Publishers of books on India’s fast-paced economic development are apt to put “superpower” on the cover to boost sales. Commercially, the word is dynamite. It is also a fable.

In recent months, New Delhi’s bookshop windows have been graced with titles such as India Express: The Future of a New Superpower, Indian Economic Superpower: Fiction or Future? and Think India: The Rise of the World's Next Superpower and What It Means for Every American.