It is increasingly axiomatic today that the old calculations of “hard power†are no longer sufficient to guide a country’s conduct in world affairs. Our “soft power†— the aspects and products of our society that the world finds attractive – have become much more important. Bollywood, Indian art, literature, fashion, and cuisine, the values of Ashoka, Akbar and Gandhi, and the pluralism of our civilization, constitutes our “soft powerâ€. As a society with a free press and a thriving mass media, with a people whose creative energies are daily encouraged to express themselves in a variety of appealing ways, India has an extraordinary ability to tell stories that are more persuasive and attractive than those of its rivals. Is this, rather than nuclear weapons, industrial growth or military might, our real global USP? How credible is our soft power in the face of poverty, communal violence, corruption and caste discrimination?