India as a Superpower nation.......Dream v/s Reality

We have all heard about our glorious past of our country as we refer that as “Golden Bird”. Our country was the largest exporter of goods, spices and other trades. Our country used to call as “The perfect land of anything for everyone”. We were the home of the finest civilisation of Indus valley, major religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, etc. This was the place where Chanakya created the economics intelligence, this was the place where Aryabhatta invented the number “0” which is the base of all the mathematics, this was the place where the great rulers like Asoka and Akbar created the largest empires of all time. India was the place for each travellers, students, merchants and monks to fulfil their purposes and destiny. 37% of world GDP was contributed by India, the highest of all. But as we know, our own strengths creates new challenges for us and for centuries, India was looted and destroyed by foreign rulers and dynasties. Just because of our mistakes and lack of bonding between all the regimes in India, we lost our country and welcomed the unwanted British Rule for 250 years. We have lost many things. Our pride, our individuality, our gems, our strengths but we fought back. We got our independence but at the cost of bloodshed and partitions. From then on, we have seen lot of ups and downs and we are now in the century where we can do anything that we can dream of. India is on a path of becoming the superpower again. But are we really that capable enough to get that title?

India is the most diverse country in the world. We have many religions, 4500+ languages and people from all the races. India's economy is projected to reach the No. 3 spot by 2020 (by at least some analysts and metrics; it's already there by purchasing power parity), surpassing Japan and trailing only China (No. 1) and the U.S. (No. 2). In view of China's recent economic troubles and suspicious accounting, China's ascent is in doubt, but India's upward path seems more certain (say, by 2030), as its excesses have been smaller so far. Of course, India's economy must become more robust and structurally sound, while the legal system must strengthen as well and corruption must be addressed. Going forward, India has huge potential due to its large population, a longstanding tradition of democracy and stable government system with non-violent transitions, convenient location for trade, proximity to major oil exporters, decent standing in the world, a large English-speaking population, massive engineering education that is gradually improving in quality, and a system of research and development institutions.

But in this diversity, there is still lack of unity. If we continue to divide everything on the basis of cast and religion, it will definitely hold us back. Our most of the brainpowers and manpower are going to overseas due to the lack of opportunities. We are the largest democracy in the world and yet our government and their operation is one of the most complex process in the country. The collision between state government and national government creates chaotic situation. Our media is another reason. Media has a supreme power that can make a person from villain to hero and they can also reverse the process. But just for the TRP, Media is manipulating the news in such a way that can create a chaotic situation. We have a recent example of movie “Padmaavat” where they were giving the full coverage to Karni Sena’s violent protest while the rape cases and other important news were not even on the coverage.

India's current weakness is limited global reach. In particular, the BRICs group is looking less and less promising due to significant divergence between its members (some are in deep recession, some need oil to be expensive, while others prefer cheap oil, etc.). However, the G-20 has been increasingly relevant. Should India and China reach the status of developed economies (perhaps in 20 years), they may be added to the G-7 forum. In general, faster development of the world economy should help developing countries to catch up, but in a slower world economy the developed countries will preserve their lead. Though India’s military is the 4th largest in the world but we cannot project power away from its borders nearly as efficiently as the U.K. can (due to the U.K.'s bases and close defence relations with NATO). And India has no military alliances like NATO and the Five Eyes. India is likely to remain the No. 4 military power through 2030, but if Russia is replaced by the U.K. in the top three, this can increase India's significance because the U.K. is a part of the already strong NATO. It's really hard to guess the military developments by 2050, but the NATO militaries will clearly become increasingly unmanned, negating population handicaps and leveraging new technology, while other countries are likely to lag behind. The extent of this trend will be determined by specific technology developments and economic health of the countries involved.

India has been uninvolved in many international conflicts and also has relatively little political influence on other countries (despite being the third largest contributor to U.N. peacekeeping forces worldwide). This may start changing as India's economy and international trade grow. The big diplomatic prize would be an enhanced status in the U.N. India is arguing for a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council, but any Security Council reform seems impossible in the next five years. Some changes may become realistic by 2025, especially after major political upheavals that some predict for this time frame. A U.N. reform is looking more likely by 2050, especially if 20 years pass without major conflicts. Here, the key for India is to wisely navigate between other world powers, make good bets, and avoid major pitfalls while contributing to the world peace in essential and unique ways. The current conflict with Pakistan is a serious shackle, as it confines India to the status of a regional power and limits India's support among Muslim nations. (India's collaboration with Israel on defence matters is another issue for Muslim nations.)

India will remain the diverse country which can be used as a strength for the progress of country. We have the largest number of youth power to establish and achieve whatever we can dream of. It’s just that we need to reunite together with the one goal in mind and that is “To make India superpower again”.