Sometime early in the new century India will become the world's most populous nation. Like China, India is a nuclear power and hopes to be a major economic player in Asia. Half a century ago, India chose democracy and China communism, and they took very different paths to development. India has now fallen behind China by nearly every measure of social progress and its political system is also under strain. Ambassador Dennis Kux, longtime South Asia specialist, [her] comprehensive survey of India makes clear that this nation now numbering more than one billion people will become an increasingly significant actor on the global stage in the twenty-first century, in his foreword to Ms. Crossette's engaging firsthand account of India in today's world.