China conquered the world through factories. They copied the American model of mass slavery disguised as democracy, large cities identical to each other without a soul, created a mentally sick population and led the world in environmental degradation and catalysing climate change.
America could take it because of a low population to land ratio. China could not. The country is on the verge of civil unrest, government is monitoring each individual to curb that unrest, the humongous factories churning out disposable goods have an unending appetite for raw materials and commodities. To meet this, jail prisoners are being exported as labour to places like Africa. The Chinese sovereign fund is now the largest owner of livestock farms in the world and has hidden control over Indian areas like Sri Lanka and economic interests in Pakistan occupied India.
This is a hard development model. India may have the same population as China but it has one third the land area. One third of China is Sanskrit origin Tibet which has been denied independence to become the worlds largest Buddhist country.
The American model of development is not good for the world. In fact it is not even good for themselves. American democracy has produced a war mongering nation. A country of mentally sick people whose livelihoods will soon be destroyed by ai.
For four decades, China perfected manufacturing. We have nothing to gain from exporting iPhones. We need to develop our own smartphone hardware, software and apps. It was stupid of the Tatas to risk their own survival by being a petty contract manufacturer to a large company. But other than a few such serious lapses of judgement, India chose a different path.
We exported software, pharmaceuticals and talent. Millions of Indians built global companies, but very few Indian consumer brands became household names outside the diaspora. Vana wellness resort in Dehradun was one exception.
That is why Haldiram’s arrival in London’s Leicester Square is far bigger than the opening of another restaurant. It is an experiment in soft power.
Food is one of the few products people don’t just consume—they adopt. Pizza made Italy global. Sushi reshaped perceptions of Japan. If Haldiram’s succeeds at scale, It will be exporting Indian identity.
Soft power creates demand that factories alone cannot. People who fall in love with a country’s food, culture and lifestyle eventually buy its products, visit its cities, study at its universities and invest in its companies.
China built the world’s factory.
India has the opportunity to build the world’s kitchen. The worlds wellness centres. The worlds spiritual universities.
In the age of AI, when manufacturing is increasingly automated, culture may become the ultimate competitive advantage.
The opening of a Haldiram’s in London may seem insignificant today. History often begins with something that looks exactly like that.