Ram Madhav writes: Building a partnership of equals with the US

During a recent visit to an East Asian country, I had the opportunity to meet a senior minister who asked me an interesting question: "Will India lead us?" This was an unusual question given the standing of that country. But it demonstrated the growing stature and relevance of India in the region. India's rise in significance as a pole in the Indian Ocean region, to which many regional countries would gravitate, is an important strategic development of the century. I politely told the minister that the era of the "leader and the led" was over. India is not building any…