A question from Yahoo! Answers:

“INDIA the superpower” will the dream come true?

we indians now feel proud to be called “INDIANS”.we have the dream of being superpower of the world,and the center of attraction.we have a glorious history behind and a unfilled dream ahead……….will we do it.

For the sake of India, I hope not… Being a superpower is an expensive proposition; instead of investing in infrastructure, education, and healthcare, a superpower’s government has to “invest” in military hardware. Instead of people working and paying taxes, you have to have soldiers and generals whom you have to pay out of tax revenues. Being a superpower is first and foremost an additional (and completely avoidable) tax burden.

Being Indian, you may have a passing interest in Portuguese history (after all, the Portuguese were the first colonizers to arrive to India and the last ones to leave). Read up on it and see where the Portuguese superpower of 15th century ended up and how it happened…

Also, look at the U.S., the current superpower. It is the only advanced nation that does not have universal healthcare; its primary and secondary education consistently ranks among the worst in the industrialized world…