AN OVERVIEW OF INDIA FOREIGN POLICY IN SOUTH ASIA (1998 - 2007)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the trajectory and core determinants of India's foreign policy in South Asia between 1998 and 2007, contextualizing this era within the broader historical evolution of Indian diplomacy since independence. Transitioning from post-independence Non-Alignment and cold war strategic constraints to post-Cold War market liberalization, India's regional posture underwent significant reorientation. The decade spanning 1998 to 2007 marked a decisive shift characterized by the 1998 nuclear tests, the 1999 Kargil conflict, and the post-9/11global strategic environment. During this period, New Delhi leveraged anti-terrorism partnerships, enhanced economic clout, and expanding defense cooperation—including landmark nuclear agreements—to assert its regional prominence and counter security threats along its borders. The study evaluates how India balanced its foundational principles—such as peaceful coexistence and anti-imperialism—against realpolitik objectives, specifically its efforts to isolate regional rivals like Pakistan, manage asymmetrical security ties with peripheral neighbors (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh), and project itself as a dominant regional power and an indispensable global actor.