What the IISS conference failed to capture was the generational divide in India. As India continues to do well in the corporate, economic and even cultural field, there is an emerging generation of young Indians who are increasingly confident and unencumbered by legacies of the past. This is the generation that is comfortable with the idea of power, and can be best illustrated by, now, the most ‘Indian’ of all sports — cricket. During the recent tour of Australia, India’s cricket team, composed of mainly small town players, gave a fitting reply to the infamous Aussie ‘sledging’, and then some.

This Chak de generation, however, would do well to keep in mind Thucydides’ observations in the History of the Peloponnesian War, where he warns against the dangers of acting hastily on democratic impulses. While debating the wisdom of launching what eventually proved to be the disastrous Sicilian expedition, Thucydides noted how a “passion for the enterprise and... excessive enthusiasm” drove the Athenians to the fatal decision. Reconciling this tension between a ‘can-do’ attitude that can defend the national interests, with democracy’s proclivity for impossible projects will be the challenge for the next generation. However, this mission is impossible unless we know who we are.

The writer is a PhD candidate at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC