OPINION | India’s foreign policy has become merely a domestic performance

The government seems to have mistaken visibility for victory. Foreign policy has become an extension of domestic politics — high on spectacle, low on substance. World leaders are courted with hashtags and choreographed summits, yet concrete outcomes remain elusive. Diplomacy isn’t a contest of decibels; it’s about direction, discipline and delivery. Real influence is measured by respect earned, not applause managed.

Foreign policy cannot be scripted like a campaign. Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committees meet infrequently. Professional diplomats — once India’s most respected institution abroad — now work within the narrow confines of political optics. We have allowed institutions that lent India global credibility to fall quiet, even as our leadership grows louder.

The Forgotten Doctrine

India once shaped global conversations through moral authority and measured principle. From the Non-Aligned Movement under Nehru to Indira Gandhi’s decisive role in Bangladesh’s liberation, to Dr. Manmohan Singh’s pragmatic diplomacy that gave the world the India–US civil nuclear deal — the foundation of Indian foreign policy was credibility.

The recent appointment of Mr. Salman Khurshid as Chairman of the Congress Foreign Affairs Department is a timely and measured step. A former Union Minister of External Affairs, senior advocate, author and scholar, Mr. Khurshid brings both experience and intellectual gravitas to the role. His leadership restores depth to a space where nuance has often been replaced by noise. It signals that Indian diplomacy, when guided by competence rather than choreography, can once again command respect rather than demand attention.

Updating the Doctrine

Non-alignment was the right doctrine for its time — a moral compass in a bipolar world. But clinging to it today risks turning principle into paralysis. The 21st century isn’t divided between two superpowers; it’s defined by shifting power clusters — the U.S., China, the EU, ASEAN, and the emerging middle powers that shape trade, technology and security together. India cannot afford to sit at the edges of every table waiting to be invited. It must redefine non-alignment as “strategic agility” — the ability to engage flexibly, issue-by-issue, power-by-power, without ideological baggage. That means: deepening economic interdependence with ASEAN and Japan to balance China’s dominance without militarising the region; institutionalising partnerships with the U.S. and Europe on clean energy, digital regulation, and defence co-production; and reviving India’s leadership in multilateral platforms like the UN, BRICS, and G20 by leading on debt relief, technology access, and climate equity. This is not non-alignment reborn — it’s non-alignment reimagined: principled independence backed by economic credibility, strategic depth, and diplomatic predictability. For India to reclaim its moral authority, it must pair the freedom to say “no” with the capacity to make “yes” meaningful.

President Donald Trump’s transactional worldview tested the depth and resilience of New Delhi’s diplomacy. In those years, the government’s trademark posture of muscular nationalism, the much-invoked symbol of chest-thumping confidence, appeared to give way to an uncharacteristic deference. High-profile summits and stadium rallies abroad blurred the line between diplomacy and domestic showmanship. The unfortunate result of that has turned negative instead of positive, with our closest ally teaming up with our biggest enemy. India now needs to shift from personality-driven optics to institution-anchored strategy: deepen links with the U.S. Congress, defence establishment, and technology sectors so that cooperation outlasts any presidency. True strength in foreign policy is measured not by the size of the rhetoric, but by the steadiness of hand at the negotiating table.

The Way Forward

If India wishes to restore its stature, it must return to the basics: rebuild trust in the neighbourhood through dialogue and predictable engagement; reclaim narrative space globally by communicating achievements confidently and early; restore autonomy to professional diplomats; and anchor international partnerships in shared democratic values, not transactional theatrics.

1) Empower professionals — restore autonomy to the MEA and reinvigorate parliamentary oversight.

2) Win the information war — establish a permanent strategic-communications unit within MEA so India’s deeds shape global narratives.

3) Reclaim the region — revive SAARC, launch transparent trade and disaster-relief corridors, and make the Bay of Bengal a zone of shared prosperity.

4) Lead with values — defend pluralism and press freedom at home; democratic credibility abroad follows from domestic example.

5) Institutionalise long-term partnerships — in clean energy, education and digital security with the US and EU, so ties outlast any presidency.

A Call for Substance Over Showmanship

Our soldiers continue to uphold India’s honour with quiet professionalism. Political leadership owes them the same discipline in diplomacy. Foreign policy is not theatre — it is endurance. Power lies not in how loudly India speaks, but in how consistently it is heard. It’s time to move from performance to presence — and rebuild the quiet trust of a region that once looked to India without being asked to.

(Shivam Bhagat, Congress Spokesperson, Delhi.)

Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.