Introducing ‘The Indian View’

India attracted a great deal of criticism from the West by not voting in favour of resolutions at the UN which sought to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine. That was understandable. What was not was the bordering-on-sanctimonious response from the western world: “How can India stand by an aggressor!”

I took a sympathetic position on the issue which I expressed in my column in The Hindu, immediately after the war started. And I received several messages from friends and others who read the piece—that it provided an ‘Indian view’—even though I don’t, speak for the government.

I first sensed India’s evolving perspective as early as May, and wrote another piece in The Hindu indirectly highlighting the subtle change in how the Ukraine war was being viewed by New Delhi. That wasn’t based on intuition; I began seeing real changes in India’s policy, post invasion, which I captured in a recent article for Foreign Affairs.

How did I go about sensing and interpreting the mood in New Delhi?

For one, I think being physically present in New Delhi, and having an eye for foreign policy changes, makes a huge difference. It helps me sense the thinking from the side-lines, at the least. But more importantly, in my line of work, both at JNU and CSDR, I make it a point to talk to a large number of people: former MEA officials, those currently in the government, and journalists covering the foreign policy beat. These conversations and interactions are invaluable when one seeks to understand and interpret India’s foreign policy. Without them, it’s like adding a door to a house without a lintel to support the bricks above the doorway.

What is The Indian View?

I don’t claim to speak for the whole country (well, no one can); nor do I speak for the government (never wanted that job!).

I speak for myself.

But the newsletter is titled The Indian View because I interpret, and reflect on, the foreign policy thinking in India, based in India. My views are geared towards critiquing India’s foreign policy and suggesting recommendations.

I strongly believe the analyst’s geographical location acts as a key variable between the analyst and the phenomenon they’re analysing. There is a great deal of work in anthropology and psychology showing how location – geographical, cultural, historical etc. – influences individuals and their views. For sure, if analysis is also a product, to a certain extent, of the analyst’s location, this can both positively and negatively influence the analyst. That said, for me personally, “dis-locational analysis” of policy analysis is deeply problematic. I routinely discard analysis based purely on secondary material. “How do you know?” – I routinely ask. “Someone like me wrote about it”, is not a sufficient answer.

So this is The Indian View from a locational sense of the term, among others.

Making sense of Indian foreign policy

How does one make sense of India’s foreign policy? As it is, foreign policy—and I mean security and defence, as well—is a complex and complicated process, more so in India. A lot of factors go into its making—personality traits of key individuals, intra-party dynamics, domestic political calculations, inter-ministerial dynamics, bureaucratic politics, deliberate ambiguity, just silly mistakes, among others. Of course, it is humanly impossible for analysts to take all these factors into account, but we should nevertheless attempt to do so. Location helps identify some of these specific features of India’s foreign policy. And I take full advantage of that.

Another product of dis-locational analysis is over-attribution. One of the biggest mistakes analysts make while writing about foreign (or other) policy is 'attributing intents where none exists'. Sometimes policymakers I speak to are genuinely shocked (or pleasantly surprised) by the 'grand strategic designs' analysts attribute to their routine actions!

Location cannot completely avoid it, but can help temper it – or so I believe.

How I make sense of India’s foreign policy behaviour?

Over two decades of my professional life in India’s national capital, I’ve tried to get a feel of India’s foreign policy making processes through a number of standard tools of research. They include attending the many closed-door and open door round tables and seminars in New Delhi’s growing number of think tanks, conversations at the India International Centre, the sprawling track 2/track 1.5 circuit where you get to meet serving and retired policy makers, and several other conversations you chance upon. People tell you things when you talk to them!

This is precisely why if you want to be an Indian foreign policy analyst, there is no better place than New Delhi. Of course, it comes with its own “complications” – but the complications are worth it!

So this is The Indian View - my bi-weekly newsletter on all things foreign policy. Sign up for my views that'll reach your inbox on Mondays and Thursdays.