At a glance
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India is the largest country in South Asia by size, population and economy, sharing land or maritime borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan. A stable, friendly periphery is the first condition of India's own security and rise. Why does the immediate neighbourhood remain India's hardest foreign-policy challenge, and how should the Neighbourhood First policy answer it?
- Neighbourhood First is the doctrine of giving priority to the immediate neighbours through development assistance, connectivity, trade and people-to-people ties, on a largely non-reciprocal, asymmetric basis (India giving more than it expects in return given its size). It echoes the older Gujral Doctrine (1996 to 1997) of accommodation towards smaller neighbours.
- The regional architecture: SAARC (1985), headquartered in Kathmandu, has largely stalled because of India-Pakistan tensions; India has shifted weight to BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal grouping, excluding Pakistan) and to bilateral and connectivity initiatives.
- The frontier link: open borders with Nepal (the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, free movement) and Bhutan, guarded by the SSB; the long, sensitive Bangladesh border guarded by the BSF, where the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement settled enclaves; and Myanmar, where insurgency and trafficking cross a porous frontier.
- The China factor: Beijing's growing footprint through the Belt and Road Initiative, ports and loans (concerns about debt sustainability in some neighbours), competes for influence across South Asia, making the neighbourhood a theatre of strategic contest.
- Recurring strains: periodic friction with Nepal over boundary and treaty issues, political swings in the Maldives and Sri Lanka, the management of the Bangladesh relationship, the Rohingya and refugee question, and the perennial difficulty with Pakistan over terrorism and Kashmir.
For generous, asymmetric engagement
- As the regional giant, India earns goodwill and strategic depth by giving more than it asks, through grants, lines of credit, vaccines, disaster relief and connectivity, which a purely transactional approach would forfeit to China.
- Connectivity (energy grids, roads, ports, payments) binds the region's economies to India and makes hostility costly, the surest long-term security.
For firmness and reciprocity
- Unconditional generosity can be taken for granted or exploited; neighbours sometimes play India and China against each other, and India must protect core security interests (terrorism, hostile basing, demographic and border concerns) firmly.
- Big-power behaviour perceived as overbearing breeds the "Big Brother" resentment that pushes smaller neighbours towards China; India must combine generosity with sensitivity to sovereignty.
The workable doctrine is generosity with quiet firmness and reliability. Deliver projects on time so that India is seen as a partner who completes what it promises (a contrast often drawn with debt-heavy alternatives); deepen connectivity and trade through BIMSTEC and bilateral links while keeping SAARC's door open; manage the open Himalayan borders through trust and the SSB rather than walls; protect non-negotiable security interests (no tolerance of cross-border terrorism or hostile foreign basing) without hectoring; and treat each neighbour's sovereignty and domestic politics with respect. A secure, prosperous, India-friendly periphery is built by being both the most generous and the most reliable partner in the region.
A great power is first tested in its own neighbourhood. India cannot rise on the world stage while its immediate periphery drifts, and the art of its statecraft lies in being large without being overbearing, generous without being taken for granted, and firm without being feared.
Thesis to adapt: India's Neighbourhood First policy should combine asymmetric generosity and reliable delivery with firm protection of core security interests, to build a stable, friendly and India-oriented South Asia.