ABSTRACT
This somewhat lengthy quote, extracted from the Asia centric work of a renowned US naval theorist, captures the essence of dilemmas facing contemporary India. The changes in the international landscape during the last quarter of a century have been astonishing to say the least. The post-Cold War era has seen considerable increase in transnational violence with terrorist and extremist hues and the re-emergence of emotive territorial disputes with maritime orientation. On the positive side, there has been greater economic enmeshing through the process of globalisation, the phenomenon of information revolution and a wider distribution of public goods. Further, within this short span, the geostrategic and politico-economic salience has been characterised by the emergence of the Orient away from a hitherto traditionally Western dominant discourse. India has also witnessed triumphs and travails of extraordinary magnitude during this period. The ignominy of pledging sovereign gold to avoid a balance of payments crisis, succeeded by economic liberalisation, has seen India become a global economic powerhouse with strong
services, information technology, pharmaceutical and bio-technology, space sectors and the like. This period has been marked by repeated instances of extremist and terrorist violence besides the nation being involved in a geographically limited Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999 under the nuclear shadow. The changes in the immediate and extended neighbourhood of India have been no less spectacular. Of particular importance has been the amazing rise of China on the world stage in political, economic and military terms.
