Jun 03, 2026 12:49 pm IST

Opinion | Can India Find A Way To Shape US-Iran War, Without Actually Playing Mediator?

India's quandary is not one of surrendering its policy of strategic autonomy but rather in understanding that while autonomy is important, what makes it more effective is action.

Urjasvi Ahlawat Urjasvi Ahlawat Columnist

Urjasvi Ahlawat Columnist

India's role in the West Asia mediation efforts continues to be discussed in diplomatic circles, sparking debates ranging from claims that Pakistan's presence at the table reflects poorly on India's foreign policy, to the opposite view that India has been right to stay out. The question of whether India should have offered to mediate misses the more important point: New Delhi's choice to stay out was not a sign of fragility; it was a strategic choice. In conflicts of this scale and complexity, mediation is a high-risk, low-reward enterprise that demands, at the very least, credible leverage over all sides. 

Prudence, however, does not come without costs. As an independent nation, India's foreign policy has been anchored in the idea of strategic autonomy, the principle that decisions must serve national interests rather than those of any alliance. In a world of multilateralism defined by blocs, this approach created room for manoeuvre; it paved the path for India to build relationships across divides and engage competing powers at the same time, without being boxed in. Just as importantly, it kept New Delhi out of conflicts that did not directly serve its interests. In this sense, strategic autonomy was never just passive neutrality; it was an active effort to improve flexibility while reducing constraints.

But the world has changed faster than the doctrine of strategic autonomy that has been guiding it. The management of today's crises no longer relies on........

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