Deep resonance on Global South: A fulcrum to India’s global reach

Anil Trigunayat, Vedika Znwar

India walks the talk for the Global South amidst its quest for reforming multilateralism for a multipolar world so that they are not left out

The year 2023 upheld India’s credibility as a strong champion for Global South aspirations. India is advocating for a more inclusive global governance structure, embracing new technological forefronts like digital public infrastructure. The Global South essays an instrumental role in Indian diplomacy’s playbook. It prompts a series of issues that keep sustainable development at its core, like global health, food security, mitigating climate change, steering towards a green economy, supply chain resilience, countering cyberterrorism, early implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, and so on.Advertisement

When India situates itself as a leading voice in the region, it needs to collaborate and engage with the developing world by keeping the Afro-Asian region at its center. The time-honoured partnership in the region illustrates substantive economic growth. With Africa, India’s trade has grown from US$ 68.5 billion in 2011–12 to US$ 98 billion in 2023.

India is now one of the top five investors in Africa. It is estimated that 200 developmental projects have been completed. Over 40 African countries are the largest recipients of lines of credit and capacity-building assistance extended by India bilaterally and under various schemes, as well as under the India-Africa Forum Summits (IAFS).You May LikeStop Worrying About Indian Parents. Highly Affordable 1 Crore Health Insurance At Just ₹390/Month Best Health Insurance!Click Here  by Taboola Sponsored Links 

The fourth IAFS is overdue and should be held this year so that new realities in accordance with India’s Africa policy enunciated by PM Modi while addressing the Ugandan Parliament could be implemented in the right earnest.

Africa is the future, especially in the second half of this century. A strong Africa is imperative for India at the global forums. Africa houses over 39 per cent of the global GDP, and there is a serious need to systematically overhaul their existing systems and reform them according to the situation. India’s persistent advocacy and eventual inclusion of the African Union (AU) during the G20 summit under its presidency is a testament to its steadfast commitment towards Africa. This is also highly appreciated by Africans.Advertisement

Thematically, India and Africa have a fostering strategic relationship in multifaceted dimensions, like the critical mineral sector. This synergises with the goals of sustainable development and a low-carbon future and amalgamates with India’s supply chain diversification and Africa’s goal to converge and cooperate on emerging avenues.

Furthermore, as India prepares itself for another dawn of the industrial age; the rise in technical capabilities in African workforces is improving the technical skill set. India has already shown its zeal by revamping and bolstering technical institutes and organisations that could increase the accessibility of technology in the region and create solutions to the challenges that mar the African continent.Advertisement

Indian President Draupadi Murmu, during her visit to Mauritius from March 11–13, which resulted in the foundation of 14 high-impact development projects, mentioned that it is a close maritime neighbour and a cherished partner in the Indian Ocean.

This coincides with when India is diving into the vast domain of the Global South and in the era of geopolitical contestations vying for influence in the region and shaping its grand strategy. Such ongoing and expanding mutually beneficial initiatives will surely help India’s quest to become a global rule-shaper rather than a permanent rule-taker. While carefully discerning, it is observed that resource rich, strategically located assets and territories on the Indo-Pacific, South Pacific, and African coasts have become new linchpins in India’s geopolitical approach.Advertisement

From India’s long-standing partnership with Mauritius to newly found relations with Papua New Guinea to the elevation of maritime relations between India and Australia over the eastern Indian Ocean, the maritime domain has come into greater focus.

This shows India is leaving no stone unturned to map out its path in the region. This also covers India’s own backyard, with a focus on developing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands. A paradigm shift in the world order has altered India’s contour in the broader picture of the Global South in the past decade. It is a reality that the strategic and economic pivot has moved to the South, with India being a key strategic player.Advertisement

While riding high on civilisational and cultural connections with the Global South, India’s newfound pursuits to engage constructively with the Global North and multilateral platforms represent an idea and opportunity for itself and the greater good. The Global South as a concept should not be misinterpreted as a revisionist outlook or a typical anti-western front. It is not limited, like an exclusive club. India being the torchbearer for the Global South is on the basis of collective solidarity, which seeks proactive engagement and multi-alignments.

The growing interest in the Indo-Pacific region was first proffered in 2007 by the erstwhile Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, who promoted the confluence of the two oceans—the Indian and Pacific. It was initially seen as a ploy by the US to use India as a decoy to contain China. A decade later, the Indo-Pacific was formally accepted by India when PM Modi, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018, professed openly about ASEAN centrality, inclusivity, and development for all.

Amidst the cut-throat rivalries and extremities in the region today, it is viewed as a course correction by India to build a discourse that counters the predatory tactics. Indo-Pacific does not mean to act like a dominant group that aims to corner any country, contrary to popular belief in geopolitical discussions.

PM Modi often reiterates that QUAD is the force for global good.

One of the most important fronts that has constantly been a part of the Global South debates is the reforming of multilateral institutions, including Bretton Woods, the skewed financial order, and the need for inclusivity in decision-making. When well-situated organisations like the WTO, after its recent debacle during the 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, are staring towards their lamenting future and de-judicialisation by the US. BRICS and SCO rise to the occasion. They provide an alternative to the predominantly Western outfits. From India’s perspective, these are non-Western and not anti-West.

However, India argues that the inclusion of non-West entities and democratisation of the level playing field are imperative, which is anything but antithetical to the West. Furthermore, India views the move as an inclusion of Eurasia, and Russia being a key player in the region increases the stakes.

Zooming on the economic corridor between India and Europe through West Asia (IMEC), India’s deepening strategic ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia are dispelling the grapevine talks regarding India as a hypernationalistic majoritarian country. Its naval presence in the Red Sea region, providing help and assistance to all, and geopolitically well integrated relations with West Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean region, and the Western Indian Ocean are gradually evolving according to its status as the first responder and security partner in the fraught geographies.

Politics in general abhors vacuums. Therefore, when the West and the developed world witness an overall saturation, the timing of the Global South as a concept is impeccable. However, the development of the Global South is not a zero-sum game. There are some major fault lines that would need to be addressed. The Chinese ‘iron grip’ needs to be tackled meticulously and consistently since China will be a strategic challenge for India in every geography. India needs to display its evenhandedness and harness its increasing diplomatic clout.

While India is performing well on the high table with its ‘India First’ campaign, its immediate neighbours in South Asia pose a recurring disjunct due to perceived Big Brother syndrome’. New Delhi’s predicament is coupled with neighbourhood dilemmas and perceived Chinese hegemonic presence. Due to power asymmetries prevalent in the region, India often encounters equivocal behaviour, but a proactive and benign Neighbourhood First policy will yield the requisite collaborative outcomes while contending with evolving realities.

Footprints of China in the region are evident from the most recent developments in the Maldives, where India has shown large-heartedness and continues to assist them. Pakistan never grew its own spine and has always been a proxy state for external forces, whether today for China or in the past for the US.

Pakistan‘s resort to terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy against India, Afghanistan, and even Iran is pretty evident. And SAARC became a casualty while India continued with other sub-regional-focused initiatives like ‘Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal’ (BBIN) and the ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC). Nepal and India have to deal with China’s shadow. Bhutan and India are recalibrating their approaches; however, India is monitoring the Bhutan-China border dynamics.

Bangladesh and India have witnessed a positive and stable engagement arc. The recent Katchatheevu Islands controversy has quickly become the talk of Indian politics, but damage control would be manageable between New Delhi and Colombo. Afghanistan under the Taliban has created scepticism, and India is contemplating and treading carefully for the larger good of the Afghan people. Although Myanmar is not a South Asian country, the unrest has a spillover effect on India’s eastern front. It forms an integral part of India’s Act East Policy and is a historic partner for India; hence, stability there is of importance.

Indian foreign policy has a major work cut out for itself to dissipate the uncertainties that the neighbourhood faces and poses. India and China will continue to play their part, but it will be for our South Asian neighbours to see what is good for them by seeing the recent debt diplomacy and issues by Sri Lanka and others. Indian diplomacy will need to work on its dual morality—sensibility and sensitivity—to display its maturity.

India needs to firmly convey to the neighbourhood that India does provide all help in a non-reciprocal manner but expects them to be sensitive to its core security concern. No doubt, big power rivalry in a contested region is always a difficult walk. The impending issues in the immediate vicinity need to be resolved for India to hold its ground on South-South cooperation, establish its benign leadership in the Global South, and portray itself as a bridge to reduce the rifts with the Global North.

EAM Jaishankar provides a different perspective. He states that with India’s profile on the rise, policymakers are experimenting and including the expectations of other nations, which are not confined to their immediate surroundings.

Since independence, India has spoken for the larger constituency and taken the cudgels on their behalf, especially during the anti-colonial struggle and thereafter, for their legitimate rights. India’s ideation of ‘Vishwaguru’ and ‘Vishwamita’ is not a woolly-headed and unwarranted proclamation but is rooted in its civilisational heritage, with ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ as the living dictum.

It presents India’s aspirational leadership with an urge to break out from the redundant world order that was constructed post World War II. India seems to show its political dexterity and benign and sane leadership with strategic autonomy, and the quest for multilateralism is deeply rooted in this fractious unipolar and bipolar era. India walks the talk for the Global South amidst its quest for reforming multilateralism for a multipolar world so that they are not left out.

Anil Trigunayat is a distinguished Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation and Vedika Znwar is a researcher in international relations and geo-politics. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author.