Nayan Chanda’s new book has already made it to the bestseller list and excited comment from such notables as Strobe Talbot, Thomas L Friedman and Joseph Stiglitz; worldwide reflection of the very processes dealt with in the book, one might say.

Tell us about ‘Bound Together’. How did the idea germinate?

The idea came in the late 90s when I was editor of the The Far Eastern Review. We began to think about some special issues in the last Millennium. How did Asia look then? How much has it changed? I started doing some reading, talked to historians (and found out) what we know as Asia today was not Asia then.

The character of Asian culture grew by interactions with other cultures. In other words our culture was not grown locally. There are many instances to support this view.

For instance, Buddhism was born in India and spread to East Asian countries attracting millions of converts, who adopted not only the faith but also other aspects of our culture. Asia’s tallest Buddhist temple at the beginning of the first Millennium was the Borobudur Temple in Java. This was built by Indonesians who were converted to Buddhism nearly 2000 years ago.

In another example chilli was brought to India by Portuguese traders from Mexico. In the same way, pineapple, peanuts, even the potato— items that constitute our regular food— came from elsewhere to this country. These realisations led me to look at globalisation in a different way. It is much more than McDonalds, Nike or the Internet.

It has deeper roots and a longer past. The term globalisation was coined only as recently as 1961, although the process has been going on for centuries.

What is globalisation as dealt with by ‘Bound Together’?

Globalisation is the growing interconnectedness between human communities resulting in increasing interdependence and global awareness. It is mostly about connections. Connections have to be made by people. Who were these people? There are four categories of people who were the main players in globalisation:

The traders — who were motivated by profit. The preachers— who were motivated to spread the word of God, the warriors— who were motivated by their desire to control and create empires, and the adventurers— who were curious to find out what was on the other side of the hill, river, mountain etc.

Who are the drivers of globalisation today?

Today instead of the preachers we have human rights organisations. Instead of the adventurers we have tourists who carry goods and ideas to various places. Instead of the warriors we have the US Army which has bases all over the world and instead of traders on camel back, today we have 63,000 multinationals who use containers and electronic transfers to do business.

The ‘Out of Africa’ theory suggests that primitive man travelled thousands of miles to populate all corners of the globe from one geographical area. When did the process of globalisation begin?

I like to call this the ‘First Globalisation’ of the human species. The lack of evidence does not allow us to answer with certainty why our ancestors left Africa. When a small group took the momentous decision of crossing the Red Sea into the Southern Arabian Coast, the whole world was open to them.

Ten thousand years ago the human race had reached almost every continent except Antarctica. They started out as hunter-gatherers and so they were constantly moving at this point.

The end of the ice age began by 10,000 BCE and the melting of the ice sheets was followed by the rise of agriculture and the emergence of settled communities. The basic motivators that propelled humans to connect with each other had been assembled by 6000 BCE to start the process we now call globalistaion.

Is globalisation leading to a more equal world or a more unequal world?

It is doing both. Globalisation, in the sense of greater connectivity and greater trading, leads to prosperity. In China, 400 million people have been brought out of the level of poverty to lead middle-class lives. In India, 10 million people join the ranks of the middle class every year.

Globalisation has led to an increase in prosperity and productivity but it has also led to other things— the difference between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ has become greater. This is something I have dealt with in detail in the section, ‘Winners and Losers in full View’, pg 299.

Your comment on global terrorism?

Global terrorism is mostly the result of acts by some in the ‘preacher group’. Their faith calls for eliminating infidels.

So ‘connectedness’ is not all good?

In the past, connection has also brought conflict. The first instance of a violent political movement with long-distance inspiration occurred in the 19th century when three Sumatran Hajis returned from Mecca profoundly influenced by the Wahhabi movement.

They launched a jihad against the Indonesian brand of Islam which was less purist. The jihad led to a savage war in the 1830s. This has happened again and again in history and what is happening now is just a re-enactment of the past, the difference being that due to communication and technological advancements, those who are hardlined, have greater means to wreak war today.

What is the opposite of globalisation?

The opposite would be autarchy, isolation and self-reliance. An example in today’s world is North Korea, which has very strict control of its borders and very little foreign trade.

Where is globalisation headed?

The process of interconnectedness is hard to stop because desire is driving the process. There is no company or country in charge of globalisation. What can be done is to ensure that gaps are reduced as far as possible.

What would you say is the role of language in globalisation?

Language that is associated with trading becomes more important from the point of view of globalisation. In the past traders often knew a bit of Arabic and Farsic. While dealing with South Indians, they spoke Tamil or Malayalam.

The languages that were used by traders became more prominent and since the British Empire was the biggest in recent times, English has emerged as an international language today.

However nothing is permanent. If China’s growth continues, a lot more people will start learning it and Chinese may well be the international language of tomorrow!