India, June 13 -- Watching the spectacle of Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee's defeat in the recent West Bengal assembly elections, I could not but ruminate on the ephemeral nature of power, the inevitability of its decline, and the agile loyalties of followers. The irony, of course, is that leaders, when at the peak of their power, rarely recognise its transient nature.

In 1614, Sir James Roe, as the envoy of King James I of Britain, was received by Prince Khurram (later emperor Shah Jahan). At that time the Mughal Empire was at its zenith, and India accounted for almost one-fourth of global trade. Roe was asked to take off his hat, denied a chair when he asked for one, and stood leaning against a pillar until his chance came f...