PM Modi’s Bhutan visit despite Delhi blast shows India will not be deterred by terrorists

Neighbourhood diplomacy is one of the trickiest aspects of any country’s foreign policy. Besides the usual complications that relations between any two countries bring, close neighbours—especially those with whom you share a border—bring a whole different set of mutual vulnerabilities.

In such a scenario, even a geographically much smaller neighbour can humble the biggest of giants. Thus, one may say that when it comes to attention and diplomatic resources, size doesn’t matter at all. One such neighbour that India has in its vicinity is Bhutan, the pristine Himalayan kingdom all of 38,394 sq km in size but one that is crucial to India’s border security because it acts as a buffer with an expansionist power like China. The 2017 Doklam standoff stands as testimony to this, when India had to jump to the defence of what is essentially Bhutanese territory simply because the plateau overlooks the vulnerable Siliguri corridor, India’s gateway to its own Northeast.

Thus, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes a two-day state visit to Bhutan, one can’t help but underline how important this is for India’s long-term security and interests. After having landed in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu, PM Modi’s every diplomatic engagement with the country is an acknowledgment of the same. In a short but remarkable visit, he has made the best impression on Bhutan—that in India, which may be a geographic and economic giant like China, it will always find a friend and not a bully.

PM Modi’s itinerary consisted of a wide agenda for the visit that included attending the 70th birthday celebrations of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King of Bhutan and the father of the current King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. In addition to one-on-one exchanges with the current and former Kings, Prime Minister Modi also met the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, for detailed discussions. The visit has strengthened the multi-faceted India-Bhutan relationship by increasing bilateral ties in areas such as hydropower, trade, connectivity, and civilisational linkages.

Interestingly, a key highlight of PM Modi’s visit was his participation in the Global Peace Prayer Festival, where he joined the current and former kings in the Kālacakra (Wheel of Time) empowerment ceremony—a ritual in Tibetan Buddhism that acknowledges the union of time, cosmos, and human experience, a belief also shared by Hinduism. Unlike the Abrahamic religions that believe in time being linear, both Buddhism and Hinduism consider time cyclical.

Unfortunately, Bhutan is now the only country left in the world to practice Vajrayana Buddhism, a tradition that originated in Tibet but became extinct in its land of origin after annexation by China. In such difficult times, India remains a strong backer for Buddhists across the world by virtue of being home to key sites such as Sarnath, Bodhgaya, and Kushinagar, where Buddha delivered his first sermon, attained enlightenment, and completed his mortal journey, respectively. It is in this regard that PM Modi has honoured the long-standing demand for a Bhutanese temple at Varanasi—a city home to multiple sites besides Sarnath where Buddha gave sermons to his disciples.

Buddhism and its beliefs draw upon the Sanatana teachings and hence serve as a core civilisational link between India and various countries, including Bhutan. In fact, PM Modi’s visit comes close on the heels of the enshrinement ceremony of a portion of Lord Buddha’s holy relics sent from India to Bhutan, which have been kept for public veneration at the Grand Kuenrey Hall, located within the Tashichhodzong Monastery.

In addition to refreshing the civilisational connection that ties both countries together, PM Modi’s visit has also boosted the economic relations that India and Bhutan share. Here, cooperation in the hydropower sector is of utmost importance. It contributes around 20 per cent to Bhutan’s GDP and constitutes around 63 per cent of its total export revenues, with India being the main buyer of its hydroelectricity. In this regard, PM Modi extended a $455 million line of credit to Bhutan during the visit and also inaugurated the India-funded 1,020-megawatt Punatsangchhu-II hydroelectric power project, which will increase Bhutan’s hydropower generating capacity by nearly 40 per cent and is the fifth India-backed hydropower project in the country.

Besides hydropower, India is also the largest trading partner of Bhutan, with Modi’s government’s efforts to bring Bhutan closely within India’s economic ambit having paid off—bilateral trade has almost tripled from $484 million in 2014–15 to $1.7 billion in 2024–25. During this week’s visit, PM Modi reiterated his commitment to improving economic ties by referring to his decision to link the Bhutanese cities of Gelephu and Samtse to the Indian railway network, which will further boost trade between the two countries.

Interestingly, the Bhutanese government is also working on the Gelephu Mindful City project, a first-of-its-kind urban development plan where the city, located on Bhutan’s southern border with India near Assam, is being developed as a Special Administrative Region complete with its own laws and a focus on priority sectors such as spirituality, wellness, education, agri-tech, finance, aviation, and tourism. Once developed, Gelephu would also serve as an important node in India’s own Act East Policy. This will definitely require Indian support, which PM Modi has already pledged during the visit.

Coming close on the heels of the tragic terror attack in India’s capital at the Red Fort, PM Modi’s visit has been questioned by the usual suspects over its timing. But what they fail to understand is that this is the loudest message the PM can send to the country’s enemies. India’s relations with Bhutan are an important part of its Neighbourhood First Policy, where any lackadaisical approach from the Indian side can easily leave a vacuum for China to fill. India has the upper hand in Thimphu because Bhutan doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with China due to its expansionist tendencies across many centuries.

Even today, China is indulging in salami-slicing tactics in Bhutanese territory. Though the border talks between them have been frequent, China has almost managed to blackmail Bhutan into handing over a high degree of control in Doklam to Beijing. As India rises, its increased engagements with the world at large are giving a sore eye to China and its ‘iron brother’ Pakistan. If Pakistan is using terror machinery to obstruct India’s normal course of diplomacy, then with PM Modi’s Bhutan visit, India has just proved that it will not be deterred by terrorists. Its geopolitical rise is here to stay, and only friendly neighbours such as Bhutan, who work on the principle of mutual well-being, will get the opportunity to be stakeholders in it.

The author is a New Delhi-based commentator on geopolitics and foreign policy. She holds a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She tweets @TrulyMonica. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.