A decade under Modi: Aggressive foreign policy yields mixed returns

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto promised to “reboot and reorient” India’s foreign policy to give primacy to the country’s interests and to elevate New Delhi to its “rightful place” of influence in a multipolar world order.

The neighbourhood

The 2014 manifesto said that political stability and peace in South Asia was essential for the region’s development. However, the past decade has seen relations between India and several of its neighbours worsen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Pakistan in 2015. But the initial peace overtures soon gave way to military skirmishes between the two countries over cross-border terrorism.

Islamabad’s stance on New Delhi abrogating provisions of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, further added to the strain.

New Delhi’s ties with Kathmandu were tested in 2015 as the draft of Nepal’s new Constitution did not address the concerns of the Madhesis, an ethnic group with cultural ties with India.

Under the Rajapaksa family, Sri Lanka moved away from India.

Relations with the Maldives were frosty first with Abdulla Yameen and now Mohamed Muizzu, both pro-China leaders, holding power in Malé.

The coup in Myanmar and the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan in 2021 were also setbacks for New Delhi.

However, relations with Bangladesh have continued on an upward trajectory, notwithstanding the deadly protests against Modi’s visit to the neighbouring country in...

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