India's 'Neighbourhood First' Policy Needs To Be Carefully Recharted

India, in that sense, has been less fortunate. It has a neighbour that has indulged in anti-India activities transformed into cross-border terror. It has another neighbour with which it has a disputed boundary. And in the eastern sections of society, another neighbour is threatening to recreate a union with the neighbour to the west. 

India's Neighbourhood First Policy

Managing complicated and adversarial relationships with neighbours has tested India’s foreign policy since 1947. This requires skills beyond traditional diplomacy and the niceties of a diplomatic world. First and most importantly, a well-thought-out political approach is imperative to handle the neighbourhood. 

Second, personal connection is key to addressing sudden twists in situations. Third, nurturing a pro-India constituency in each of the immediate neighbouring countries is imperative to keep ties on track. Fourth, drawing red lines is part of realpolitik. And finally, regional economic integration under the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, which has generated results, is evident in the last decade. 

The events that are unfolding at present showcase India’s challenges as well as opportunities in the neighbourhood. While the anti-India constituency in Bangladesh raised its ugly head, Sri Lanka has been effusive in its praise for New Delhi, especially after the support it received during the recent cyclone. 

India-Sri Lanka Ties

India will provide a US$450 million aid package to Sri Lanka to help the island nation in its reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah. 

The November cyclone left more than 600 dead and millions homeless. The proposed package is worth US$450 million, including $350 million in concessional lines of credit and US$100 million in grants. New Delhi was quick in its response. It dispatched urgent humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material to Sri Lanka immediately after the cyclone. India’s National Disaster Response Force is also coordinating with Sri Lankan authorities and aiding in relief and rescue operations. India has also deployed helicopters from one of its aircraft carriers, the INS Vikrant, which was docked in Colombo, to support the island nation’s rescue and relief operations.

India-Bangladesh

While Bangladesh-India ties have been drastically going southward from that of a role model in partnership and neighbourly ties, India-Sri Lanka partnership got transformed in the backdrop of an economic crisis. 

New Delhi, as the immediate neighbour, came forward with support. The new government in Colombo that came to power in 2024, despite drawing its strength from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) bilateral ties have strengthened. 

Importantly, since 2022, anti-India rhetoric among the Sinhala politicians has considerably reduced amid the realisation that strong India-Colombo ties are beneficial for the long-term economy.

But the same size does not fit all.

What has succeeded in a post war Sri Lanka is unlikely to succeed in Bangladesh and Nepal, given the local circumstances and politics. Last week, India-Bangladesh partnership touched a new low with the interim regime failing to control anti-India radicals and forces. This has impacted the visa services amid security concerns. The situation, created by the radicals, has made it difficult for several critical patients from Bangladesh to travel to India, impacting a key pillar of the partnership. 

Attacks on historical cultural centres have further complicated the situation, putting the secular fabric of Bangladesh under stress. 

The inherent anti-India constituency has remained constant while BNP has shown an inclination to establish cordial relations with India, sensing victory in the elections. BNP may have realised that Bangladesh can only thrive with smooth cross-border economic and political linkages with India. New Delhi’s goal should be to encourage the return of inclusive politics and a crackdown against radicals. 

Encouraging Engagement

Red lines must be drawn in terms of foreign powers not being allowed to use Bangladesh to constrain India’s rise. The situation needs deft political handling and not traditional diplomacy. It is also important for India to work with the Bangladesh military and encourage engagements with the Indian armed forces. 

The military-to-military ties between India and Nepal helped when the Himalayan State witnessed two days of upheaval that unseated the country’s former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The movement in Nepal was not directed against India, and the situation remains stable. For India, it is key that the country is able to hold inclusive polls, consolidating multi-party democracy in the Himalayan State.

India needs to assert itself in its immediate neighbourhood without being aggressive. New Delhi must deepen its political ties with countries with which it has centuries-old linkages. India’s success in building the right political ecosystem in its immediate neighbourhood will be a measure of its global weight.        

(The writer is a commentator on geopolitics. Views are personal.)