India's Foreign Policy: The Logic Beneath the Headlines

From Non-Alignment to Strategic Autonomy

India's foreign policy was built on Panchsheel (1954) and Non-Alignment — refusal to join either Cold War bloc. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was India's instrument.

Post-Cold War, NAM became less relevant. India replaced the vocabulary: "Strategic Autonomy" is now the operating principle. The substance is similar — preserve freedom of action, refuse binding military alliances — but the context has shifted from Cold War bipolarity to multipolarity.

Strategic autonomy explains seemingly contradictory behaviour:

• India joins Quad (with US, Japan, Australia — implicitly anti-China) but refuses to let Quad become a formal military alliance
• India buys Russian S-400 missiles while deepening defence ties with the US
• India abstains on UN resolutions condemning Russia for Ukraine but votes against China's Belt and Road-linked projects

This is not inconsistency — it is deliberate hedging across major powers.

The Neighbourhood First Policy

Announced by PM Modi in 2014, the policy prioritises relations with SAARC neighbours. In practice, it has had mixed outcomes:

Successes:

• Bangladesh: Enclaves exchange (Land Boundary Agreement, 2015) resolved a 68-year territorial dispute; strong trade and connectivity ties
• Bhutan: Hydropower cooperation; India's closest ally in the neighbourhood

Challenges:

• Nepal: Constitutional crisis over Madhesi representation, India's...