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Introduction

When Narendra Modi assumed office as Indian prime minister in the summer of 2014 on the back of an electoral landslide, expectations ran high—but this was not the case in New Delhi’s strategic community. As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s candidate for the post, Modi had led a campaign that principally revolved around reforming governance and rejuvenating the economy, often drawing on his lengthy tenure as Gujarat’s chief minister. As Indian scholar C. Raja Mohan put it, “there was little expectation that a provincial leader like Modi . . . would make a big difference to Indian diplomacy.”

This pessimism in the run-up to Modi’s election was often punctuated by apprehension. Modi previously had been refused a visa to the United States owing to alleged tacit involvement in religious riots in Gujarat in 2002; in addition, he counted Ajit Doval as a close adviser—a former intelligence chief, Pakistan hawk, and the founder of a leading Hindu nationalist think tank. Many observers wondered if Modi’s foreign policy would be fundamentally inward-looking and nativist, shaped by the stark worldview of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologues like Vinayak Savarkar. Would his election significantly stress India-Pakistan relations? Would his (often self-promoted) image as a Hindu strongman hurt India’s ties with the liberal states of Europe and with the United States under then president Barack Obama?

Soon after his election, it became clear that Modi would enthusiastically engage with the world and seek to propel India toward more of a global leadership role. Early on, his government announced that it would transform India into a “leading power.” Many commentators went as far as to claim that Modi would significantly alter the very contours that shape Indian foreign policy. In a 2015 speech, Doval, who became Modi’s national security adviser, noted that India had to “increase [its] weight and punch proportionately.” He framed statecraft as