Opinion
Vietnam: A lesson in resilience for India to emulate
Summary
- Smaller than Rajasthan, Vietnam has dazzled all with its economic progress.
It’s impossible for any visitor to the war museum at Ho Chi Minh City to not be thrilled by the experience. The Vietnamese have aesthetically preserved the memories of their civil war and the drubbing they gave France and the US. They not only share these immortal stories of human dignity and the spirit of freedom with others but have internalized them as their code of honour.
This is the surest way to ensure permanent freedom from slavery.
I saw a large number of locals at the museum. Young parents had brought their children there, and the old accompanied their grandchildren to familiarize them with the unique history of the war.
The elders read the descriptions before the exhibits and told the young ones what they were. I have seldom witnessed such a phenomenon on any of my foreign trips.
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Four days spent in Vietnam reminded me of Howard Fast’s My Glorious Brothers. We were slaves of the Egyptians a thousand years ago—that was on the lips of every Jew who lived in the Jewish nation established before the advent of Christ.
Being aware of your subjugation is the surest way to never be in that position ever again.
Israel follows the dictum till today. Vietnam has embraced it in a more sophisticated way. It’s not fighting wars with its neighbours like Israel. Her relations with China have improved, too.
This is the reason the nation, smaller than the Indian state of Rajasthan, has dazzled everyone by its economic progress. After a long spell of wars and the civil war, Vietnam finally managed to come into its own in 1976. But the next 25 years were spent nursing the deep wounds left by decades of violence.
It’s only in the 21st century that it gathered economic steam. In less than 24 years, 99% of its households have electricity. Load shedding is unheard of and potholes don’t break your back on the roads. Fifty percent of the population has access to clean drinking water, and close to 87% of Vietnamese have access to the national health insurance scheme.
The World Bank in a 2022 report said just 4.2% of Vietnam’s population was living below the poverty line.
It’s no surprise that a country with a population of just 100 million has an economy that has crossed the $1.35 trillion mark in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. The World Bank has projected an economic growth rate of 6% for Vietnam this year and even higher for the next year. That’s why Vietnam attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) of $14.15 billion in the first eight months of this financial year.
India is far bigger than Vietnam in terms of size, population and economy, but this year we received less FDI compared with the year before.
We shouldn’t be alarmed but should remain alert. Vietnam is a member of the 10-nation grouping Asean. The progress Asean nations have made in the past 30 years is worth acknowledging.
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Western nations, which profess their commitment to democracy, find themselves at ease in Vietnam’s political atmosphere.
Most Asean nations prefer economic progress over democratic values. Vietnam has a single-party rule. Communists rule in Vietnam as they do in China. People have the freedom to talk but they shy away from openly talking about their country’s political issues. Like in Moscow and Beijing, citizens in Vietnam feel they are under constant surveillance.
I wouldn’t have noticed it had I not engaged with a young man in Saigon Mall, an upscale shopping complex, enquiring if he considered himself a comrade.
He looked around and in a hushed tone said—we are “red capitalists". I probed him further. He replied—on the surface our leaders are socialists, but in their hearts, they are capitalists.
He wasn’t wrong. The stores in the mall were packed with uber luxury items. Even in Delhi-NCR, you won’t find many malls with so many luxury stores. As they say, there’s darkness behind every glitter. To a keen observer, Vietnam betrays its dark side. The youth are turning away from marriage.
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A 28-year-old man told me he couldn’t muster the courage to marry. “The cost of living is so high, how will we raise kids?" He isn’t wrong. This is the first country where I saw a currency note for 500,000 dong. Its value is close to ₹2,000.
Vietnam is dealing with her own maladies. But India can, nonetheless, take inspiration from Vietnam’s giant leap forward.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.
