On 12 June, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and lasting ceasefire in Gaza. It spoke of ending Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war.

A total of 149 nations voted in favour.

America and Israel opposed.

India abstained from voting, repeating a pattern adopted during the Modi era.

While this has upset a handful of Indians because it is a break from India's longstanding position on Palestine and Palestinians, it is in keeping with the thrust of the BJP's Hindutva ideology.

Meanwhile, the government’s supporters are upset by the even-handedness with which the world has approached our recent conflict with Pakistan. But — and this is tough — what we must acknowledge is that we cannot get nations to take our side.

This column is not a critique of India's foreign policy under Narendra Modi — it is an attempt to explain it.

From the very beginning — that is, during its Jana Sangh avatar in the 1950s — the BJP’s manifestos have had little to offer in terms of foreign policy doctrine. However, foreign minister S. Jaishankar has laid out his thesis in his writings, which will surely help us appreciate what India is attempting to do in the world.

Jaishankar — whose first book of essays was published just before Trump lost in 2020 — assumes that in our time, the United States and Europe will look inward, while

© National Herald