Every patriotic Indian dreams of it - a day when India will count in the world fora as a mighty superpower that has made it big on all fronts. We also understand that despite all our progress, there are problems, and this article is an attempt to understand the same.
First, what do we mean by a super-power?
THE FRAMEWORK -
Concept 1. To me, a nation that claims super-power status in the modern urban technological era must have (a) a top-notch economic output, (b) excellent living standards for the average citizens (not just names in the Forbes Richest tally), (c) a strong defense mechanism powered by local R&D, (d) strong national identity and culture (including native languages), and (e) an ability to project power globally, and peacefully (otherwise you're a bully).
That means we have work on Hard Power as well as Soft Power (in which we are very strong historically).
That means we have work on Hard Power as well as Soft Power (in which we are very strong historically).
Concept 2. The idea of a "nation-state" is a recent one, barely 500 years old. We had cultures, or empires, or civilisational societies before that.
Concept 3. Super-powers too can have their lows, defeats, down-times.
So, if I begin from 1 AD (the beginning of so-called modern history timeline), India rocked for the first 1700 years. Dr Angus Maddison proved it with facts (this is a good, neutral, third-party proof).
Hey, that's our India, right at the top!
Now, back to 21st century. As an honest patriotic Indian, I find we are in quite a miserable situation. Let's see how.
