India’s global standing weakened amid strategic ambiguity, security challenges: Shiv Sena(UBT) in ‘Saamana’

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Thursday said the geopolitical landscape appeared increasingly challenging for India, and after incidents like the Pahalgam attack, the country has found itself isolated, lacking firm, unconditional backing from major global powers, reflecting a profound internal crisis regarding its current national and economic security.

The Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, argued that India’s position on the international stage has grown severely unstable, rendering a land of 1.4 billion people virtually inconsequential on the global map. The domestic economy faces a severe downturn, and the Indian Rupee has weakened drastically.

The editorial said that, in a move kept hidden from the public eye, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reportedly “liquidated 83 tons of gold from the national treasury to stabilise the collapsing economy, triggering fears regarding the future sale of national assets. The administration attempts to project a narrative of valour out of minor investigative details — such as tracing terrorist mobile phones back to China — while failing to demonstrate the political will to officially condemn Beijing despite clear evidence of its complicity”.

“While nations stand united in backing their allies — such as China, Russia, Yemen, and Turkey supporting Iran, or China backing Pakistan — India lacks a definitive, powerful global ally standing firmly by its side. Critics argue that India has systematically abandoned the principles of Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence) and its traditional policy of non-alignment,” remarked the editorial.

According to the editorial, despite India’s domestic rhetoric labelling Pakistan a bankrupt nation, global superpowers like the US and China continue to empower Islamabad for strategic interests, with nations like Iran and Turkey further complicating the matrix for India. The editorial claimed that India has failed to sever trade ties with Beijing despite major provocations like the Galwan Valley clash and the Pahalgam incident.

“If China actively fosters Pakistani terrorism on Indian soil, launching an economic counter-offensive against the Chinese economy should be a primary duty — a step the current administration has visibly avoided,” it commented.

Closer to home, diplomatic ties with neighbouring countries have hit a historical low. “Nepal’s Prime Minister recently declared publicly that significant portions of Indian territory are under Nepalese control, signalling that Kathmandu no longer defers to New Delhi and has aligned firmly with Beijing. Nepal, once widely celebrated as the world’s sole Hindu nation, has drifted culturally and strategically away from India,” said the editorial.

The Thackeray camp noted that during the era of Jawaharlal Nehru, India maintained robust friendships and open channels of communication with all neighbouring border states. While Prime Minister Modi frequently visits Western nations like Italy, there was a distinct lack of proactive diplomatic engagement and empathy towards smaller, immediate neighbouring states.

IANS