“Not Anti-West, Just Pro-Bharat”: EAM Jaishankar Explains India’s Confident, Non-Western Worldview

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India’s evolving foreign policy rooted in a “Bharat vision” should not be misread as anti-Western, but as a confident, non-Western expression of its own identity. He stressed that clear, honest communication is key to avoiding misunderstandings with Western partners. Jaishankar noted that India is one of the few ancient civilizations to emerge as a modern nation-state, carrying a deep cultural inheritance often sidelined by Western-dominated intellectual frameworks. Reclaiming indigenous perspectives, he argued, is a natural post-colonial evolution that strengthens global diversity. He added that such diversity can coexist with and even reinforce- Western values, calling partnership with the West both important and mutually beneficial.