India’s Hardest Choices in 2026 | Abhijit Chavda

India is entering a decade where its biggest challenges will not come from visible enemies alone — but from the choices it makes under pressure in a rapidly fragmenting world order. In this wide-ranging and rigorous conversation, Abhijit Chavda joins Bharatvaarta to examine the hard geopolitical decisions India faces today — from energy security and strategic autonomy to American pressure, global trade realignments, and the limits of the so-called “rules-based order.” We unpack why India’s purchase of Russian energy is not just an economic decision but a sovereignty test, how sanctions and tariffs are used as tools of control, and why Western demands rarely stop at a single issue. Abhijit Chavda explains how dollar dominance, payment systems, and global trade architecture have become instruments of coercion — and why India’s attempts to bypass them trigger resistance. The conversation moves through America’s containment strategy, regime-change patterns in South Asia, pressure on India’s neighbourhood, and why “multi-alignment” is not indecision but survival strategy for a rising power. We explore whether India can stay sovereign without picking sides, what happens if it doesn’t, and why the next few years may define India’s trajectory for decades. This episode isn’t about ideology. It’s about power, pressure, and the price of independence. ⸻ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – 01:00 • Introduction: India’s Moment of Decision 01:00 – 05:30 • Russian Oil, Energy Security & Western Pressure 05:30 – 10:30 • Sanctions, Tariffs & Economic Coercion 10:30 – 15:30 • Dollar Power, Trade Architecture & Financial Warfare 15:30 – 20:30 • Is the US Really Angry About Oil — Or Control? 20:30 – 26:00 • Containment Strategy: India, China & Unequal Treatment 26:00 – 31:30 • Multi-Alignment vs Picking Sides 31:30 – 37:00 • What “Vassal State” Pressure Actually Looks Like 37:00 – 43:00 • Regime Change, NGOs & Influence Operations 43:00 – 48:30 • India’s Neighbourhood: Pakistan, Bangladesh & Instability 48:30 – 54:00 • EU, America & India’s Strategic Options 54:00 – 59:30 • Trump, Establishments & How Power Really Works 59:30 – 01:05:30 • Can India Buy Time — Or Is Conflict Inevitable? 01:05:30 – 01:11:00 • India’s Strategic Path Forward & Closing Thoughts ⸻ 👉 If you found this conversation valuable, subscribe to Bharatvaarta. We bring you serious, long-form discussions on geopolitics, power, civilisation, and India’s strategic future. 🎧 Listen & Subscribe

X → https://x.com/Bharatvaarta Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bharatvaarta/ ⸻ 👤 Guest — Abhijit Chavda Geopolitical Analyst | Researcher | Strategic Affairs Commentator X → https://x.com/AbhijitChavda Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/theabhijitchavda/ ⸻ 👤 Host — Roshan Cariappa X → https://x.com/RoshanCariappa Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/carygottheblues/