Why nations should pursue "soft" power | Shashi Tharoor

Translator: David J. Kreps Finnemann Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

As an Indian, and now as a politician

Som inder, og nu som politiker

and a government minister,

og regeringsminister,

I've become rather concerned about

er jeg blevet bekymret om

the hype we're hearing about our own country,

den hype vi hører om vores eget land,

all this talk about India becoming a world leader,

al denne snak om at Indien bliver en verdens leder,

even the next superpower.

selv den næste supermagt.

In fact, the American publishers of my book,

Faktisk, de amerikanske udgivere af min bog,

"The Elephant, The Tiger and the Cell Phone,"

"Elefanten, Tigeren og mobiltelefonen,"

added a gratuitous subtitle saying,

tilføjede en umotiveret undertitel der hed,

"India: The next 21st-century power."

"Indien: Den næste supermagt i det 21. århundrede."

And I just don't think that's what India's all about,

Og jeg mener ikke at det er det Indien handler om,

or should be all about.

eller bør handle om.

Indeed, what worries me is the entire notion of world leadership

Bestemt, det er bekymrer mig er hele ideen om verdensleder

seems to me terribly archaic.

virker forfærdelig forældet på mig.

It's redolent of James Bond movies

Det er er stærkt i James Bond film

and Kipling ballads.

og Kipling ballader.

After all, what constitutes a world leader?

Når alt kommer til alt, hvad er en verdensleder så?

If it's population, we're on course to top the charts.

Hvis det er befolkning, er vi på vej op af hitlisten.

We will overtake China by 2034.

Vi overhaler Kina i 2034.

Is it military strength? Well, we have the world's fourth largest army.

Hvis det er militær magt? Jamen, vi har verdens fjerdestørste hær.

Is it nuclear capacity? We know we have that.

Er det nuklear kapacitet? Vi ved at vi har det.

The Americans have even recognized it,

Amerikanerne har endda anerkendt det,

in an agreement.

i en overenskomst.

Is it the economy? Well, we have now

Er det økonomi? Jamen, vi har nu

the fifth-largest economy in the world

verdens femtestørste økonomi

in purchasing power parity terms.

i forhold til købekraftsparitet.

And we continue to grow. When the rest of the world took a beating last year,

Og vi fortsætter med at vokse. Da resten af verden havde svær modgang forrige år,

we grew at 6.7 percent.

voksede vi med 6,7 procent.

But, somehow, none of that adds up to me,

Men, på en eller anden måde, giver det ikke mening for mig,

to what I think India really can aim to contribute in the world,

til det jeg mener Indien virkelig kan sigte efter at tilbyde i verden,

in this part of the 21st century.

i denne del af det 21. århundrede.

And so I wondered, could

Så jeg undrede mig over, kunne

what the future beckons for India to be all about

det fremtiden bringer for Indien handle om

be a combination of these things allied to something else,

en kombination af disse ting sammen med noget andet,

the power of example,

magt for eksempel,

the attraction of India's culture,

tiltrækningen af den indiske kultur,

what, in other words, people like to call "soft power."

der, med andre ord, det mennesker gerne kalder 'soft power'.

Soft power is a concept invented by a Harvard academic,

'Soft power' er et koncept der er udviklet af en Harvard forsker,

Joseph Nye, a friend of mine.

Joseph Nye, en af mine venner.

And, very simply, and I'm really cutting it short because of the time limits here,

Og, sagt på en simpel måde, og jeg siger det på en virkelig kort måde på grund af den begrænsede tid,

it's essentially the ability of a country to attract others

handler det dybest set om et lands evne til at tiltrække andre

because of its culture, its political values,

på grund af sin kultur, dets politiske værdier,

its foreign policies.

dets udlandspolitik.

And, you know, lots of countries do this. He was writing initially about the States,

Og, I ved, mange lande gør dette. Han skrev i starten om USA,

but we know the Alliance Francaise

men vi at Alliance Francaise

is all about French soft power, the British Council.

handler udelukkende om fransk 'soft power', det britiske konsulat.

The Beijing Olympics were an exercise in Chinese soft power.

Olympiaden i Beijing var en øvelse i kinesisk 'soft power'.

Americans have the Voice of America and the Fulbright scholarships.

Amerikanere har Voice of America og Fulbright stipendiaterne.

But, the fact is, in fact,

Men, faktum er, faktisk,

that probably Hollywood and MTV and McDonalds

at Hollywood og MTV og McDonalds

have done more for American soft power

har gjort mere for amerikansk 'soft power'

around the world than any specifically government activity.

rundt om i verden end nogen bestemt regeringsaktivitet.

So soft power is something that really emerges

Så 'soft power' er noget der virkelig opstår

partly because of governments,

delvis på grund af regeringer,

but partly despite governments.

men delvis på trods af regeringer.

And in the information era we all live in today,

Og i informations tidsalderen vi alle lever i i dag,

what we might call the TED age,

det vi kunne for TED tidsalderen,

I'd say that countries are increasingly being judged

vil jeg mene at lande i stigende grad bliver bedømmet

by a global public that's been fed

af det globale publikum der er blevet fodret

on an incessant diet of Internet news,

med en konstant kost af internet nyheder,

of televised images,

af fjernsynsbilleder,

of cellphone videos, of email gossip.

af filmklip fra mobiltelefoner, af email sladder.

In other words, all sorts of communication devices

Med andre ord, alle former for kommunikations apparater

are telling us the stories of countries,

fortæller os historier om lande,

whether or not the countries concerned want people to hear those stories.

hvadenten de indblandede lande vil have at mennesker hører disse historier.

Now, in this age, again, countries with access

Men, i denne alder, igen, lande med adgang

to multiple channels of communication

til forskellige kommunikationskanaler

and information have a particular advantage.

og information har en særlig fordel.

And of course they have more influence, sometimes, about how they're seen.

Og selvfølgelig har de mere indflydelse, nogle gange, på hvordan de bliver set.

India has more all-news TV channels

Indien har flere TV kanaler udelukkende med nyheder

than any country in the world,

end noget andet land i verden,

in fact in most of the countries in this part of the world put together.

faktisk, end alle de lande i denne del af verden til sammen.

But, the fact still is that it's not just that.

Men, faktum er stadig at det ikke kun er det.

In order to have soft power, you have to be connected.

For at have 'soft power', skal man være forbundet.

One might argue that India has become

Man kunne argumentere for at Indien er blevet

an astonishingly connected country.

et forbløffende forbundet land.

I think you've already heard the figures.

Jeg tror at I allerede har hørt tallene.

We've been selling 15 million cellphones a month.

Vi har solgt i nærheden af 15 millioner mobiltelefoner om måneden.

Currently there are 509 million cellphones

Der er på nuværende tidspunkt 509 millioner mobiltelefoner

in Indian hands, in India.

i indiske hænder, i Indien.

And that makes us larger than the U.S. as a telephone market.

Og det gør os større end USA, set som mobiltelefonmarked.

In fact, those 15 million cellphones

Faktisk, de 15 millioner mobiltelefoner

are the most connections that any country,

er det højeste antal forbindelser noget land,

including the U.S. and China,

inklusiv USA og Kina,

has ever established in the history of telecommunications.

nogensinde har etableret i telekommunikations historien.

But, what perhaps some of you don't realize

Men, det som nogle af jer måske ikke er klar over

is how far we've come to get there.

er hvor langt vi er kommet for at nå dertil.

You know, when I grew up in India,

I ved, da jeg voksede op i Indien,

telephones were a rarity.

var telefoner en raritet.

In fact, they were so rare that elected members of Parliament

Faktisk, var de så sjældne at valgte medlemmer af parlamentet

had the right to allocate 15 telephone lines

havde retten til at uddele 15 telefonlinjer

as a favor to those they deemed worthy.

som en tjeneste, til dem de mente var værdige.

If you were lucky enough to be a wealthy businessman

Hvis man var heldig nok til at være en rig forretningsmand

or an influential journalist, or a doctor or something, you might have a telephone.

eller en vigtig journalist, eller en læge eller noget, kunne man have en telefon.

But sometimes it just sat there.

Men nogle gange stod den der bare.

I went to high school in Calcutta.

Jeg gik på gymnasiet i Calcutta.

And we would look at this instrument sitting in the front foyer.

Og vi kiggede på dette instrument der står i foyeren.

But half the time we would pick it up

Men halvdelen af tiden ville vi tage røret op

with an expectant look on our faces,

med et forventende udtryk i vores ansigt,

there would be no dial tone.

ville der ikke være nogen klartone.

If there was a dial tone and you dialed a number,

Hvis der var en klartone og man ringede et nummer,

the odds were two in three you wouldn't get the number you were intending to reach.

var chancen to ud af tre for at man ikke fik fat på det nummer man prøvede at få fat på.

In fact the words "wrong number" were more popular than the word "Hello."

Faktisk var ordene "forkert nummer" mere populære end ordet "hallo".

(Laughter)

(Latter)

If you then wanted to connect to another city,

Hvis man så ville forbinde med en anden by,

let's say from Calcutta you wanted to call Delhi,

hvis man for eksempel ville ringe fra Calcutta til Delhi,

you'd have to book something called a trunk call,

skulle man booke noget der hed et trunk call,

and then sit by the phone all day, waiting for it to come through.

og så sidde ved telefonen hele dagen, og vente på at den kom igennem.

Or you could pay eight times the going rate

Eller man kunne betale otte gange det normale gebyr,

for something called a lightning call.

for noget der hed et lynopkald.

But, lightning struck rather slowly in our country in those days,

Men, lynet slog ret langsomt ned i vores land i de dage,

so, it was like about a half an hour for a lightning call to come through.

så, det tog omkring halvanden time for et lynopkald at komme igennem.

In fact, so woeful was our telephone service

Faktisk var vores telefon tjeneste så elendig,

that a Member of Parliament stood up in 1984 and complained about this.

at et medlem af parlamentet rejste sig i 1984 og klagede over dette.

And the Then-Communications Minister replied in a lordly manner

Og den henværend kommunikations minister svarede på en adelig måde

that in a developing country

at i et udviklingsland

communications are a luxury, not a right,

er kommunikation et luksusgode, ikke en rettighed,

that the government had no obligation to provide better service,

som regeringen ikke har nogen forpligtelse til at forbedre servicen på,

and if the honorable Member wasn't satisfied with his telephone,

og hvis det ærede medlem ikke var tilfreds med sin telefon,

could he please return it, since there was an eight-year-long waiting list

ville han venligst returnere den, siden der var en venteliste på otte år

for telephones in India.

for telefoner i Indien.

Now, fast-forward to today and this is what you see:

Spol nu frem til i dag, og dette er hvad man ser:

the 15 million cell phones a month.

de 15 millioner mobiltelefoner om måneden.

But what is most striking is who is carrying those cell phones.

Men det der er mest slående er hvem der bruger disse mobiltelefoner.

You know, if you visit friends in the suburbs of Delhi,

I ved, hvis man besøger venner i forstæderne til Delhi,

on the side streets you will find a fellow with a cart

vil man i sidegaderne finde en fyr med en vogn

that looks like it was designed in the 16th century,

der ser ud til at være designet i det 16. århundrede,

wielding a coal-fired steam iron

der bruger et kulfyret strygejern

that might have been invented in the 18th century.

der kunne have været opfundet i det 18. århundrede.

He's called an isthri wala. But he's carrying a 21st-century instrument.

Han kaldes en isthri wala. Men bærer på et instrument fra det 21. århundrede.

He's carrying a cell phone because most incoming calls are free,

Han bærer på en mobiltelefon fordi de fleste indkommende opkald er gratis,

and that's how he gets orders from the neighborhood,

og det er sådan han får handler fra nabolaget,

to know where to collect clothes to get them ironed.

for at vide hvor han skal indsamle tøj for at stryge det.

The other day I was in Kerala, my home state,

Den anden dag var jeg i Kerala, min hjemstat,

at the country farm of a friend,

på en gård på landet ved en ven,

about 20 kilometers away from any place you'd consider urban.

omkring 20 kilometer fra ethvert sted man ville kalde by.

And it was a hot day and he said, "Hey, would you like some fresh coconut water?"

Og det var en varm dag, og han sagde, "Hey, vil du have noget frisk kokosnød vand?"

And it's the best thing and the most nutritious and refreshing thing you can drink

Og det er den bedste og mest nærende og forfriskende ting man kan drikke

on a hot day in the tropics, so I said sure.

på en varm dag i troperne, så jeg sagde ja da.

And he whipped out his cellphone, dialed the number,

Og han hev sin mobiltelefon frem, ringede et nummer,

and a voice said, "I'm up here."

og en stemme sagde, "Jeg er heroppe."

And right on top of the nearest coconut tree,

Og lige i toppen af det nærmeste kokostræ,

with a hatchet in one hand and a cell phone in the other,

med en økse i den ene hånd og en mobiltelefon i den anden,

was a local toddy tapper,

sad der er en lokal toddy tapper,

who proceeded to bring down the coconuts for us to drink.

der tog nogle kokosnødder med ned til os som vi kunne drikke.

Fishermen are going out to sea and carrying their cell phones.

Fiskere tager ud på havet og tager deres mobiltelefon med.

When they catch the fish they call all the market towns along the coast

Når de fanger fisk ringer de til landsby markederne langs kysten

to find out where they get the best possible prices.

for at finde ud af hvor de får den bedst mulige pris.

Farmers now, who used to have to spend half a day of backbreaking labor

Landmænd nu, der plejede at bruge en halv dag på hårdt arbejde

to find out if the market town was open,

for at finde ud af om landsby markedet er åbent,

if the market was on,

om markedet var åbent,

whether the product they'd harvested could be sold, what price they'd fetch.

om de produkter de høstede kunne sælges, hvilken pris de ville indbringe.

They'd often send an eight year old boy all the way on this trudge

De ville ofte sende en otte årig dreng på hele denne travetur

to the market town to get that information and come back,

til landsby markedet for at få den information og komme tilbage,

then they'd load the cart.

så ville de læse vognen.

Today they're saving half a day's labor with a two minute phone call.

I dag sparer de en halv dags arbejde med et to minutters telefonopkald.

So this empowerment of the underclass

Så disse muligheder for underklassen

is the real result of India being connected.

er det virkelige resultat af at Indien bliver forbundet.

And that transformation is part of where India is heading today.

Og den transformation er en del af hvor Indien er på vej hen i dag.

But, of course that's not the only thing about India that's spreading.

Men, selvfølgelig er det ikke den eneste ting ved Indien der spredes.

You've got Bollywood. My attitude to Bollywood is best summarized

Der er Bollywood. Min attitude til Bollywood kan bedst opsummeres

in the tale of the two goats at a Bollywood garbage dump --

i historien om to geder ved en affaldsplads i Bollywood --

Mr. Shekhar Kapur, forgive me --

tilgiv mig, Mr. Shekhar Kapur --

and they're chewing away on cans of celluloid discarded by a Bollywood studio.

og de tygger i et væk på ruller af celluloid der er kasseret af et Bollywood studie.

And the first goat, chewing away, says, "You know, this film is not bad."

Og den første ged der tygger, siger, "I ved, denne film er ikke dårlig."

And the second goat says, "No, the book was better."

Og den anden ged siger, "Nej, bogen var bedre."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I usually tend to think that the book is usually better,

Jeg synes for det meste at bogen er bedre,

but, having said that,

men, når det er sagt,

the fact is that Bollywood is now

er faktumet at Bollywood nu

taking a certain aspect of Indian-ness and Indian culture around the globe,

bringer et bestemt aspekt af Indien og indisk kultur med rundt i verden,

not just in the Indian diaspora in the U.S. and the U.K.,

ikke kun i de indiske diaspora i USA og England,

but to the screens of Arabs and Africans, of Senegalese and Syrians.

men til de arabiske og afrikanske lærreder, af senegalesiske og syriske.

I've met a young man in New York whose illiterate mother

Jeg har mødt en ung mand i New York hvis analfabetiske mor

in a village in Senegal

i en landsby i Senegal

takes a bus once a month to the capital city of Dakar,

tager en bus en gang om måneden til hovedstaden Dakar,

just to watch a Bollywood movie.

bare for at se en film fra Bollywood.

She can't understand the dialogue.

Hun forstår ikke dialogen.

She's illiterate, so she can't read the French subtitles.

Hun er analfabet, så hun kan ikke læse de franske undertekster.

But these movies are made to be understood despite such handicaps,

Men disse film er lavet til at blive forstået på trods af sådanne handikap,

and she has a great time in the song and the dance and the action.

og hun har en fantastisk tid med sangen og dansen og actionen.

She goes away with stars in her eyes about India, as a result.

Hun tager derfra med stjerner i øjnene om Indien, som et resultat deraf.

And this is happening more and more.

Og dette sker oftere og oftere.

Afghanistan, we know what a serious security problem

Afghanistan, vi ved hvor stort et sikkerhedsproblem

Afghanistan is for so many of us in the world.

Afghanistan er for så mange af os i verden.

India doesn't have a military mission there.

Indien har ikke en militær mission der.

You know what was India's biggest asset in Afghanistan in the last seven years?

Ved I hvad der var det største indiske aktiv i Afghanistan i de syv foregående år?

One simple fact:

Et simpelt faktum:

you couldn't try to call an Afghan at 8:30 in the evening.

man kunne ikke ringe til en afghaner kl.20:30.

Why? Because that was the moment

Hvorfor? Fordi det var øjeblikket

when the Indian television soap opera,

hvor den indiske tv sæbeopera,

"Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi," dubbed into Dari, was telecast on Tolo T.V.

"Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi," der blev eftersynkroniseret til Dari, blev vist på Tolo T.V.

And it was the most popular television show in Afghan history.

Og det var den mest populære tv serie i afgansk historie.

Every Afghan family wanted to watch it.

Hver eneste afghanske familie ville se den.

They had to suspend functions at 8:30.

De skulle sætte alle funktioner i bero kl.20:30.

Weddings were reported to be interrupted

Det blev rapporteret at brylluper blev afbrudt

so guests could cluster around the T.V. set,

så gæster kunne flokkes om tv'et,

and then turn their attention back to the bride and groom.

og derefter vende deres opmærksomhed tilbage til bruden og brudgommen.

Crime went up at 8:30. I have read a Reuters dispatch --

Kriminaliteten steg kl.20.30. Jeg har læst en nyhed fra Reuters --

so this is not Indian propaganda, a British news agency --

så dette er ikke indisk propaganda, et britisk nyhedsbureau --

about how robbers in the town of Musarri Sharif*

om hvordan røvere i byen Musarri Sharif'

stripped a vehicle of its windshield wipers,

skrællede vindueviskerne af en bil,

its hubcaps, its sideview mirrors,

dens hjulkapsler, dens sidespejle,

any moving part they could find, at 8:30,

enhver bevægelig del de kunne finde, kl.20:30,

because the watchmen were busy watching the T.V. rather than minding the store.

fordi vagterne havde travlt med at se tv, i stedet for at holde øje med butikken.

And they scrawled on the windshield in a reference to the show's heroine,

Og de skriblede en reference til udsendelsens afhængighed på forruden,

"Tulsi Zindabad": "Long live Tulsi."

"Tulsi Zindabad": "Længe leve Tulsi."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

That's soft power. And that is what India is developing

Det er 'soft power'. Og det er det Indien udvikler

through the "E" part of TED:

gennem "E"'et i TED:

its own entertainment industry.

dens egen underholdningsindustri.

The same is true, of course -- we don't have time for too many more examples --

Det samme er sandt, selvfølgelig -- vi har ikke tid til flere eksempler --

but it's true of our music, of our dance,

men det er sandt om vores musik, om vores dans,

of our art, yoga, ayurveda, even Indian cuisine.

om vores kunst, yoga, ayurveda, selv det indiske køkken.

I mean, the proliferation of Indian restaurants

Jeg mener, at den hastige vækst af indiske restauranter

since I first went abroad as a student, in the mid '70s,

siden jeg først tog til udlandet som studerende, i midten af 70'erne,

and what I see today, you can't go to a mid-size town in Europe or North America

og det jeg ser i dag, man kan ikke gå ind i en mellem størrelse by i Europa eller Nordamerika

and not find an Indian restaurant. It may not be a very good one.

og ikke finde en indisk restaurant. Det kan godt være det ikke er en særlig god en.

But, today in Britain, for example,

Men, i dag i England, for eksempel,

Indian restaurants in Britain

indiske restauranter i England

employ more people than the coal mining,

ansætter flere mennesker end kulmine,

ship building and iron and steel industries combined.

skibsbyggeri og jern- og stålindustrien til sammen.

So the empire can strike back.

Så emperiet kan slå igen.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

But, with this increasing awareness of India,

Men, med denne øgede bevidsthed om Indien,

with yoga and ayurveda, and so on,

med dig og mig, og så videre,

with tales like Afghanistan,

med fortællinger som Afghanistan,

comes something vital in the information era,

kommer noget vitalt i informationsæraen,

the sense that in today's world

nemlig følelsen om at nutidens verden

it's not the side of the bigger army that wins,

ikke er den det sted hvor den større hær vinder,

it's the country that tells a better story that prevails.

det er landet der fortæller en bedre fortælling der overlever.

And India is, and must remain, in my view, the land of the better story.

Og Indien er, og skal vedblive, fra mit synspunkt, det land med den bedste fortælling.

Stereotypes are changing. I mean, again, having gone to the U.S.

Stereotyper ændrer sig. Jeg mener, igen, at være taget til USA

as a student in the mid '70s,

som studerende i midten af 70'erne,

I knew what the image of India was then, if there was an image at all.

vidste jeg hvad synet på Indien var dengang, hvis der overhovedet var et syn.

Today, people in Silicon Valley and elsewhere

I dag, mennesker i Silicon Valley og andre steder

speak of the IITs, the Indian Institutes of Technology

taler om IIT'erne, Indian Institutes of Technology

with the same reverence they used to accord to MIT.

med den samme ærefrygt som de plejede at vise MIT.

This can sometimes have unintended consequences. OK.

Dette kan nogengange have utilsigtede følger. OK.

I had a friend, a history major like me,

Jeg havde en ven, med hovedfag i historie som jeg,

who was accosted at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam,

der blev tiltalt i Schiphol Airport i Amsterdam,

by an anxiously perspiring European saying,

af en nervøs, svedig europæer der sagde,

"You're Indian, you're Indian! Can you help me fix my laptop?"

"Du er inder, du er inder! Kan du hjælpe mig med at fikse min bærbare?"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

We've gone from the image of India as

Vi er gået fra imaget om Indien som

land of fakirs lying on beds of nails,

et land af fakirer der ligger på en seng af søm,

and snake charmers with the Indian rope trick,

og slangetæmmere med det indiske reb trick,

to the image of India as a land of mathematical geniuses,

til imaget om Indien som et land fyldt med matematiske genier,

computer wizards, software gurus.

computergenier, softwareguruer.

But that too is transforming the Indian story around the world.

Men det ændrer også den indiske fortælling rundt om i verden.

But, there is something more substantive to that.

Men, der er noget mere væsentlig i det.

The story rests on a fundamental platform

Fortællingen bygger på den fundamentale platform

of political pluralism.

om politisk mangfoldighed.

It's a civilizational story to begin with.

Det er for det første en civiliseringsfortælling.

Because India has been an open society for millennia.

Fordi Indien har været et åbent samfund i årtusinde.

India gave refuge to the Jews, fleeing the destruction of the first temple

Indien skjulte jøder der flygtede fra ødelæggelsen af det første tempel

by the Babylonians, and said thereafter by the Romans.

af babylonierne, derefter af romerne.

In fact, legend has is that when Doubting Thomas, the Apostle, Saint Thomas,

Faktisk, legenden fortæller at da Doubting Thomas, apostlen, Saint Thomas,

landed on the shores of Kerala, my home state,

ankom til Keralas kyst, min hjemstat,

somewhere around 52 A.D.,

cirka i 52 e.Kr.,

he was welcomed on shore by a flute-playing Jewish girl.

blev han hilst velkommen af en fløjtespillende jødisk pige.

And to this day remains the only Jewish diaspora

Og er til den dag i dag den eneste jødiske diaspora

in the history of the Jewish people, which has never encountered

i det jødiske folks historie, som aldrig har mødt

a single incident of anti-semitism.

et eneste tilfælde af antisemitisme.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

That's the Indian story.

Det er den indiske fortælling.

Islam came peacefully to the south,

Islam blev fredfyldt i syden,

slightly more differently complicated history in the north.

en anelse anderledes kompliceret historie i norden.

But all of these religions have found a place and a welcome home in India.

Man alle disse religioner har fundet et sted og et velkomment hjem i Indien.

You know, we just celebrated, this year, our general elections,

I ved, vi har lige fejret, dette år, vores valg

the biggest exercise in democratic franchise in human history.

den største udøvelse i demokratisk franchise i den menneskelige historie.

And the next one will be even bigger, because our voting population

Og den næste bliver endnu større, fordi vores stemmeberettigede befolkning

keeps growing by 20 million a year.

vokser med 20 millioner om året.

But, the fact is

Men, faktum er

that the last elections, five years ago,

at det forrige valg, for fem år siden,

gave the world extraordinary phenomenon

gav verden et ekstraordinært fænomen

of an election being won by a woman political leader

om et valg der blev vundet af en kvindelig politisk leder

of Italian origin and Roman Catholic faith, Sonia Gandhi,

af italiensk afkomst og katolsk tro, Sonia Gandhi,

who then made way for a Sikh, Mohan Singh,

der gjorde plads til en Sikh, Mohan Singh,

to be sworn in as Prime Minister

der blev taget i ed som premierminister

by a Muslim, President Abdul Kalam,

af en muslim, president Abdul Kalam,

in a country 81 percent Hindu.

i et land med 81 procent hinduer.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

This is India, and of course it's all the more striking

Dette er Indien, og det er selvfølgelig endnu mere slående

because it was four years later that we all applauded

fordi det var fire år senere at vi alle klappede

the U.S., the oldest democracy in the modern world,

af USA, det ældste demokrati i den moderne verden,

more than 220 years of free and fair elections,

mere end 220 år med frie og fair valg,

which took till last year to elect a president or a vice president

hvor det varede indtil forrige år at vælge en president eller en vicepræsident

who wasn't white, male or Christian.

der ikke var hvid, mand eller kristen.

So, maybe -- oh sorry, he is Christian, I beg your pardon --

Så måske -- åh undskyld, han er kristen, det må I undskylde --

and he is male, but he isn't white.

og han er en mand, men han er ikke hvid.

All the others have been all those three.

Alle de andre andre har været alle tre dele.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

All his predecessors have been all those three,

Alle hans forgængere har været alle tre,

and that's the point I was trying to make.

og det er det jeg prøver at pointere.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But, the issue is

Men, problemet er

that when I talked about that example,

at da jeg talte om det eksempel,

it's not just about talking about India, it's not propaganda.

er det ikke kun snak om Indien, det er ikke propaganda.

Because ultimately, that electoral outcome

Fordi i sidste ende, det valgmæssige resultat

had nothing to do with the rest of the world.

havde ikke noget at gøre med resten af verden.

It was essentially India being itself.

Det var dybest set Indien der var sig selv.

And ultimately, it seems to me,

Og i sidste ende, lader det til for mig,

that always works better than propaganda.

at det altid fungerer bedre end propaganda.

Governments aren't very good at telling stories.

Regeringer er ikke særlig god til at fortælle fortællinger.

But people see a society for what it is,

Men mennesker ser et samfund for hvad det er,

and that, it seems to me, is what ultimately

og det, virker det til for mig, er det der i sidste ende

will make a difference in today's information era,

vil gøre en forskel i nutidens informations æra,

in today's TED age.

i nutidens TED alder.

So India now is no longer

Så Indien er nu ikke længere

the nationalism of ethnicity or language or religion,

nationalismen af etnicitet eller sprog eller religion,

because we have every ethnicity known to mankind, practically,

fordi vi har hver etnicitet kendt i menneskeheden, mere eller mindre,

we've every religion know to mankind,

vi har alle religioner kendt i menneskeheden,

with the possible exception of Shintoism,

men den mulige undtagelse af Shintoisme,

though that has some Hindu elements somewhere.

selvom det har nogle hinduistiske elementer et sted.

We have 23 official languages that are recognized in our Constitution.

Vi har 23 officielle sprog der er vedtaget i vores forfatning.

And those of you who cashed your money here

Og de af jer der har indløst jeres penge her

might be surprised to see how many scripts there are

er måske overraskede over at se hvor mange skrifttegn der er

on the rupee note, spelling out the denominations.

på en rupee pengeseddel, der udpensler værdibetegnelsen.

We've got all of that.

Vi har alt det.

We don't even have geography uniting us,

Vi har ikke engang geografien der forener os,

because the natural geography of the subcontinent

fordi den naturlige geografi af subkontinenterne

framed by the mountains and the sea was hacked

indrammet af bjergene og udhugget af havet

by the partition with Pakistan in 1947.

af delingen med Pakistan i 1947.

In fact, you can't even take the name of the country for granted,

Faktisk, kan man ikke engang tage landets navn for givet,

because the name "India" comes from the river Indus,

fordi navnet "India" kommer fra floden Indus,

which flows in Pakistan.

der flyder i Pakistan.

But, the whole point is that India

Men, hele pointen er at Indien

is the nationalism of an idea.

er hele nationalfølelsen af en ide.

It's the idea of an ever-ever-land,

Det er ideen om et eventyrland,

emerging from an ancient civilization,

der opstår fra en gammel civilisation,

united by a shared history,

forenet af en fælles historie,

but sustained, above all, by pluralist democracy.

men bevaret, frem for alt, af flertalsdemokrati.

That is a 21st-century story as well as an ancient one.

Det er en 21. århundredes fortælling lige så vel som en gammel en.

And it's the nationalism of an idea that

Og det er nationalfølelsen om en ide der

essentially says you can endure differences of caste, creed,

dybest set siger at man kan tåle kasteforskelle, tro,

color, culture, cuisine, custom and costume, consonant, for that matter,

farve, kultur, køkken, kutyme og kostume, medlyd, for den sags skyld,

and still rally around a consensus.

og stadig samle sig om en konsensus.

And the consensus is of a very simple principle,

Og konsensus er om et meget simpelt princip,

that in a diverse plural democracy like India

der i et mangfoldigt flertalsdemokrati som Indien

you don't really have to agree on everything all the time,

behøver man i virkeligheden ikke at enes om alt altid,

so long as you agree on the ground rules

bare man er enig om grundprincipperne

of how you will disagree.

om hvordan man vil være uenig.

The great success story of India,

Den store succes fortælling om Indien,

a country that so many learned scholars and journalists

et land som så mange lærde og journalister

assumed would disintegrate, in the '50s and '60s,

antog ville gå i opløsning, i 50'erne og 60'erne,

is that it managed to maintain consensus on how to survive without consensus.

er at den har kunnet fastholde konsensus om hvordan man overlever uden konsensus.

Now, that is the India that is emerging into the 21st century.

Det er det Indien der bryder frem fra det 21. århundrede.

And I do want to make the point

Og jeg vil gerne påpege

that if there is anything worth celebrating about India,

at hvis der er noget der er værd at feje om Indien,

it isn't military muscle, economic power.

så er det ikke militære muskler, økonomisk magt.

All of that is necessary,

Det er alt sammen nødvendigt,

but we still have huge amounts of problems to overcome.

men vi har stadig enorme mængder af problemer vi skal overvinde.

Somebody said we are super poor, and we are also super power.

Nogen sagde at vi er super fattige, og vi er også super magt.

We can't really be both of those.

Vi kan ikke rigtig være begge dele.

We have to overcome our poverty. We have to deal with the

Vi skal overvinde vores fattigdom. Vi skal håndtere

hardware of development,

hardwaren i udvikling,

the ports, the roads, the airports,

havnene, vejene, lufthavene,

all the infrastructural things we need to do,

alle de infrastrukturelle ting vi skal gøre,

and the software of development,

og softwareudviklingen,

the human capital, the need for the ordinary person in India

den menneskelige kapital, nødvendigheden for at det almindelige menneske i Indien

to be able to have a couple of square meals a day,

er i stand til at få et par gode måltider om dagen,

to be able to send his or her children

at være i stand til at sende hans eller hendes børn

to a decent school,

i en anstændig skole,

and to aspire to work a job

og at stræbe efter at arbejde i et job

that will give them opportunities in their lives

der vil give dem muligheder i deres liv

that can transform themselves.

der kan transformere dem.

But, it's all taking place, this great adventure of conquering those challenges,

Men, det sker alt sammen, dette store eventyr om at overvinde disse udfordringer,

those real challenges which none of us can pretend don't exist.

de virkelige udfordringer som ingen af os kan lade som om ikke eksisterer.

But, it's all taking place in an open society,

Men, det sker alt sammen i et åbent samfund,

in a rich and diverse and plural civilization,

i et rigt og mangfoldigt og pluralt samfund,

in one that is determined to liberate and fulfill

i et der er stålsat på at befri og opfylde

the creative energies of its people.

de kreative energier af dets folk.

That's why India belongs at TED,

Det er derfor Indien hører til ved TED,

and that's why TED belongs in India.

og det er derfor TED hører til i Indien.

Thank you very much.

Mange tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)