India Narrative

28 When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Wellington this week, he brings more than ceremonial goodwill. He brings the weight of a carefully negotiated free-trade agreement that, if properly implemented, could reshape how two geographically distant democracies collaborate in an era of fractured global commerce.

18 Ganeshotsav is celebrated on a grand scale in Mumbai in July. Gigantic Ganesh idols are fabricated and displayed in public spaces. Smaller ones are installed at home, worshipped for ten days, and finally immersed in water. The shouts of Ganapati Bappa morya rent the sky, clouds of coloured powder rise. There is frenzied dancing to the pulsating beats of music as the procession carrying Ganesh for visarjan (immersion) winds its way.

54 India and Australia are at a genuinely strategic inflection point: the Melbourne summit signals that the relationship is no longer just about diplomacy or trade, but about building shared capacity in energy, technology, talent and capital. The language of “natural and trusted partners” is not just summit rhetoric; it reflects a policy framework that now spans clean energy, education and skills, agribusiness and technology, with wider room for defence, space and advanced industry cooperation.

56 Despite renewed speculation, an “Islamic NATO” remains highly unlikely. Deep internal rivalries, enduring dependence on the United States, structural constraints, and competing strategic interests make the emergence of a cohesive military alliance improbable.

India’s infrastructure story is no longer one of aspiration; it is one of acceleration, innovation, and confidence. Over the past decade, the country has fundamentally reimagined how it builds, finances, …

29 India’s new defence and cooperation package with Indonesia is significant because it combines hard power, industrial diplomacy, and maritime strategy in one move. Signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jakarta, the headline items are agreements on India’s BrahMos and Astra missile systems, along with a push to jointly develop Sabang Port near the Strait of Malacca — a move that could deepen India’s footprint in Southeast Asia.

30 The Quad, or the Quadrilateral, is a mechanism by which four countries—the United States, India, Japan, and Australia—coordinate their diplomatic partnership in the larger Indo-Pacific region. For India, the Indo-Pacific stretches from the east coast of Africa to the West Coast of the US. It is NOT centered on China. The Quad is neither an alliance, a military grouping, nor a plurilateral organization. It has no organization or secretariat.

52 For long, strategic thinkers lamented India’s lack of a clear maritime strategy, stemming from a continental security mindset driven by land-oriented concerns, weak naval foundations, and limited geo-economic obligations. However, the picture has been changing gradually since the dawn of this millennium. Today, the maritime neighbourhood is increasingly featuring prominently in India’s strategic formulations.

70 Russia was the world’s second-largest crude oil exporter as recently as 2023, trailing only Saudi Arabia (EIA 2025). In July 2026 it also became, for the first time in its war on Ukraine, a buyer of petrol. Reuters reported on July 1 that at least 60,000 metric tons of Indian gasoline were already at sea, carried by two tankers, with Russian buyers planning to import roughly 400,000 tons a month from India and other suppliers (Reuters 2026a).

35 As Bangladesh began to show its first signals of hard geopolitical steering, drifting away from India and embracing China, that too strategically, India must ensure that its tactical footprint and core interests remain intact on the ground. The recent visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq Rahman to China has given strong signals of diplomatic vectoring that goes beyond sensible and sound pragmatism.