Current Indian foreign policy is informed by a realization that a combination of economic reforms and the end of the Cold War has steered India into a position of some considerable influence in the post-9/11 world. Nevertheless, Indian foreign policy has a long way to go before it can meet the needs and aspirations of its people.
It is well within India ’s capabilities to assume such a role. What is needed both at the elite and popular levels, is not just a greater will and courage to take up such a role but also an acknowledgement that this is necessarily a long-term process, the fruits of which might not even be visible in the space of a generation or a lifetime but which will nevertheless require preparation, investment and the ability to think beyond immediate interests and beyond India’s borders.