Grand Tamasha How India Engages the World
Mar 5, 2025
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America and author of "Vishwa Shastra: India and the World," dives deep into India's evolving foreign policy. He tackles misconceptions about India's strategic culture and highlights its pre-independence influences. Dhruva also discusses the tensions in India-Pakistan relations and the challenges India faces in Southeast Asia. Additionally, he examines how past non-alignment policies shape contemporary strategies and what the Trump administration's potential return could mean for India.
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Misunderstanding India's Approach
- India's approach to the world is poorly understood due to a decline in global curiosity and India's relative closedness.
- This has led to reliance on stereotypes, hindering a nuanced understanding of India's foreign policy.
Declining Interest in India
- Dhruva Jaishankar found a copy of Nehru's "Discovery of India" in a Boston library, observing its high circulation in the 1940s and 50s.
- However, it stopped being checked out for 30 years, signifying the decline of international interest.
Book Evolution
- Dhruva Jaishankar's book evolved significantly, shifting from a more opinionated, complex structure to a simpler, chronological narrative.
- Real-world events like the COVID pandemic and geopolitical shifts sharpened his existing arguments.
