India’s Strategic Autonomy and the Challenges of Multi-Alignment

29 Oct 2026

Tags: International Relations   Foreign Policies   External policy impacts

Source: The Hindu

India’s Position at the SCO and BRICS Summits

• Recent developments: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31–September 1, 2026, and the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, highlighted increased support for Iran and shifts in India’s diplomatic messaging on the US–Israel war against Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• Strategic significance: The SCO and BRICS provide Russia a platform to counter perceptions of its international isolation, China an opportunity to demonstrate its growing influence, and India a means to assert strategic autonomy by engaging with both Western and non-Western groupings.

 

India’s Shift in Diplomatic Position

• Bishkek Declaration: India endorsed a declaration condemning attacks on Iran as violations of international law, reaffirming Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and mourning the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US–Israeli air strikes on February 28, 2026. Although the declaration did not explicitly name the US or Israel, its criticism was understood to be directed at them.
• Ukraine war: Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the prolonged war in Ukraine, signalling a more explicit Indian willingness to communicate concerns about the conflict directly to Moscow.
• Palestine and Israel: India has generally avoided directly condemning US and Israeli military actions, while supporting UN ceasefire resolutions and Palestinian statehood. However, the Bishkek and New Delhi declarations reportedly included strong criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights and the two-state solution.

 

Factors Behind India’s Diplomatic Shift

• Securing a successful BRICS summit: One interpretation is that India endorsed the Bishkek Declaration to avoid alienating Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and ensure their participation in the New Delhi summit, which was important for India’s diplomatic standing.
• Regional diplomatic competition: Following Operation Sindoor (2025), India faced perceptions of diplomatic marginalisation, while Pakistan gained prominence through Washington’s selection of Islamabad as a mediator in the Iran conflict and the pursuit of defence agreements with Gulf countries. A high-profile BRICS summit offered India an opportunity to reinforce its international relevance.
• Reassuring Western partners: Modi’s public appeal to Putin may also have been intended to reassure Washington that India does not unconditionally support Russia’s war in Ukraine, even while maintaining cooperation with Moscow.

 

Contradictions in India’s Multi-Alignment Strategy

• Competing strategic interests: India seeks to maintain ties with Israel while supporting Iran’s sovereignty, purchase Russian oil while engaging more closely with the West on Ukraine, and remain influential in BRICS and the SCO without being perceived as part of an anti-American bloc.
• Balancing Russia and China: Modi and Xi did not hold bilateral talks at the Bishkek SCO summit but met on the sidelines of the New Delhi BRICS summit, ahead of Xi’s September 2026 summit with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Neither the SCO nor BRICS declaration mentioned the Ukraine war, avoiding direct criticism of Moscow even as Modi publicly urged Putin to end it.
• Risk of alienating partners: Such diplomatic balancing may create mistrust in Moscow and Beijing, while also leaving Washington uncertain about the extent of India’s strategic alignment with the West.

 

Russia’s Perception of India’s Diplomatic Messaging

• “Today’s era is not an era of war”: At the Samarkand SCO summit on September 16, 2022, Modi used this phrase while addressing Putin. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar subsequently repeated it in Western capitals to clarify that India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil did not imply political support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Perceived selectivity: The article argues that Modi has not used comparable public language towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s military campaigns in West Asia or towards Trump following US attacks on Iran. India’s own military action against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor further complicates claims of a consistent opposition to war.
• Risk to credibility: Moscow may interpret Modi’s latest appeal for an end to the “endless war” as diplomatic messaging intended to reassure the West rather than as the application of a consistent principle against war.

 

India–Russia Relations: Changing Dynamics

• Continuing interdependence: Russia continues to value India as a major purchaser of its oil and military equipment, while India retains interests in Russian energy supplies and defence cooperation.
• Diversification of defence imports: India has reduced its dependence on Russian arms by increasingly procuring defence equipment from France, Israel and the United States, making the relationship less exclusive.
• Growing transactional character: Although bilateral ties remain important, their future is increasingly shaped by immediate economic and strategic interests. Russia’s growing reliance on China as a trusted partner and India’s efforts to maintain close ties with Washington could weaken the traditional India–Russia partnership.

 

UPSC-Relevant Concepts

• Strategic autonomy: India’s ability to independently determine its foreign policy according to national interests, without being formally bound to a major-power bloc.
• Multi-alignment: Simultaneously maintaining partnerships with competing powers and participating in different international groupings to maximise diplomatic, economic and security interests.
• BRICS: An intergovernmental grouping that facilitates cooperation among major emerging economies and provides a platform for discussing global economic governance and geopolitical issues.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): A Eurasian regional organisation focused on security, counterterrorism and economic cooperation, bringing together India, China, Russia and other member states.