#ParisClimateConference: India

From what I heard on NPR last night, reinforced by stories like this and this, India wants to have its cake and eat it too on climate change.

Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi says that Indian should be lumped more with sub-Saharan Africa than China on climate regulations. As part of this, he notes that fair chunks of India aren't even electrified.

But, once the Paris talks are done, just watch and wait.

Soon enough, Modi will bitch that India's not drawing nearly as much foreign investment as China, even though it should be treated just like China, or words to the similar.

It's an issue over which India has grown increasingly schizophrenic in the last decade or so, in my opinion, and is only likely to become more so. It has a "tar baby" relationship with China, and even more with the corporate West's relationship with China.

Meanwhile, even including the Potemkin Village aspects of China's economy, India continues to do worse. The infrastructure is worse. The graft and other corruption, because it's petty, diffuse, and multilayered, is worse than China's strongarm shakedowns.

And, the BJP's idea, even if not directly espoused by Modi, of trying to win, or rather, "win," a population growth war with China is simply nuts.

If ANYTHING in the developing world is anti-climate change, it's unchecked birthrates.

And, tragically, and stubbornly, for all his pronouncements about climate change, Francis the Talking Pope won't do anything about stopping papal and Vatican opposition to birth control.

Congress Party wins India elections

And reportedly has increased its parliamentary plurality to close to a majority.

All good news.

Given that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence seems to have some degree of connection to the Mumbai attacks of a few months, if India’s Bharatiya Janata Party Hindu nationalist party had gained a plurality, the international situation probably would have tensed up more.

And, just 11 votes short of an outright majority, Congress, while it will need some coalition with minor parties, won’t need to do so with Communists, meaning it can go ahead with any plans for further economic reform. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already started some such efforts.

Mumbai blasts could affect India elections

India has national elections coming down the road, and, per Newsweek, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the so-called Hindu nationalist party, could be looking to return to power, over how Congress has handled the Mumbai pre- and post-attack situation.

For more on the BJP and its coalition allies, see Wiki.

You think India has been pointing fingers at Pakistan now? Wait until a party change.