (SRs) on the India-China boundary issue in Beijing this week, he argues that such an approach may be politically “untenable” unless Beijing can “view the relationship from an overall perspective and work not only to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border but also actively seek a resolution.” To read his insightful analysis on the relationship, follow this link.
P.S.: If you’d like a sneak peak at the movie trailer, here you go.
Can the Establishment be Trumped?
In his recent column for The Mint, Takshashila Co-Founder, Narayan Ramachandran, has some incisive commentary to share on the new US President-elect Trump’s cabinet choices: beware their anti-establishment bent.
He writes:
Out of context anti-establishmentarianism can prematurely burden institutions with the risk of degenerating into sycophancy of the party in power.
The tragedy of today’s anti-establishmentarianism is that it’s an ‘anti’ agenda. It is a disruptive force. Instead of creating positive mechanisms for people to be included in renewed prosperity, it simply divides society into ‘us’ and ‘them’ on issues like education, race, immigration and geography.
Setting right the failure of institutions to carry along a large part of a country’s population will require political leadership and action, of course.
But the answers are likely to come from reforms that simplify institutional processes and turns institutions more performance-oriented, rather than simply blowing them up.
Take a closer look at his detailed analysis on the American federal political landscape, by following this link.
Make Space for the NGLV…and Other Good Ideas
What steps could India take to ensure greater strategic autonomy in its foray into outer space? Takshashila’s High-Tech Geopolitics Programme’s Research Analyst, Ashwin Prasad, has some ideas…focused attention on ISRO’s Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), and greater engagement with the private sector to manufacture more reusable, heavy lift rockets.
In his recent Op-Ed for The Hindu, he parses out the considerations around each of these policy actions, including guidance on how to foster an ecosystem that can better serve India’s interests in space.
For a more fulsome read of Ashwin’s analysis, follow this link.
How Should India Navigate High-Tech Geopolitics?
We know you have views on India’s use of technology and we for one, would love to hear them, dear reader.
Follow this link to our high-tech geopolitics survey and don’t be shy with your views on everything ranging from: who should be India's key partner for critical technologies (including defence), how should private companies engage in India’s space sector and what India’s position should be on AI governance.
You have until 31 December 2024, 11:59 PM (IST), to share your opinions, so click away!
What’s the Pulse of the People? India-China Edition
Takshashila’s Indo-Pacific Studies Programme was pleased to share the results of their recent ‘Pulse of the People: State of India-China Relations’ survey report at a launch event held at the Bangalore International Centre last week.
The report launched featured a panel discussion, featuring the following notable interlocutors: Ambassador Latha Reddy, Co-Chairman, Global Commission on Stability in Cyberspace and former Deputy National Security Adviser of India, Narayan Ramachandran, co-founder of Takshashila, and Manoj Kewalramani, Chairperson of our Indo-Pacific Studies Programme.
As also reported in The Hindu, the survey included a notable 54 percent of respondents expressing that the “boundary dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is at the front and center of the current tensions in India-China relations”.
To take a closer look at survey results, follow this link.
A Look at LLMs…
This week’s All Things Policy (ATP) episode focuses on large language models (LLMs), particularly examining the question of why they don’t typically work well with non-English languages. Importantly, how does this play out in the Indian context with 22 officially recognised languages?
Join Research Analyst Adya Madhavan, Assistant Programme Manager Anwesha Sen and Research Analyst Lokendra Sharma as they unpack all this and more at this link.
Takshashila Tabletop Trove: A Holiday Respite!
Our Tabletop Trove section of Dispatch (intended to be a virtual repository of the books that sit at a high-table located in Takshashila’s physical office space in Bengaluru, Karnataka) takes a rest over the holiday season and we return with fresh reads in the new year!
This edition of the Dispatch was written by Kripa Koshy, Programme Manager for Takshashila’s Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy.