Adoor Gopalakrishnan is India’s foremost internationally acclaimed filmmaker who was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006

Sharmistha Gooptu is a historian

Dr MV Ramana is the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Rahul Bhattacharya is the author of Pundits from Pakistan and The Sly Company of People Who Care

Nalin Mehta is a political scientist and journalist

Shekhar Gupta is editor-in-chief of the Indian Express. This is an edited excerpt from the introduction to Anticipating India: The Best of National Interest, a compilation of his columns (HarperCollins, 480 pages, Rs 799)