Meeting between Indian and Chinese Military ForcesFrom The Canberra Times:
The rising might of India and the growing menace of piracy collided recently in the Gulf of Aden, a million-square-mile expanse of waterway between Somalia and Yemen. Raising the profile of both India and piracy, last Wednesday the INS Tabar engaged and set ablaze, and probably sank, a pirates' mother ship. This came after India's demonstration of prowess in space, with the successful launch of a lunar probe that, as well as being a symbol of scientific development and international stature, should garner India a share of the lucrative commercial satellite launch business. And on November 15 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was one of the world leaders gathered in Washington to discuss ways and means of rescuing the world from the grave financial crisis afflicting it.
In other words, signs of India's rapid rise to international prominence are unmistakable and all over the map. And the rise is multifaceted and multidimensional, not just restricted to a stunning economic growth rate for more than a decade.
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My Comment: India has a number of natural forces at work that will insure it having a dominant role on the world stage. India has the population, demographics are in its favor, and the Indian Ocean is in its backyard. Its negatives includes the grinding poverty in the region, religious intolerance, and unstable neighbors. But even with these negatives, the question is never if India will play a prominent role in the world .... but when.