Failed foreign policy pushing India toward ‘shocks and instability’ in 2026: Sawhney
New Delhi: A former Indian Army officer and defence analyst, Pravin Sawhney, has warned that India is heading toward “surprises, shocks and instability” in 2026 due to New Delhi’s confused and contradictory foreign policy, which he says is anchored in hostility toward China and Pakistan and subservience to US interests.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sawhney, while analysing the US National Security Strategy 2025 and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, said Washington has no strategic role for India, viewing it only asa commercial partner to contribute marginally to Indo-Pacific “security,” not militarily. He noted that the US instead assigns a clear strategic role to Pakistan, recognising South, West and Central Asia as a single critical Eurasian landmass.
Sawhney added that India, despite acting as a “vassal nation” of the US, has been sidelined in Washington’s long-term strategic calculus, while Moscow’s offer of an equal partnership was also declined because New Delhi refuses to normalise relations with China.
The analyst said India’s foreign policy now resembles “a man balancing on two stools—US and Russia—on unsteady legs,” adding that no policy can succeed without peace with Pakistan and stable ties with China.
He further criticised Indian policymakers for dismissing Russia as a declining power, warning that New Delhi’s miscalculations will accelerate instability within India as the geopolitical environment shifts in favour of China, Russia and Pakistan.
