Goa, Jan. 21 -- AAKAR PATEL

My generation (I am 56) grew up on the expectation that India would compete with China and become one of the world's great powers in our lifetime. This confi dence was felt by us, it was spoken about in politics and it was written about by the world's journalists. All through the 1990s, and the 2000s, for two decades, this sentiment remained. Yes, India was growing a little slower, and yes, India was not industrialising as China was, but it was only a matter of time before it caught up. One famous writer compared the two nations' futures and said China's road to develop ment was smooth but with one giant bump on the ho rizon, which was the tran sition to democracy. India's road was pot-holed but it had no majo...