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When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pictured laughing and embracing Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in China, many hailed it as savvy statecraft. But for those who recall India’s historical wounds, these images sting. Behind the veneer of diplomacy lies a troubling erasure: the memory of Chinese aggression in 1962, Russia’s role in Cold War–era destabilization, and the uncomfortable reality that India’s economic lifelines today are tied not to Beijing or Moscow, but to the West—especially the United States.
The Ghost of 1962
It bears repeating: India nearly ceased to exist as we know it in 1962. China’s invasion across the Himalayas caught New Delhi flat-footed, exposing Prime Minister Nehru’s misplaced trust in Beijing’s “Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai” slogans. Only U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s rapid military and diplomatic support prevented catastrophe. Without that intervention, India might have been reduced to the fate of Tibet—occupied and assimilated.
And yet, at the SCO, Modi seemed to mirror Nehru’s blind optimism, laughing alongside the very leader whose forces remain entrenched on Indian soil in Aksai Chin.
Moscow’s Double-Edged Role
Russia, too, has never been the uncomplicated “ally” of Indian imagination. During the Cold War, Moscow’s intelligence networks operated deep inside India, shaping domestic politics in ways still not fully unpacked. Historians and intelligence analysts have pointed to evidence of Soviet influence in Punjab in the late 1970s and early 1980s, where false flag operations exploited Sikh grievances and helped fuel the unrest that culminated in Operation Blue Star.
For Delhi to now embrace Putin as a partner, even as Moscow tilts toward Beijing and courts Islamabad, is more than ironic—it is dangerously myopic.
A Hybrid Nehru 2.0 and Indira 2.0?
The optics of Modi’s behavior at the SCO raise an uncomfortable question: has the Prime Minister become a hybrid of Nehru 2.0 and Indira 2.0? Nehru, who miscalculated China’s intentions, left India exposed to invasion. Indira, who centralized power and allowed external manipulation of domestic politics, pushed India into an era of authoritarian drift and internal violence. Modi, a leader who built his brand on muscular nationalism and clarity of purpose, now risks repeating both their mistakes—romanticizing adversaries abroad while eroding strategic clarity at home.
The Economics Modi Ignores
The most jarring omission from this SCO theater is economics. Where does the wealth of India’s global diaspora reside? In the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, and other Western economies. Indian-origin entrepreneurs, technologists, and professionals have built enormous influence in Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Western political systems. Their remittances and investments form a critical artery of India’s economy.
By contrast, how much Indian wealth lies in Russia or China? Almost none. Neither Moscow nor Beijing has been a magnet for Indian diaspora capital. Neither offers the legal protections, entrepreneurial ecosystems, or openness that attract Indian talent. For Modi to hug Putin and Xi as if they were economic partners on par with Washington, Ottawa, or London is to ignore the basic arithmetic of India’s prosperity.
The Danger of Weaponized Optics
In today’s media-saturated world, optics are not trivial—they are weapons. Modi’s embrace of Xi and Putin will be replayed endlessly in Chinese and Russian media as proof of India’s submission to their sphere of influence. Meanwhile, adversarial propaganda will use the same images to question India’s credibility in forums like the Quad or Indo-Pacific partnerships.
This is not strategy. It is self-sabotage.
A Call for Strategic Clarity
India does not need to abandon the SCO, but it must recalibrate its presence. Participation should be pragmatic and businesslike—not jubilant and theatrical. History demands sobriety, not spectacle. A nation that survived 1962 with Kennedy’s lifeline, endured Soviet manipulation during the Cold War, and now depends on Western markets for its diaspora wealth cannot afford to indulge in photo-ops that betray its own narrative.
If Modi continues down this path, he risks being remembered not as a leader who secured India’s sovereignty, but as one who repeated the follies of Nehru and Indira in a new century. India’s future cannot be built on the erasure of its past.
Akshay Sharma is a former Gartner analyst and contributor to both the SWIFT protocol for International Banking and ARINC 629 Databus used in Boeing and Airbus aircraft, for fly-by-wire. He served as CTO for firms supporting the World Bank, India’s DRDO, and Air Force. Now Chief Technology Evangelist for an AI/ML company, he is a board member of Somy Ali’s nonprofit No More Tears, and has over 30 published essays in ThePrint.IN. He draws inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, and is a descendent of Maharishi Bhardwaj, inventor of the Vimanas.
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