India’s Foreign Policy Folly: Learning the Wrong Lessons from the West

 India’s Foreign Policy Folly: Learning the Wrong Lessons from the West

By Prof. Suresh Deman

Centre for Strategic Affairs, London

Parliament in Session 2025

In the recent political discourse, the contrast between Priyanka Gandhi (Vadra) and Rahul Gandhi was striking. Priyank’s delivery was composed and substantive; Rahul, on the other hand, came across as angry and overly reactive. His rhetoric, while passionate, seemed to lack strategic grounding, especially on matters as delicate as foreign policy.

Rahul’s decision to intertwine China and Pakistan — accusing Beijing of aligning with Islamabad during the recent crisis — was not only diplomatically unwise but factually unsubstantiated. China's official posture was one of neutrality. There’s little evidence to suggest Beijing offered logistical or material support to Pakistan. In fact, Xi Jinping has made overtures toward restoring dialogue with India — efforts that have been largely ignored by both the current Modi government and Congress leadership alike.

Looking back, there is very little to distinguish the foreign policies of the Congress-led UPA and the current BJP administration. Both have been excessively preoccupied with countering China, adopting confrontational strategies that have undercut India's long-term regional interests. India’s active participation in QUAD military exercises and its growing proximity to the U.S. military posture in the South China Sea have significantly eroded the goodwill that once existed between New Delhi and Beijing.

India’s missteps are emblematic of a broader misunderstanding of global power dynamics. During the Biden administration’s intervention in Syria and Iraq, an American analyst famously remarked, “America has no friends, only interests.” This stark realism should have served as a warning. Back in 1991, Noam Chomsky captured U.S. foreign policy with brutal clarity in an article for The Guardian, summarizing it as: “We are your masters. You shine our shoes, and weaker enemies will be crushed so that the right lessons are taught.” India, rather than learning from this, appears to be parroting the same flawed logic.

The Modi government’s approach exemplifies this trend. His extravagant embrace of Donald Trump — including the controversial “Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar” endorsement — was a geopolitical gamble that backfired. Trump lost, and India was left diplomatically exposed. The stadium hastily renamed for the visit — from Dhyanchand to “Motera” — symbolised not strength but submission to transient political trends.

Even experienced diplomats like S. Jaishankar, now lauded as a strategic thinker, have failed to shift course. Despite his bureaucratic acumen, he remains more of a pencil-pusher than a visionary leader. What India needed — and still needs — is a foreign policy grounded in realism, self-respect, and strategic autonomy. When President Xi extended a diplomatic hand to Modi to jointly resist Western tariffs, India should have stood firm as an equal, rather than waiting for handouts from Washington.

India must now reassess its global posture. The world is not unipolar anymore. In a time of shifting alliances and crumbling Western dominance, blind alignment with U.S.-led strategies will only constrain India’s options. What’s required is a strategic recalibration — one that respects historical ties, values regional stability, and recognises that sovereignty begins with independence in thought, not just territory