Why India’s old West Asia strategy may be losing relevance: Shashi Tharoor on government’s Gulf policy

For decades, India’s approach to West Asia was built around strategic caution, economic interests and the ability to maintain relations with competing regional powers. In his latest column, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor argues that this approach served New Delhi well for years but is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain as the region’s security architecture undergoes a major transformation.

Tharoor describes India’s traditional policy as one of “deliberate ambiguity” and “strategic distance”, with West Asia viewed primarily through an economic lens.

“Delhi treated the ‘Middle East’ primarily as an economic hinterland: critical source of crude oil, a reliable destination for outbound labour, and a vital conduit for remittances.”

The approach allowed India to cultivate ties with countries on opposing sides of regional rivalries without committing itself to the security concerns of any particular capital. Tharoor notes that India sought to balance relations with Riyadh, Tehran, Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, an approach that came to be described as “multi-alignment.”

Why did the old policy work?

According to Tharoor, India’s cautious posture made sense when the United States was widely regarded as the principal guarantor of West Asian security.

“This defensive and essentially transactional posture served India well in an era when the United States stood as the undisputed guarantor of West Asian security, keeping sea lines of communication open and maintaining regional stability.”

India could therefore concentrate on oil, trade, investment, remittances and its large expatriate population while relying on the broader regional security framework to protect those interests.

But Tharoor argues that the geopolitical foundations of that arrangement are changing rapidly.

“However, the geopolitical bedrock of West Asia is undergoing a violent structural shift.”

He points to Washington’s recalibration of its global commitments and its move towards what he calls “selective engagement”, arguing that regional countries are increasingly looking for alternative security partners.

Why Tharoor thinks India needs to rethink its approach

The key problem, in his view, is that West Asian countries may no longer regard strategic distance or non-alignment as sufficient. They are seeking partners capable of providing tangible security — including defence cooperation, intelligence-sharing, maritime protection and counter-terrorism capabilities.

Tharoor warns that India’s continued reliance on trade and diaspora diplomacy could leave it vulnerable as regional security arrangements evolve.

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“Against this critical background, the assumption that trade ties and diaspora diplomacy alone can preserve Indian influence is rapidly unravelling.”

For India, the stakes extend beyond geopolitics. Instability in the Gulf and surrounding waterways directly affects India’s energy supplies, trade routes and millions of citizens living in the region.

Tharoor further notes that New Delhi must move beyond high-level diplomatic visits and economic summits towards a more substantive security role.

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