Since January 2011, the world has watched, riveted, as nation after nation in the Middle East and North Africa has risen in protest against regimes that had become ossified and toxic. As these unprecedented events unfolded in the Middle East and powerful autocrats fell by the wayside, the initial reaction in India was that these events were happening in a different world. In Egypt, India watched with a sense of foreboding and cynicism as the US jettisoned its long-standing ally Hosni Mubarak and made space for a chaotic mix of military and Islamists. In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, who had become a Western favourite in his last years, was hunted down like a dog in the desert, as NATO strafed the country into submission. Libya, which has gone back to producing oil, is now a warring theatre of violent tribes. Islamists are on the rise there too. After pulling out all its nationals from Libya, India took the view that this was actually a fairly distant war for us to lose much sleep over.