Dr Swasti Rao joined ThePrint as Consulting Editor (International and Strategic Affairs) in 2024. She is a geopolitical expert, commentator, and author. You can reach her at swasti.rao@theprint.in.
There may indeed be some strategic synergy here, and several points in the article suggest that there is still no clear picture of how these dynamics would ultimately play out. But the larger message for India should not be overlooked.
After Surgical Strikes, Balakot, and Operation Sindoor, Pakistan appears to be signaling to India :” be extremely careful about what you do next”. The strategic environment is changing, partnerships are evolving, and assumptions about who stands alone and who has support can no longer be taken for granted.
That is precisely why India should remain focused on building an exceptionally strong foundation at home: a resilient and modern economy, highly capable armed forces equipped with advanced technology, world-class intelligence and networked security systems, efficient infrastructure, and a healthy, productive population with meaningful opportunities.
India’s message should be simple, quiet, and unmistakable:
India may stand alone, but India is unshaken, unafraid and beyond coercion .
True power does not need to announce itself every day. It is demonstrated through preparedness, resilience, capability, and the confidence that comes from knowing your foundations cannot easily be shaken.
India’s objective should be to build such overwhelming economic, technological, institutional, and defensive strength that any potential adversary understands—without needing to be told—that coercion will not work.
That is the essence of credible deterrence: not aggression, but the unmistakable ability and resolve to protect oneself.
The strongest response to any emerging alliance is therefore not fear of it, but preparation for it. Build the economy. Modernize the armed forces. Strengthen intelligence. Invest in infrastructure, healthcare, education, technology, and jobs. Make the country internally stronger, more prosperous, and more resilient.
Because when the foundations are strong enough, the strategic calculus changes.
The ultimate message is not “we will destroy anyone who challenges us.” It is far more powerful: “We cannot be coerced, we cannot be intimidated, and we will always have the capacity to protect ourselves.”
And that message, delivered quietly through capability rather than rhetoric, is often the most powerful deterrent of all.
India is everywhere. India is nowhere. In my dictionary, that observation of the columnist itself is equal to a Ph D dissertation on international relations.
Whatever the substance, and these are three middle powers in their own right, the symbolism is not good for India. One, it lays to rest the fallacy of isolating Pakistan globally, on which so much diplomatic capital has been expended for a decade. Coupled with a stubborn refusal to have a normal diplomatic discourse with it. 2. First there was the MDA with KSA. Now Turkey has joined. Both after Operation Sindoor. Should the need arise to revive that military operation – the official stand is that it is merely on hold – can Indian decision makers proceed, ignoring completely the fact of this three member alliance, formed significantly in Mecca.
There may indeed be some strategic synergy here, and several points in the article suggest that there is still no clear picture of how these dynamics would ultimately play out. But the larger message for India should not be overlooked.
After Surgical Strikes, Balakot, and Operation Sindoor, Pakistan appears to be signaling to India :” be extremely careful about what you do next”. The strategic environment is changing, partnerships are evolving, and assumptions about who stands alone and who has support can no longer be taken for granted.
That is precisely why India should remain focused on building an exceptionally strong foundation at home: a resilient and modern economy, highly capable armed forces equipped with advanced technology, world-class intelligence and networked security systems, efficient infrastructure, and a healthy, productive population with meaningful opportunities.
India’s message should be simple, quiet, and unmistakable:
India may stand alone, but India is unshaken, unafraid and beyond coercion .
True power does not need to announce itself every day. It is demonstrated through preparedness, resilience, capability, and the confidence that comes from knowing your foundations cannot easily be shaken.
India’s objective should be to build such overwhelming economic, technological, institutional, and defensive strength that any potential adversary understands—without needing to be told—that coercion will not work.
That is the essence of credible deterrence: not aggression, but the unmistakable ability and resolve to protect oneself.
The strongest response to any emerging alliance is therefore not fear of it, but preparation for it. Build the economy. Modernize the armed forces. Strengthen intelligence. Invest in infrastructure, healthcare, education, technology, and jobs. Make the country internally stronger, more prosperous, and more resilient.
Because when the foundations are strong enough, the strategic calculus changes.
The ultimate message is not “we will destroy anyone who challenges us.” It is far more powerful: “We cannot be coerced, we cannot be intimidated, and we will always have the capacity to protect ourselves.”
And that message, delivered quietly through capability rather than rhetoric, is often the most powerful deterrent of all.
India is everywhere. India is nowhere. In my dictionary, that observation of the columnist itself is equal to a Ph D dissertation on international relations.
Whatever the substance, and these are three middle powers in their own right, the symbolism is not good for India. One, it lays to rest the fallacy of isolating Pakistan globally, on which so much diplomatic capital has been expended for a decade. Coupled with a stubborn refusal to have a normal diplomatic discourse with it. 2. First there was the MDA with KSA. Now Turkey has joined. Both after Operation Sindoor. Should the need arise to revive that military operation – the official stand is that it is merely on hold – can Indian decision makers proceed, ignoring completely the fact of this three member alliance, formed significantly in Mecca.