The leviathan called India has come to play a humongous role in global politics, Bharat will continue to rise until the global order truly becomes Pax Indica
The year was 1947. Bharat gained independence from British rule and as per the Indian Independence Act of 1947, two entities India and Pakistan were created.
India witnessed the macabre events of the holocaust in the Indian subcontinent called partition. Millions of Indians suffered. India had a long path ahead of her, a path towards a free and liberal future, a path full of hopes and sometimes insurmountable odds.
Fast forward to the present day we are in 2023.
India, today, has come a long way from the country that was propounded some 75 years ago. India too is a force to reckon with international politics. It is the fifth largest in the world, the fourth strongest military power. India has the largest diaspora in the world numbering 3.3 million.
Free Decision Making
In this context, a new term has been in vogue in foreign policy documents and academic circles, the concept of strategic autonomy. While it may appear to sound a bit like non-alignment, yet it is completely different from that.
Strategic autonomy means that every country whether big or small will have the right to determine what is best for its national interests and its sovereignty or immensely important matters of the state will not be dictated by an external power or third party.
Indian Ocean
A very important part of Indian foreign policy matrix is the Indian Ocean region or IOR. At least since 2017, a new concept has emerged, the idea of the Indo-Pacific.
Indo-Pacific is a biogeographical region referring to the enmeshment of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a very important region in terms of trade and commerce, strategic significance and blue economy.
The Indian Ocean is India’s backyard and is of immense strategic significance for New Delhi. Almost 95% of our trade by volume and 70% of trade by value takes place in the maritime route and that too in the Indian Ocean region.
The leviathan called India is the perfect candidate for leading the world. India is the future, she is the living epitome of progress, inclusivity, tolerance and vigilance. India is the key to global sustainability; she is the beacon of hope in this tumultuous world. Therefore India will continue to play a key role in the Indo-Pacific region in general and global politics in particular.