India-West bond deepens in Munich
Modi administration has engaged with key countries in an innovative manner, breaking free of older paradigms and straitjackets
At the recent Munich Security Conference (MSC), India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said: “I think it’s important today to make a distinction between being non-West and anti-West. I would certainly characterise India as a country which is non-West, but which has an extremely strong relationship with Western countries, getting better by the day.”
Why is this distinction important? Because the West needs to adopt a slightly different approach when it comes to India. Besides being the world’s largest democracy, India is also a rising economic and military power. From the point of view of the West, India is also key to balancing regional power.
Being non-Western does not mean being anti-Western. India has never been — nor can ever be — part of the West, whether historically, geographically or culturally. Therefore, it cannot be expected to toe the Western line blindly. On Russia, Jaishankar emphasised not only the depth of traditional ties, but also that Russia has never acted against India’s interests. So India is bound to reciprocate.
At the same time, India has no interest in turning the growing group of nations originally called the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), or for that matter any other so-called third-world alliance, against the West. Instead, the West, especially the US, needs to be flexible in its expectations from allies, partners and friends.
Measure of friendship
Simply put, the right measure of friendship is not shared antagonisms or enmities, but common objectives and interests. India and the US, from this point of view, have the brightest possible prospects for mutual benefit in the years to come.
When it came to Indo-US relations, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was unequivocal: He asserted that the relationship was “the strongest it’s ever been”. Apart from wideranging international collaborations such as the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Forum), the new comfort level derives from lasting economic, technological and human ties, especially the highly talented and wealthy Indian diaspora in the US.
Notwithstanding India’s traditional leftist tilt, anti-imperialism and nativist suspicions of foreign influence, Indians in general are known to be, by and large, very pro-American. This is also true of Americans.
The Narendra Modi administration, especially, has engaged with key countries in the world in a novel and innovative manner, breaking free of older paradigms and straitjackets. The watchword has been pragmatic self-interest, which is also tantamount, from time to time, to strategic self-assertion. India will no longer be a pushover or punch below its weight.
The BJP government, all set for a third term, can no longer be pejoratively dismissed as “the Hindu revivalist or right wing”. Indeed, most countries have found doing business with them much easier and mutually beneficial than the Congress party that ruled India for nearly 60 of its 75 years as an independent country.