Introduction: India's rise at 70

Extract

The 70th anniversary year of India's independence after two centuries of British colonial rule provides an excellent occasion to take the measure of a country that, today, is pivotal for both Asian and international stability. At 70, despite the persistent domestic challenges of poverty and inequality,¹ India is widely considered a rising power,² and is indisputably the world's largest democracy. In 2015, the Indian economy grew at a rate of 7.5 per cent, faster than that of China.³ As a nuclear-armed state, India enjoys recognition as a responsible nuclear power by key stakeholders in the non-proliferation regime, despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.⁴ And the past three presidents of the United States, a country once dismissive of India,⁵ have sought to engage New Delhi as a close economic or strategic partner, or both.⁶ To some, India is likely to become ‘the most important swing state’ in the international system.⁷