Amitav Acharya

So that's a very good question.

And certainly under the current ruling party or BJP, Modi's party, the BJP's ideology is based on Hindu nationalism, Hindu thought.

But I think you can say that some of the policies, domestic policies of India has moved in that direction.

And it is creating a lot of concern among the Muslims, among the secular forces in India, which is still very substantial.

And at the same time, the civilizational narrative you're talking about, that India is one of the great civilizations.

There's a big debate in India about whether Indian civilization was born in India and

went overseas, influenced the whole world, or whether Indian civilization actually is kind of a hybrid.

There was a pre-existing civilization in Indus Valley, and then we had migration from the Pontic steppes to Central Asia, Persia, and it's kind of become a hybrid civilization.

That's the view I take.

But that's not the view of some of the key members of the ruling elite, ruling party in India.

And that creates aggravation and fear among the neighbors, but also within India among the secular forces, which are still quite substantial.

By the way, don't forget that Modi had one of the biggest rallies right next door, Madison Square Gardens.

So I think generally Modi has used that as a foreign policy tool.

I mean, partly it's genuine, but partly also it's a significant foreign policy asset.

So how about the American perception of India?

First of all, Americans don't know much about India.

I'm sorry to say this, but it's not.

So India doesn't strike American imagination the way the Chinese do.

And also in some ways, actually, the Soviet Union did because it was a threat for a different reason.

Yeah.