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Amid the remnants of World War II, as the world scuffled with the iron curtain cast by the Soviet Union against the United States, newly independent nations found themselves at crossroads. It was within this geopolitical tempest that the first large scale Afro-Asian conference, popularly known as the Bandung Conference, took root. As 29 Asian and African nations gathered to traverse the path to strategic autonomy, India, during the Nehruvian period, also rejected the binaries of East and West to forge its own destiny. This historic conference thus laid the rudiments for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which was formally established in 1961 during the Belgrade Conference. Yet, few could have foreseen that this policy, initially crafted to resist neo-colonial hegemony, would later enable India to emerge as a global leader of soft power.
In a pyrrhic world order, where victories come at a great cost and a labyrinth of geopolitical complexities, India has remarkably maintained its volition. Navigating through the treacherous waters of great power rivalries, it has adeptly balanced relations with every superpower. This delicate balancing act has been particularly pronounced under the administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By deftly manoeuvring through the shifting sands of global politics, Modi not only revived but also propelled this policy to its apogee—fortifying India’s stance as a pivotal swing state. This strategic mastery has preserved India’s non-alignment while amplifying its influence on the global stage, transforming it from a passive observer to an active architect of the international order.
The very nomenclature of ‘Non-Alignment’ is often burdened with semantic misapprehensions, often misconstrued as a doctrine of passive neutrality—an illusory inaction masquerading as impartiality. This reductionist exegesis not only undermines the profundity of its philosophical foundations but also belies the pragmatic dynamism that has always undergirded its strategic intent. In truth, ‘Non-Alignment’ was never about passive detachment but rather about active engagement—a conscious choice to pursue strategic autonomy while maintaining sovereign independence. It was a doctrine designed not to eschew alliances but to select them judiciously, ensuring that national interests were neither subordinated to ideological allegiances nor compromised by superpower coercion.
However, as global dynamics evolved, the lexicon of ‘Non-Alignment’ began to appear anachronistic, suggesting a detachment that distorted the strategic manoeuvring India actively pursued. To dispel this misconception and better articulate India’s contemporary foreign policy, it is both apt and imperative to reimagine the ‘Non-Alignment’ policy as the ‘Doctrine of Strategic Independence’. This redefinition is not merely a cosmetic refurbishment; it is an ontological evolution—a recalibration that more accurately reflects India’s assertive and nuanced engagement in today’s inter-polar system.
The ‘Doctrine of Strategic Independence’ signifies a paradigm shift from passive equidistance to dynamic alignment— a strategy that enables India to navigate global complexities with strategic foresight and diplomatic dexterity. It underscores India’s ability to orchestrate influence without forfeiting its strategic autonomy, to engage robustly without entangling itself in doctrinaire alliances. Under this doctrine, India is not merely balancing powers; it is actively redefining power equations, asserting itself as a pivotal political svengali. In a world increasingly besieged by polarising binaries, this doctrine offers a third path— a diplomacy of strategic ambiguity that defies simplistic categorisations.
In today’s volatile geopolitical landscape—chiseled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Palestine question, a burgeoning Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, and a de novo alignment of America— from staunch support for Ukraine under the Democrats to a more conciliatory approach towards Russia after abstruse dialogues on 18th February 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the Republicans— strategic fault lines are redefining the matrix of international relations.
President Trump’s announcement of 100% reciprocal tariffs on BRICS nations also signals a decisive shift towards economic nationalism. Thus, in such a global flux, the ‘Doctrine of Strategic Autonomy’ is not merely advantageous but rather a sine qua non for maximising geopolitical leverage.
In the present epoch, there are myriad instances wherein one can witness a profound infusion of this diplomacy in Indian foreign policy— more pronounced now than ever before. With Narendra Modi’s decision to visit Russia as his first destination during the third term, followed by a historic visit to Ukraine, the first since its independence in 1991, India broke a diplomatic hiatus of over three decades. This visit was not merely symbolic; it reflected India’s nuanced autonomy— reaffirming its deep-rooted ties with Russia while engaging constructively with Ukraine. It also demonstrated India’s strategic prowess, balancing its relations with Russia, the West, and the Global South amidst an involuted geopolitical matrix.
With a population of about 1.44 billion, India maximized its economic ties with Moscow and increased its import of discounted Russian crude to meet its growing energy demand, positioning Russia as its largest oil supplier, accounting for over 30% of its total oil imports as of January 2025. Coupled with the humanitarian gesture of the Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (Bhishm) cubes— a mobile hospital designed to provide emergency medical care to Ukraine— India swiftly positioned itself as a neutral power broker, reinforcing its strategic autonomy on the global stage.
This thread has been further intertwined by India’s de-hyphenation policy on the Israel-Palestine question. By recognizing Israel’s right to exist as early as 1950, while simultaneously maintaining steadfast support for Palestinian rights through consistent voting patterns at the United Nations, India has continued to balance its diplomatic ties.
Through its active engagement in strategic security pacts like the QUAD—alongside the U.S., Australia, and Japan—India has championed the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, counterbalancing China’s ascendency in the region. Yet, this stance defies conventional alignment; rather, it showcases India’s strategic fluidity. A quintessential illustration of this is the Malabar Exercise. What began as a bilateral naval drill with the United States metamorphosed into a formidable quadrilateral dialogue, symbolizing India’s maritime assertiveness. This delicate pirouette enables India to consolidate its strategic presence while placating Beijing’s perennial paranoia. It is not merely about participating in joint exercises; it is about scripting a narrative of strategic ambiguity, where engagements are robust yet allegiances remain fluid.
Amidst deepening ties with America and strategic dialogues in Washington DC, India secured energy pacts with the United States. Simultaneously, India augmented its position on the Indo-Pacific chessboard by maintaining its participation in political networks like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS, where China holds significant membership. Moreover, through the strategic orchestration of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) linking Russia, Iran, and India, India exemplified its vision of diversified trade networks, tactfully evading the monopolistic sway of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
This is indeed an exceptional and rare geopolitical choreography— where the United States and China are strategically balanced, Russia and Ukraine are diplomatically equidistant, and Israel and Palestine find commonality in India’s nuanced autonomy. India stands at the confluence of great power rivalries, not as a bridge but as the river that flows seamlessly between the banks, touching both yet bound by neither. It is in this fluidity that India’s strategic autonomy finds its power, crafting a narrative of balance in an era of extremes. Like the ancient banyan tree, rooted yet expansive, India’s foreign policy stretches across geographies and ideologies, casting a shade of equipoise in a polarized world.
It is this quiet endurance that defines not just its ‘Doctrine of Strategic Independence’ but its legacy— an embodiment of evenness in a world perpetually at odds. It echoes the ancient Indian philosophy of ‘Advaita’— non-duality. Through this paradoxical balance, India is not merely navigating the world order; it is a quiet giant—quietly reshaping global alliances, transforming strategic ambiguity into a timeless philosophy of coexistence amidst global fault lines.
[Photo by Hari Mangayi, via Wikimedia Commons]
Tiaraa M. Sharma is based in India. She has a keen interest in geopolitical trends and international diplomacy, with a particular focus on South Asian affairs. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
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