By Prof. Ramnath Narayanswamy & Prof. Sanjal Shastri
Perhaps India’s success under the Modi government has not been as compellingly evident as it has been in foreign policy. Delicately balancing pressure from the West to preserve and strengthen the national interest, the Modi government has managed to maintain an independent stance that has begun to attract attention and respect the world over.
Whether it be the issue of purchasing Russian crude in the face of Western sanctions, unequivocal support for Israel to combat global terrorism, building and consolidating India’s trade ties with the Middle East, navigating India’s relations with Palestine, isolating Pakistan and exposing its role in promoting terrorism on the global stage, pushing the Chinese back in four posts on the border, maintaining ties with Ukraine and assisting in concluding a peace deal to end the war with Russia, co-opting Africa into the G-20, maintaining an independent stance on several touchy issues with both the United States and Europe, reconstituting relations with the Maldives, taking concrete steps to firm up energy security by striking deals with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the kingdom of Brunei and playing an instrumental role in the QUAD; all these initiatives have helped India strengthen it’s claim for a permanent seat in the Security Council and helped to establish its reputation as a leader of the global South.
India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has done a spectacular job of articulating the Indian weltanschauung or world view on the global stage. We want to be friends with all those who want to be friends with us. We do not want to be branded as with the West or against the West.
As he once very eloquently expressed, “India is not anti-West; it is non-West.” The honorable Minister was highlighting the fact that India chose a non-Western route to industrialization and modernity. This was a civilizational choice and one that was not governed by the classical route to modernity (Western Europe), the erstwhile communist route (USSR, China, and Eastern Europe), or the state-sponsored route (Japan and Germany).
Professor Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is one of the few voices in the West known for trenchant observations on global affairs, especially the war in Ukraine and the West’s culpability in triggering this global disaster.
In a recent conversation with Professor John Mearsheimer, Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, who is known for his insights into the dark side of world geopolitics, Professor Sachs was asked about India’s role in world affairs. This was in response to Professor Mersheimer’s view that India was an ally of the United States.
This is what Jeffrey Sachs had to say: “I do not believe India is an ally of the United States. India is a superpower; India is not going to be an ally of the United States; India is going to have its own very distinctive interests. I happen to like India enormously and admire their policies, but the idea that India is going to ally with the United States against China is somebody’s dream in Washington. It is the delusion of somebody in Washington. They must get a passport and see the world.” Professor Sachs is absolutely right.
So, what was Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to the United States about, and why were Western nations propping up India as the leader of the QUAD? The West is puzzled by India’s simultaneous membership in the QUAD, BRICS, and SCO.
As India’s Foreign Minister explains, “We are not being all things to all people, but we are being ourselves to all people.” It is an important distinction. Membership of one conglomerate does not exclude the other. India’s purpose in joining the QUAD is to help ensure free and open maritime traffic in the Indo-Pacific.
During his visit to the US, Modi highlighted India’s role as an important economic hub. Addressing a group of senior tech executives, he encouraged them to invest in India and outlined a vision to develop it into a major technology power.
He reached out to companies looking to move their production and investment out of China. The timing of this announcement is particularly important. On the sidelines of the QUAD Summit, the marketing of India as a reliable alternative to China is a significant development that cannot be overlooked.
At a broader level, Modi used the visit to reiterate India’s stance on global issues. He unequivocally said that India is “not against anyone” and strongly supports the preservation of a ‘rules-based international order.’
This echoes Modi’s messaging during his visit to Russia and Ukraine, where he argued that India would be on the side of peace. At the same time, the strong messaging against Chinese aggression in Southeast Asia cannot be overlooked.
In the same speech, Modi also called on all parties to respect the principles of sovereignty and peaceful existence. There was also a direct reference to an ‘open and inclusive’ Asia Pacific, a message clearly targeted at the Chinese.
Modi’s speech at the UN highlighted India’s commitment to a rule-based international order. At a time when questions are being raised about the future of multilateral forums like the UN, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of such institutions.
He argued that the UN and other multilateral forms are essential elements of the rules-based international order. This posturing yielded results, with the US, UK, France, and Russia backing India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC.
Over the last three months, Modi’s foreign policy activities have provided important indications of India’s foreign policy objectives. The meeting with Putin and then with Zelensky highlighted India’s willingness to take a pragmatic and neutral stance, which is in India’s best interest.
At the same time, India sees opportunities to cooperate with the West, particularly in the economy and in South East Asia. With regard to the economy, there is a clear push to bring in investment and lure some of the MNCs looking to move away from China. In South East Asia, India will have an important role to play in containing Chinese expansionism.
In general, it would be correct to say that India is against the unfettered Western domination of the world order. It has expressed its displeasure on this matter in no uncertain terms several times. It is time the Western world stopped treating the world as an exclusive preserve of the G-7 countries.
India is likely to play a stellar role in democratizing the world order and its institutions, creating an equitable world where the goals of economic development and the exigencies of geopolitics can be reconciled to establish an enduring balance between both.
From a larger point of view, there is little doubt that we are entering a period of pronounced global uncertainty and instability with a strong possibility of a global war on the horizon.
Hotspots are growing in number, including Taiwan, Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Ukraine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines in Southeast Asia. China has border claims on just about any of its neighbors, including Japan. Any of these hotspots could morph into a war of global proportions.
India is likely to tread cautiously in this troubled terrain, balancing its developmental goals and its security concerns amid growing geopolitical tensions.
- Prof. Ramnath Narayanswamy is a Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences at FLAME University.
- Prof. Sanjal Shastri is Faculty of International Studies at FLAME University.
