The world has heard much about India's extraordinary transformation in recent years, and even of its claims to a share of "world leadership." Some of that is hyperbole, but in one respect, India's strength may be understated.

What makes a country a world leader? Is it population, military strength, or economic development? By all of these measures, India has made extraordinary strides. It is on course to overtake China as the world's most populous country by 2034, it has the world's fourth-largest army and nuclear weapons, and it is already the world's fifth-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and continues to climb, though too many of its people remain destitute.

All of these indicators are commonly used to judge a country's global status. However, something much less tangible, but a good deal more valuable in the twenty-first century, may be more important than any of them: India's "soft power."

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Author is a journalist and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications. He was the official candidate of India for succession to Kofi Annan as United Nations Secretary-General in 2006.