 "US Sutra | India’s quest for great power status: What is needed?")
Has India’s time come at last? Many are saying as much more loudly than ever before. Many others are also hoping so, but a little more quietly and circumspectly. How much is the reality and how much is hype? What, moreover, does India need to do to come closer to joining, so to speak, the big boys’ club?
To begin with, India, clearly, aspires to being a great power. Secretly cherished and held close to its bosom, the nation has long harbored ambitions of punching close to its weight in the international arena. This aspiration and vision gained renewed vigour under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Modi envisions India as not just a participant but a shaper of the new global order.
The idea of a great power and what it really entails have also evolved considerably in the last hundred years. Historically, great powers have been defined by their economic might, military strength, technological prowess, and diplomatic influence. In the contemporary context, with global dynamics shifting towards a multi-polar or hetero-polar world, these attributes are no more sufficient without the added dimension of global responsibility. This entails not only protecting one’s own interests but also contributing to global peace and security.
As the US steps back from its role as a global policeman, the vacuum in international security governance is palpable. This shift heralds an era where regional powers might take on more significant roles in maintaining peace within their spheres of influence. For India, this transformation poses both opportunities and challenges.
But do we know what this really entails for India? It seems that the world will now see definite and well-defined spheres of influence, with aligned powers working in tandem. To be sure, India cannot hope to be a great power only by exerting moral authority or, for that matter, by flexing its growing economic muscle.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLet us be under no illusion: if it wants to be a great power, India must be willing to put boots on the ground outside its borders. Secondly, it must choose which side to be aligned with, the United States or the other side, whoever in addition to China may be on it. Both the above desiderata have considerable risks and consequences attached to them.
Are we prepared to see body bags coming home from distant shores, that too in conflicts and wars that are not directly related to us? In addition, are we really willing to take sides in Cold War 2.0? Unless we have clearer answers to these questions, no amount of bluster or boasting will really count for anything of significance in the international system.
We have, arguably, the best fighting force in the world. But we must be prepared to deploy it not just in self-defence, but to achieve strategic goals beyond our borders. This requires a significant shift in our mindset. We cannot merely mouth the old slogans and shibboleths of ahimsa and panchashila, which few respected anyways when it came to the world of realpolitik.
Historically, India’s military engagements have been largely defensive, focused on securing its borders, particularly with Pakistan and China. The only occasion on which we intervened militarily outside our borders was when the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) was invited to invade Sri Lanka. That didn’t turn out well for us. As a direct consequence, the prime minister who ordered it, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) operatives on May 21, 1991.
The earlier, much more successful intervention in Bangladesh, accomplished by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi’s mother, was in the Bangladesh liberation struggle twenty years prior. But Bangladesh then was a part of Pakistan, a country which we have been at war with practically ever since Independence and Partition in 1947.
Going forward, our efforts and exertions have to be much more systematic and purposive rather than accidental or reactive. They have to extend, probably, even beyond our immediate neighbourhood. Now to be recognized as a great power and find our rightful place on the United Nations Security Council, India must show readiness to act as a peacekeeper or even a peace-enforcer in conflict zones, whether in South Asia, the Indian Ocean region, or beyond.
This would mean not just participation in UN peacekeeping missions but also leading coalitions or acting unilaterally in areas where our strategic interests are at stake. Such actions could involve combating piracy, addressing humanitarian crises, or stabilising regions to prevent the spread of terrorism or other threats.
The involvement in international military operations, however, comes with significant implications for India’s foreign policy, military expenditure, and public opinion. It would need to bolster its military capabilities, possibly increasing its defence budget, enhancing its naval presence in the Indian Ocean, and developing rapid deployment forces. Moreover, such engagements could expose India to risks, including military casualties, international criticism, or prolonged and costly conflicts.
Are we prepared for such a role?
(To be concluded)
The writer is an author and columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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