In December 1971, the United States of America sent a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier into the Bay of Bengal to intimidate India. The Modi government has traded India’shistorical spine for a brand of personalised transactionalism that has rendered 1.4 billion Indians vulnerable. That is how India managed to deal with Iraqand Iran and Israel and Saudi Arabia simultaneously without becoming a party to their conflicts. India is becoming an island of silence and evasion in a world that needs leadership and honesty. If India is to survive and thrive in this new era, it must return to a policy of genuine strategic independence.

Source: The Telegraph March 20, 2026 02:27 UTC