Is India’s global role on the decline?

India’s role on the global stage has undergone significant evolution, from its pre-independence days to the present. In 1927, Nehru addressed the Congress of Oppressed Nationalities in Brussels, pledging India’s total support to the cause of freedom from colonialism and imperialism.

The Provisional Government, headed by Nehru, hosted the first Asian Relations Conference in 1946, advocating for Asian-African independence. This cause became one of the central objectives of India’s foreign policy after 1947, through its support for the Asian-African Nations’ Conference in Bandung in Indonesia. India adopted the policy of non-alignment and persuaded many newly independent countries to follow it. Subsequently, Nehru persuaded Yugoslav President Marshall Tito to organise the first
Nonaligned Conference in 1961 in Belgrade. 

India’s involvement and leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) solidified under Indira Gandhi, who championed developing the South through causes like the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, Nuclear Disarmament, and a New International Economic Order (NIEO).

India pressed for the North-South dialogue to realise the goals of the NIEO resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1974. To address inequalities within the South, Indira Gandhi proposed South-South dialogue, though this did not take off. 

Indira Gandhi convened the NAM Summit in New Delhi in 1983, where, alongside the then Cuban President Fidel Castro, she articulated the need for establishing a New International Information Order to counter Western information hegemony—a goal that was not pursued in subsequent years.

With the end of the Cold War and the onset of the era of liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation (LPG), there was a paradigm shift in India’s foreign policy objectives.

India sought to integrate with the developed North, pursuing a special relationship with the United States, economically and militarily. The signing of the Civil Nuclear Agreement (the Nuclear Deal) with the US by the Manmohan Singh regime in July 2005 not only ended India’s nuclear apartheid but also demonstrated its eagerness to deepen the engagement with America.

Indo-US military exercises have continued regularly since then. India joined the US-sponsored Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) with Japan and Australia in 2007 to counter China, though it has preferred to tread cautiously on its military aspects.

India’s international role during the Narendra Modi era deserves examination. Although Modi began his first term as prime minister with a push for good neighbourly relations by inviting SAARC leaders for his swearing-in ceremony, Indo-Pak relations did not improve due to Pakistan’s continued support for terrorism in Kashmir, as seen in the Pulwama terrorist attack and India’s retaliatory Balakot strike. Relations with other South Asian neighbours, notably Bangladesh, are also on a downward spiral.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Western nations, particularly the US, during his first and second terms and his hosting of the G20 summit in New Delhi last year indicate a certain activism in his foreign policy. India’s participation in initiatives such as the Paris Agreement and its role on global issues like climate change and renewable energy underscore its commitment to addressing global challenges.

However, the Ukraine war and India’s potential role in fostering a peace settlement will serve as the litmus test for its standing in global affairs. Though Modi attempted to maintain a balance of sorts by visiting both Russia and Ukraine recently, he has not presented any specific peace proposal to end the war. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar alluded to this in a press conference in Kyiv. Modi favours bilateral dialogue between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy to explore terms for peace, in contrast to China, which has presented its own comprehensive plan to end the war. Turkey too has come up with its own peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine. 

Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, Modi’s India has refrained from taking a proactive role to end the conflict, though it has supported UN initiatives to terminate the war, which has dragged on for over a year, causing significant Palestinian casualties in Gaza. The Iran factor compels India to tread cautiously.

Finally, it may be conclude dthat, in comparison, the degree of proactive internationalism displayed by India during the first four decades of its independence appears to have diminished. Paradoxically, India’s growing military profile has created a certain disconnect between its rise and its role in world affairs.

(The writer is a former professor of Political Science at Bangalore University)