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Dave Keating
@davekeating.substack.com

When talking of a federal EU, people often use the "United States of Europe" comparison. But this is looking in the wrong direction. A better comparison, and inspiration, would be the multilingual, multiethnic and multiconfessional union of India. My piece:

davekeating.substack.comEurope should draw inspiration from the Indian unionThe subcontinent was also once split into small states speaking different languages, but the Indian union has brought great success. As the EU and India strike a trade deal, there are wider lessons.

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Marsanges
@marsanges.bsky.social

>>When independence came in 1947, Indian leaders faced a stark choice: fragment along linguistic, religious, or princely lines, or preserve the inherited union structure.<< same in 1960s in Africa. Colonial French West Africa was a single unity - a unity now no longer in reach. An anti-example.

𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚖𝚕𝚎𝚛
@rennsemmler.eurosky.social

Seems true, even with newer data: »… the 2019 survey data shows: 12% of urban respondents could speak English. 41% of respondents with a good financial standing spoke English. In comparison, only 3% of rural respondents stated they spoke English. Only 2% of Indians who are poor can speak English.«

thehistoryofenglish.comHow Many People in India Speak English [2026 Data]India’s total English-speaking population is second only to that of the U.S., where a little over 300 million people speak the language.
Dave Keating
@davekeating.substack.com

I spoke about EU federalism, and how the story of India provides a valuable lesson to Europe on the choice between unity or vulnerable irrelevance, during my keynote address at the EESC summit in Bulgaria earlier this month.