The Global South is also well aware of the burgeoning India-Israel ties — India is the largest purchaser of Israeli arms, and its current rulers want to emulate Israel in more ways than one. While India walked a tightrope, China asserted its leadership. If India continues to avoid taking a stand on contentious issues by sidestepping them, its opportunistic and self-serving behaviour is likely to be seen as unprincipled.
Several recent developments indicate that India is gradually losing its leadership of the Global South.India’s leadership role in multilateral organisations of the Global South, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS, is increasingly weakening. Unless it re-examines its foreign policy, India may find it increasingly difficult to balance its pursuit of ‘strategic autonomy’ and bloc-politics of the Global South.
Nearer home, in SAARC, India spent years painting Pakistan as the problem. Now, its neighbours are exploring regional alternatives with China’s help. When this is considered in conjunction with India’s selective advocacy of the problems of the Global South, it seems that its leadership aspirations suffer from a credibility gap.
India’s abstention on several UN resolutions for ceasefire in Gaza, muted response to Israeli and US attacks on Iran, and unwillingness to take a stand on the Dalai Lama’s succession and the autonomy of Tibet, suggest that it prioritises realpolitik over a principled Global South identity. If India continues to avoid taking a stand on contentious issues by sidestepping them, its opportunistic and self-serving behaviour is likely to be seen as unprincipled. The nations of the Global South will not stand by it…
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