Forever rising, never arriving? India’s great-power quest

India is clearly a power in transition rather than a completed one. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar) Since Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called on the world’s “middle powers” to collaborate amid growing turbulence in the international order, the idea has animated India’s strategic debate. Official Delhi, however, has been less than enthusiastic. Asked about Carney’s formulation, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar argued that it may be more relevant to America’s treaty allies in coping with President Donald Trump’s unpredictable policies than to India. The middle-power label, he implied, understates India’s geopolitical weight and its potential to emerge as a great power.Yet scepticism about India’s great-power prospects is growing. In his new book, The Return of the Great Powers, th