India’s Ever-Shifting Foreign Policy

India’s ever-shifting foreign policy from its birth as an independent nation in 1947 to its current standing on the global chessboard reflects a story of complex balancing acts between principles and pragmatism, idealism and realism, and friendship and rivalry. It is a saga of deft dual diplomacy that has seen India manoeuvre through regional upheavals, global power rivalries, and the evolving landscape of 21st-century geopolitics with remarkable dexterity.

India’s evolving foreign policy, driven by grievance and military calculus, appears ill-suited to the realities of South Asia. Its pursuit of regional dominance remains largely shaped by unresolved tensions with Pakistan, a nation it cannot simply wish away. Yet rather than seek a political settlement to this enduring rivalry, India seems trapped in a zero-sum paradigm, forging defence-heavy alliances while sidelining the urgent imperative of peace. The spectacle of power projection may serve immediate electoral optics, but it cannot substitute the hard, patient work of regional reconciliation.

India is not Israel; more importantly, it cannot afford to be. If it continues down this path, it risks becoming a security state locked in perpetual hostility, eroding the very moral and civilizational ideals it once aspired to uphold. India needs to build bridges and not blocs.

https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/bridges-not-blocs-the-imperative-for-a-new-indian-foreign-policy

Indian Side of the Story

• India gained independence on August 15, 1947, entering the world stage as a new nation with many challenges but clear principles.
• Early Indian diplomacy prioritised non-alignment during the Cold War, avoiding siding with either the US-led capitalist bloc or the Soviet-led communist bloc.
• The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was born out of India’s aim for neutrality and unity among Asian and African countries to keep their regions out of superpower conflicts.
• During the 1950s, India sought to be a moral voice and peacemaker globally, but soon realised that principles alone did not guarantee security or protection.
• The 1960s were challenging—India faced wars with China (1962) and Pakistan (1965), exposed the limitations of non-alignment, and experienced foreign aid dependence for economic needs.
• The 1970s marked a turn toward realism with the Green Revolution achieving food self-sufficiency, a strategic treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union, and active diplomacy that included military and space cooperation.
• The 1980s saw India asserting regional leadership, notably founding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), but also facing difficulties such as the Sri Lankan civil war intervention, which became a diplomatic setback.
• The end of the Cold War and economic liberalisation in the 1990s pushed India toward diversifying international partnerships, including the Look East Policy and opening diplomatic relations with Israel.
• The late 1990s saw tensions due to nuclear tests and sanctions, but by the 2000s, India focused on warming ties with the US, joining multilateral forums, and strengthening counterterrorism cooperation.
• India also engaged in new alliances like BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), fostering a multipolar world approach.
• By the 2010s and into the 2020s, India expanded strategic partnerships with over a dozen countries, sharpened its rivalry with China, and assumed global roles in multiple forums including the Quad and G7 invitations.
• India’s current diplomatic approach is described as “multi-alignment,” balancing relations with competing powers while leading the Global South and maintaining independent foreign policy decisions.
• A key shift is India’s reduction of foreign dependence—moving from a consumer of aid to a global donor, evident in its pandemic vaccine distribution and first-response role in regional crises.
• The overarching vision is to be a “Vishwa Bandhu” (friend to all), remaining in every major global dialogue but maintaining its own independent corner, redefining itself as a pivotal balancing power rather than a mere player.

The Early Years: Non-Alignment and Idealistic Beginnings

In the spotlight of the post-colonial world, India’s founding leaders, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru, championed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Picture Nehru as the diplomatic pacifist at the Cold War party, refusing to pick sides, proclaiming slogans like “Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai” (Indians and Chinese are brothers), and appealing to newly independent countries to stay clear of Cold War rivalries.

However, this idealism hit rough waters quickly. By the 1960s, the 1962 Sino-Indian War shattered the rosy visions of eternal brotherhood with China, and conflicts with Pakistan added to a growing security dilemma. The haze of non-alignment gave way to the realisation that ideology alone could not shield a young nation from harsh geopolitical realities.

The 1970s: Dual Policies in Full Swing

The 1970s were the decade of India sharpening its diplomatic knife. On the one hand, India continued to project itself as the torchbearer of the NAM, advocating decolonisation and non-intervention. Yet, behind the curtain, it leaned heavily on ties with the Soviet Union. This alliance proved decisive during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, a geopolitical earthquake in South Asia.

India’s backing of the Mukti Bahini (freedom fighters in East Pakistan) and direct military intervention, supported by Soviet political cover, hastened Pakistan’s eastern wing’s dismemberment, a move both lauded and criticised globally.

Simultaneously, India’s venture into Sri Lanka through the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) during the late 1980s reflected regional ambitions mixed with complicated consequences, highlighting India’s readiness to exert influence but also the limits of its reach.

Post-Cold War and the Multipolar Balancing Act

With the Cold War’s end and economic liberalisation in the 1990s, India’s foreign policy grew more multi-layered and pragmatic. It dialled up its engagement with the United States, forging defence, counterterrorism, and economic partnerships, while preserving longstanding ties with Russia and participating actively in global South coalitions like BRICS.

India’s diplomacy became characterised by “multi-alignment” juggling relationships with sometimes adversarial powers without fully committing to formal alliances. This approach maximises India’s strategic autonomy amid growing global complexity.

Regional Dynamics: Skirmishes, Friendships, and Tensions

India’s neighbourhood policies reflect the dual character of its strategies:

• Pakistan remains a perennial challenge, with conflict centred on Kashmir, supported cross-border insurgencies, and intelligence confrontations like the Kulbhushan Jadhav affair underscoring hostility and mistrust.

• With China, unresolved border disputes and the 2020 clashes punctuate a relationship oscillating between competition and cooperation. Despite tensions, India seeks to keep communication channels open and recently signalled diplomatic warming with high-level visits.

• Nepal, Sri Lanka, and others juggle their own external partnerships, sometimes leaning toward China, making India’s influence a delicate dance of assertiveness and accommodation.

India’s strategic diplomacy blends development initiatives, security cooperation, and cultural ties to maintain influence amid these complexities.

The Contemporary Scene: US Ties, BRICS, and China

India’s foreign policy today is shaped by a nuanced tightrope walk:

• It cosies up with the US for defence and economic collaboration, raising its profile as a bulwark against China’s regional assertiveness.

• Simultaneously, it solidifies BRICS partnerships with Russia, China, and other emerging powers, asserting an independent voice for the Global South and maintaining flexibility.

• The recent Modi visit to China, after a seven-year diplomatic chill, is a testament to India’s pragmatic approach, seeking to strategically offset the economic pressures from US tariffs and nurture peaceful coexistence despite rivalry.

China’s potential support, including economic cooperation and diplomatic backing in multilateral forums like the SCO, offers India critical alternatives as it navigates global trade tensions.

The Duality and Its Discontents

India’s foreign policy embodies a well-rehearsed dance of contradictions:

• Advocating peace and democracy internationally while grappling with internal social unrest and communal tensions.

• Maintaining historic ties with adversaries of former partners, such as simultaneous relations with Iran and Israel.

• Projecting itself as a responsible global power while engaging in grey-zone diplomatic and intelligence activities that fuel regional distrust.

This duality sometimes invites criticism as opportunistic or hypocritical, yet it also showcases the complexity and resilience of a democracy managing a vast, diverse society amid turbulent geopolitics.

India’s ever-shifting foreign policy is a masterclass in balancing competing interests and ideals. It is neither purely principled nor wholly pragmatic but a blend tailored to the evolving demands of survival, influence, and growth on the global stage.

From non-alignment to multi-alignment, from regional dominance to global partnerships, India writes its foreign policy script one act at a time—always recalibrating, always adapting, and always playing the long game.

https://mrpo.pk/buddhas-peace-modis-politics/

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