The Straits Times
Superpower? India? Despite the continuing poverty and political venality? Yes, I believe so. Some of my friends tell me my enthusiasm may be misplaced, that my views are that of the converted rediscoverer. That may well be the case. But it’s hard to see the growth of consumerism and communications, and not be impressed. The India I left three decades ago was a despairing nation of shortages, food insecurity and political chaos. And while the politics of today—in India, as in many other democracies—remains turbulent, the widespread sense of hopelessness that I was accustomed to during my early youth has yielded to a tangible new ethos of accomplishment.
