Change of government in neighboring countries, what will be the effect on India's policy?
September 30, 20245 Mins Read
International Desk: Chief Advisor of Bangladesh Government Muhammad Yunus met with US President Joe Biden during the session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

A press note published by Joe Biden's office highlighted the warming of the relationship between the two leaders. US says Bangladesh 'must do more' to rebuild. News from BBC Bengal

But the warmth seen between Yunus and Joe Biden in New York may be a cause for concern for the Narendra Modi government.

Modi government is trying to establish relations with the new government of Bangladesh in the changed situation. Bangladesh is one of India's neighboring countries, which has had a recent change of government. As a result, India's relations with those countries have become somewhat unstable.

Leftist Anura Dissanayake was elected president in Sri Lanka last week. Nepal and Maldives transition in 2023 and Myanmar and Afghanistan in 2021.

On the other hand, India's relations with China and Pakistan continue to strain.

After Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, his government introduced the 'Neighbourhood First' policy to improve India's relations with neighboring countries.

Many feel that it is time to judge how effective that policy is after the change of government in neighboring countries.

India has been in conflict with several of its neighboring countries in recent times. Let's take a look at how India's neighboring conflicts are going.

First the Maldives.
The election slogan of the new president of that country, Muhammad Muiz, was 'India out'. After coming to power, he broke a tradition that had been going on for decades. It was a tradition that every president's first foreign visit to Maldives after coming to power was to India.

But Mr. chose Turkey for the first visit. moose On his return from a visit to China earlier this year, he urged India to withdraw Indian troops from the Maldives.
India accepted the request and withdrew its troops.

After coming to power in Nepal in 2020, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that India was interfering in Nepal's internal affairs.

However, in 2024 Mr. Oli has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal and now the relations between the two countries are gradually normalizing.

During the General Session of the United Nations last week Mr. Oli and Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting. Both countries described the meeting as positive.

In the context of Afghanistan, India has not yet recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of that country. However, India is also in the list of 15 countries that have diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.

Finally, Bangladesh.
After Muhammad Yunus came to power, India was somewhat on the backfoot. India had good relations with Sheikh Hasina's government.

But when the anti-Hasina protests started in Bangladesh, the people there began to look at India with suspicion.

Both Prime Minister Modi and Yunus have expressed their willingness to work together, but the direction is yet to be decided.

How effective is the 'Neighborhood First' policy?
Many experts feel that India has not prioritized relations with its neighbors in its efforts to improve relations with major countries like the US and Russia.

Suhasini Haider, senior journalist and diplomatic editor of The Hindu, said, 'Relationships with its neighbors have never been easy for India. For the past 10 years, the government has talked about Neighborhood First, but has not acted on it. Not much attention has been paid to this issue. So India should not expect these countries to feel good about India.

Suhasini Haider says, 'It is wrong to think that the governments of neighboring countries will always agree with India's foreign policy. India cannot impose its foreign policy on its neighbours.

The government is getting this lesson from the constant changes in the neighboring countries.

But Veena Sikri, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, feels that India's 'neighbourhood first' policy is dynamic enough.

In his words, 'This policy is very flexible. We (India) can adapt to any situation. The best example of this is how India in the Maldives Mr. Countered Muiz's 'India Out' policy. Gradually the matter settled down.

'When Sri Lanka faced a massive economic crisis, India provided financial assistance to Sri Lanka. In the case of Bangladesh too, India has said that it wants to work hand in hand with the interim government,' said Sikri.

In his words, 'This shows that the Neighborhood First policy is improving and is now quite robust. This policy has been tested over the last few years and now the policy has passed that test.'

Experts also say that India's relations with neighboring countries are affected by various factors. These include internal changes and democratization of those countries.

Swarn Singh, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, says there is no doubt that the change of power in these countries has challenged India's foreign policy.

Smaller countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and the Maldives follow an 'equal-distance' policy from China and India.

India cannot influence the internal changes of any of its neighbours, but in some cases like Bangladesh, India has shown a lack of foresight.

According to Suhasini Haider, the situation in Bangladesh is particularly serious because India has not been able to properly assess the situation there, despite having the Indian High Commission and four embassies in the country.

'In Bangladesh, India kept in touch with only one side and ignored the opposition in that country. Now India has to pay for this mistake,' said Suhasini Haider.

He also says that in contrast, India has handled the political situation in Sri Lanka very well.

Experts say India needs to be very patient in its relations with neighboring countries. Veena Sikri said, 'I would say that India's relations
with neighboring countries are positive and our foreign policy is capable of handling any situation. Governments change all over the world, but our response will be such that the reputation of the country remains intact. Our foreign policy has to adapt to those changes.

Suhasini Haider says that India should understand that its domestic policies can also affect relations with neighboring countries.

'It is not enough to keep in touch with the rulers, it is also necessary to win the hearts of the common people of these countries,' said Suhasini Haider. According to Professor Swarna Singh, patience is the key.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is coming on a visit to Bangladesh