By Simran Sodhi
New Delhi, Sep 29. India is today seen as a rising global power, and in an increasingly multipolar world, India’s role can be denied by none. But India’s foreign policy has its own sets of challenges, the India-US relationship being one of them. But closer home, India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ is also in an urgent need for a fresh thrust.
The ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ first emerged in 2008 and but it was only in 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that this policy got its due emphasis. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are the countries that get covered under this policy.
If we were to take a quick look at India’s relationship with its neighbors today, it would be a fair assessment to make that apart from Bhutan, India’s ties with other States are in some kind of tensions.
Pakistan is the easiest to assess from that perspective. Essentially, India and Pakistan today have a frozen relationship where there are no high-level talks or visits. Bilateral trade is suspended, and since Operation Sindoor in 2025, the military tensions between the two have also spiked. India has repeatedly raised the point that ‘talks and terror’ cannot go together. India-Pakistan ties today probably stand at one of the worst junctions in bilateral terms.
The failure of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) can also be attributed to the deteriorating India-Pakistan ties. SAARC is in a state of comatose, with no summit held since the 18th summit in Kathmandu in 2014. A forum that was supposed to bring in regional harmony and foster better relations between South Asian neighbors is today more of a ‘dead’ forum.
Bangladesh is a case study where an excellent bilateral relationship has given way to tensions and bitterness. Under Sheikh Hasina from 2009 and 2024, both countries shared excellent ties highlighted by the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement and strong security cooperation. There was trust and regular high-level visits between the two countries and Dhaka was seen as one reliable partner and ally to New Delhi. But all that changed following the exit of Hasina in 2024.
Bangladesh remains India’s largest trading partner in South Asia with bilateral trade standing at $11.35 billion in the 2025–26 fiscal year. Despite this, the political tensions and mistrust is high. One of the sources of this tension is the presence of Hasina in India in exile while Bangladesh has asked India for her extradition.
Since 2024, Dhaka has also moved closer to both China and Pakistan. That only adds to India’s worries. Bangladesh is strategically very important for India and offers easy access to India’s Northeast region.
Nepal: India and Nepal have share historical and cultural ties. Much of history between the two countries is shared and it’s a relationship that was once regarded to be India’s strongest among its neighbors. But the recent changes in Nepal and the new government of Balen Shah has upset some of the old connections. Also, the fact that Nepal also wants to explore greater ties with China adds to India’s concerns. A growing Chinese footprint in South Asia is seen by India as signs of an aggressive China trying to assert itself in India’s ‘Sphere of Influence’. Nevertheless, India remains Nepal’s largest trade partner, continuing extensive investments in cross-border infrastructure and local development projects across Nepal’s various provinces.
Sri Lanka (SL) and India again go back a long way in terms of shared histories and cultures. India and Sri Lanka are deeply intertwined at the political level also. Any ethnic disturbances in SL usually lead to developments in India’s Southern States especially Tamil Nadu. India provided vital financial and humanitarian support, close to $4 billion, during Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis in 2022, including lines of credit, food, fuel, and currency swaps. SL remains one of the top destinations for Indian tourists. But in SL too, India’s concern is the sway towards China and Chinese investments in the island nation that cause stress in this bilateral relationship. For instance, China secured a 70% stake and a 99-year lease for the Hambantota Port in 2017 after SL struggled to repay construction loans. China has also funded other major projects in the island nation, which again worries India.
India’s other neighbours like the Maldives for instance has seen anti-India sentiment come to the fore many a times. Relations are more stable now but more work needs to be done in strengthening this important bilateral relation. With Afghanistan, India has slowly moved to working with the Taliban who now run the country. The fact that the Taliban and Pakistan have fallen out of late has led to some satisfaction in India’s policy circles. Bhutan remains the best example of close and warm bilateral ties for India in its immediate neighbourhood today. The Doklam plateau near the India-Bhutan-China trijunction is critically sensitive; Chinese control over ridges there would threaten India’s narrow Siliguri Corridor.
In short, India needs to turn its attention to its immediate neighbourhood. A fresh impetus, an effort at rebuilding some of the old connections and embracing friends like Bhutan closer is the way forward. The Chinese footprint gets larger in the South Asian region every day and India needs to act before its too late.
