‘India will never have a revolution. China will need one every two-three centuries, their society is hierarchical, has one core centre. India is diverse’

•Welcome to Walk the Talk. My guest this week is one of the most youthful diplomats you’ve seen — a foreign minister representing a very tiny country, one of the smallest in the world, yet somebody who carries a big, heavy voice not just in Asia but all over the world, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yong-Boon Yeo.

•Sometimes I wonder that you know more about Indian politics than many of us do. Do you have an India fascination?

Yes. I first came to India in 1986 to attend a friend’s wedding deep in the south. That was my first encounter with India. While traveling to Madras, I remember joining the queue. Indian passengers had all kinds of gadgets from Singapore. And they had to clear Customs methodically, and the officer was punctilious. He checked every item and would go over them with green ink. That was the Indian bureaucratic entry point. I was quite impressed.

•My favourite humourist, P.G. O’Rourke, came to India when India tested its nukes the second time. He said, “We Americans have nothing to worry about India’s nuclear weapons. Because before India launches a nuclear missile on us, 30 Customs officers will tear it apart and examine every part for exportability.”

I think Indians have this wonderful, almost charming ability to laugh at themselves. That says a lot for you.

•Where would we go if we didn’t?

The Indian bureaucracy has changed a lot since then. Of course, you’ve got a long way to go. But it’s much better than what it was in the past.

•One of the things that you’ve said is that Singapore was governed from Calcutta. The same bureaucracy, the same British system set up the two, isn’t it?

Well, we’re much smaller. Our margins for survival are much narrower. We had to take a more practical approach. And adopt...