‘A shift from centre-left approach to centre-right’

Author Professor Harsh V. Pant, who is Vice President – Studies and Foreign Policy at Observer Research Foundation, spoke on how India’s foreign policy has evolved during 10 years of NDA.

How do you rank it on a scale of 1 to 5?

The Modi government came in with a very different set of ideas about how they wanted to govern India, and what perhaps they thought was their role.

We often make this argument academically that 2014 was really the time when India shifted from having a centerleft approach to centerright. In that sense the politics changed, and therefore it is inevitable that some of the consequences were felt in foreign policy as well. Equally important is the fact that the world has changed and India is emerging as an economic power.

NDA in the first term was very cautious; in the second term, it has handled crises well. Foreign policy is largely measured by how you are performing during a crisis. So both terms combined average I would say 4.

What are the challenges that remain?

One is of course, the big China question — where do we go from here. Indian policy makers are trying to build resilience within the system. Both domestically as well as trying to link up with the likeminded countries, but China is our important and powerful neighbour.

The other, of course, is China’s increasing footprint in the neighbourhood. How do you frame a new relationship with neighbours?

And the final challenge is going to be wider — into Pacific, where India is now increasingly trying to become a larger power.

What is the way forward?

The way forward would be to continue focusing on domestic development for priorities and all our partnerships. We have passed that phase where we were looking at a partnership through ideology. Today, I think we cannot afford to make ideological distinctions and ideological partnerships.