There could be strong opposition from other contendors, Germany, Brazil and Japan!

While we have made a name as the world's IT outsourcing destination and built a strong cadre of Engineers and Scientists, we are inherently inward looking. Our national attention is focused on internal problems and, at most, issues closer at home!

Did we play any role in release of Aung San Suu or saving Buddhist monks in Burma? What is our voice in the North-South Korea hot bed? Have we tried to get involved in  Isreal-Palestinian conflict? Are we shielding ourselves from the multiple fires burning be it Darfur, Afghanistan, Iran or other conflicts....

Have we really tried solving the Kashmir problem or just swept it under the carpet with the hope that one day time will solve it for us?  This long open conflict has come in the way of building strong relationship with Pakistan, and, left us open to terrorist attacks. Today we are almost on the sidelines of the war raging in our neighborhood now for a decade.

So our attention does not rise above the issues in our immediate surroundings.

Maybe we chose to  keep our focus  inwards due to our own problems. But every country has their own quota of internal issues.

Even Wikileaks did not find anything on India excpet a fake story plant and US concern about the safety of bio agents in our research labs!!!

You may remeber the last time India was on the World stage was during Nehru's time in early 1950's, when he swept on the scene with Non-Aligned Movement along with Nasser and Marshal Tito and launched Panchsheel (for Asian countries).

Maybe we need to turn our focus outwards and take a position on issues facing the world today.  We have the strength and resilience to play in the big league.  A leader is one who thinks and acts beyond one's immediate self!.

The seat in the Security Council would be for India to take!!