West German and American Modernization Policies in India, 1945 - 1980 Print

Dr. Corinna R. Unger

Corinna Unger's research project deals with West German and American efforts to "modernize" and "develop" India in the wake of decolonization and the Cold War. She is especially interested in the challenges that arose in trying to reconcile theory and practice and from conflicts between indigenous and external ideas about the best means of modernization. The factors that determined each party’s position on
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Adivasi women carrying construction materials, Rourkela, ca. 1960, J. B. Sperling.
modernization were multifaceted: Strategic, economic, cultural, academic, institutional, and personal interests had an influence on the formulation of modernization strategies. Although the Cold War spurred a general ideological consensus within the Western alliance, the development policies of the Western nations were shaped in large part by particular national interests, concerns, and traditions. The FRG, in returning to the international scene, regarded American proponents of modernization active in India as competitors and criticized the US development approach. Thus development programs quickly became a stage on which debates about fundamental issues of Western life were played out. From the Indian perspective, however, national self-representation by donor nations mattered less than actual aid from abroad. Western observers feared that this pragmatic attitude toward foreign aid and expertise made India vulnerable to Soviet influence, which, in turn, presented a danger to the Cold War's fragile equilibrium. Persuading India, the leading force within the Non-Aligned Movement, to follow the Western path to modernity was therefore of immense symbolic and geopolitical importance. To understand the complex issues at stake, Corinna Unger focuses on three case studies: an agrarian reform project, an industrialization project, and an urban planning project. Together, these projects mirror the Western and Indian efforts to create an environment that would allow Indians to become "modern" men within record time.