Noted policy analyst and former Prime Minister’s media adviser Sanjaya Baru delivering a lecture on “Rising India in a Rising Asia” at the 15th Memorial Lecture, in Vijayawada on Monday.
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. GIRI
Noted policy analyst and former Prime Minister’s media adviser Sanjaya Baru has called upon India to adopt a stronger “Look East” approach, urging policymakers to learn from the economic successes of East and Southeast Asian nations rather than relying excessively on Western models.
He was delivering a lecture on “Rising India in a Rising Asia” at the 15th Memorial Lecture organised by the Kanakadurgamba and Jandhyala Dakshina Murthy Family Charitable Trust here on Monday (February 23, 2026).
Mr. Sanjay Baru emphasised the importance of strengthening ties not only with immediate neighbours such as Nepal and Sri Lanka, but also with major Asian economies including China, Indonesia, South Korea, and Singapore.
India, he said, must draw three key lessons from the East — sustained investment in education, promotion of labour-intensive manufacturing industries, and continuous efforts to improve relations with neighbouring countries. It would help India in becoming global leader.
Mr. Sanjay Baru observed that valuable lessons are not limited to developed East Asian economies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Developing economies like Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, along with China, also offer important insights into rapid industrialisation and export-led growth.
“I would always encourage Indians to look East — to travel to China, observe and learn from societies that have successfully combined state policy, industrial growth, and global integration,” he said.
Calling for a shift in perceptions regarding China, Mr. Sanjay Baru urged policymakers and the public to see China not merely as a suspect neighbour but as a rising modern economy. At the same time, he stressed that attitudes in China must also evolve, recognising India as a partner in Asia’s resurgence rather than as a strategic adversary.
He pointed out that in 1700, India and China each contributed about 25 per cent to the global economy. As recently as 1980, the GDPs of the two countries were comparable. However, China subsequently surged ahead, and its economy is now nearly five times larger than India’s. While noting that China’s growth has recently slowed, Mr. Baru said this presents an opportunity for India to accelerate reforms and improve its economic performance.
Warning that continued rivalry between the two Asian giants would only reinforce Western dominance in global institutions and rule-making frameworks, he said Asia’s rise depends significantly on cooperative engagement between India and China. “The West will continue to dominate the world if China and India continue to spar,” he observed, adding that the long-standing border dispute is not insurmountable and can be resolved with sufficient political will and confidence on both sides.
Trust President Jandhyala Shankar, Dr. Chadalavada Nageswara Rao, K. Durga Prasad of Westin College and others were present.
Published – February 23, 2026 11:28 pm IST
