Over the last ten years, India has emerged as a major player on the global scenario and the regional politics. Though earlier during the Cold War, India was considered to be the most moderate voice of the Non-Aligned World, but after the disintegration of the former USSR and the world turning into a unipolar world, India has been able to retain its stature as the spokesman for the developing and under-developed world and the heft has been added to this due to its economic performance, when most of the major economies are not performing well.
Recently, speaking at a Conclave organised by a leading news channel PM Modi succinctly summarised India’s ambitions and plans. He said that this is India’s moment and the time period before India in this decade of 21st century is unprecedented. Further stressing that if a country has to move forward, it should always have dynamism and the power to make bold decisions, he underlined the fact whatever India is achieving today, it is due to the power of our democracy, the power of our institutions. His words: We must strengthen the India Moment with ‘Sabka Prayas’ and empower the journey of a developed India in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, amply demonstrates the resolve of the Indian leadership to take bold decisions to move the country forward at the global stage.
Whilst reviewing the Indian ambitions for becoming a relevant regional key player and also a global voice, we have to keep in mind that it has to achieve this in the midst of a geopolitical repositioning navigating its place in the evolving regional and global order, to emerge as an architect of new initiatives.
Today India stands at the intersection of traditional geopolitical challenges and emerging regional and global trends. India has to keep an eye on protracted border tensions, dynamics of the neighbourhood and manage its equation with China besides managing the fallout of the US-China rivalry.
In the context of shifting alliances, New Delhi is also set to shape the future of the Indo-Pacific region in security and economic spheres. As it aspires and seeks to strengthen its position as a regional trade hub and stay open for international commerce, it has to carefully consider myriad domestic interests and pressures, also. But its importance for the region has become evident in the manner the US co-opted it in the regional alliance QUAD.
India has commendably emerged as the voice of the Global South particularly in the post-pandemic era. It has withdrawn from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), in order to pursue a policy of strategic trade. Instead of being obsessed by rivalry with neighbouring Pakistan, it is more focussed on maintaining India-China relations in the backdrop of managing the emerging regional and global challenges.
For India, the geopolitical tensions in the region are likely to continue along with land-border and maritime sovereignty issues. Intensifying technological rivalries and geopolitical competition around connectivity will complement these.
In foreign affairs, the shift from India’s former policy of non-alignment to pursue and establish strategic relations with the United States, Europe and Indo-Pacific countries have been enhanced. This in turn opens avenues for it to pursue possibilities of emerging multilateral and plurilateral partnerships.
The debates on India’s strategic options and policy choices put the spotlight on a wide array of issues in the diplomacy, defence & security, socio-economic, health and climate domains. Continued social and economic reforms can help enable India to build a competitive, equitable, sustainable, future-oriented economy with sound investment in knowledge creation and capacity building in both technical and human resources.
On the diplomatic front the key to an integrated approach to widen India’s foreign policy forays will benefit from a continued cooperative, pragmatic, and targeted approach. This could be achieved by emerging as a champion of regional connectivity initiatives, increased participation in issue-based coalitions strengthening cooperation with strategic partners to keep the balance and being a proactive force on the global and regional foras, like it has done recently at the G20.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on the occasion of completing 100 days of the Modi government’s second term, had reiterated that “the first circle of priority” remains the neighbourhood and highlighted two elements of the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy – frequent high-level political exchanges and “non-reciprocal policy” towards its smaller neighbours. Beyond these stated elements, the neighbourhood approach is guided by pragmatism as Delhi rearranges the geopolitics of its neighbourhood.
India’s prioritisation of engagement with neighbours has coincided with growing US-China strategic competition in its backyard, traditionally considered its sphere of influence. That Delhi is letting the US to keep the pressure on China in its periphery to leverage the situation to further its strategic interests is but only a part of India’s current approach towards its neighbourhood.
Delhi’s desire to shape political changes and foreign policy choices of its smaller neighbours using hard power – military intervention and economic blockade – has not always achieved the desired goals. In 2015, India’s “unofficial” economic blockade of Nepal pushed Kathmandu closer to China. Furthermore, as a negative spinoff such actions have often fuelled ‘anti-India’ sentiments in the countries in its periphery, like Nepal and Maldives.
Sino-India geostrategic competition has long been a dominant element in India’s relations with its smaller neighbours. For some time now, Delhi has been warily watching China’s growing economic and military footprints in its periphery as Beijing emerges as the top trading partner and a major investor in most of its smaller neighbours. The line dividing Delhi’s desire for its smaller neighbours to be sensitive to its security concerns and being accused of interfering in their foreign policy has further blurred as all its smaller neighbours, except Bhutan, have joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Engaging China to counter-balance India remains a key foreign policy feature of India’s smaller neighbours. Delhi might have problematised the traditional mindset by maintaining a low profile in the emerging US-China rivalry. As smaller neighbours increasingly attempt to balance their ties between America and China, the India-China strategic competition for influence in these countries has taken the backseat for now.
India has positioned itself as supporting the growing aspirations of its smaller neighbours. As Delhi adopts a “multi-aligned” policy vis-à-vis major powers, it also appears to be signalling to its smaller neighbours that it is not against their policy of engaging more players to maximise benefits. India is aware that it is a key player in that matrix. This pre-empts the tendency of the smaller neighbours accusing it of preventing them from engaging with other major powers, a stance that is often viewed through the lens of a big power limiting smaller nations in exercising their independent foreign policy.
India is slated to become a magnetic new centre. And its stewardship of the G20 this year offers a big opportunity for it to imprint its agenda in an emerging multipolar world.
–The writer is a political commentator based in New Delhi. He can be contacted on www.asadmirza.in. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of
Raksha Anirveda
-The writer is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on international and strategic affairs, environmental issues, an interfaith practitioner, and a media consultant. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily carry the views of Raksha Anirveda
