MANGALURU: Former Indian envoy to the United Nations TS Tirumurthi on Sunday said India’s foreign policy must be guided by strategic autonomy, realism and confidence, rather than nostalgia for an international system that is rapidly losing relevance.
Speaking at the Mangaluru Lit Fest on the theme “Bharatheeya Thought in a Globalised World”, Tirumurthi argued that New Delhi should adapt to a geopolitically driven world by firmly prioritising national interest while avoiding unnecessary entanglements.
Tirumurthi emphasised that geopolitics has now taken precedence over trade, technology, and development, fundamentally altering how countries pursue their interests.
In such an environment, India’s foreign policy, he argued, must be pragmatic and multi-aligned rather than idealistic. He warned that reliance on any single power centre would be risky, especially as major powers increasingly prioritise transactional relationships over shared values.
On India’s engagement with the US, Tirumurthi described the relationship as crucial, but currently strained. He pointed to trade frictions, tariff barriers, visa restrictions and continued US support to Pakistan as indicators that India no longer occupies a central place in Washington’s strategic worldview.
He said despite this, India should not yield to pressure. Unlike traditional US allies, India does not have a vested interest in preserving the old liberal order, he said and called for a new architecture in India-US ties based on mutual benefit and realistic expectations.
On China, Tirumurthi said India’s foreign policy must combine firmness on security with openness on economic cooperation. He acknowledged unresolved border tensions, deep trade imbalances, and Beijing’s strategic alignment with Pakistan as serious concerns.
However, he said sustained confrontation is not a viable option, given shared borders and China’s global economic footprint. India, he said, must find a calibrated way to engage China by separating strategic competition from mutually beneficial economic engagement.
Tirumurthi also urged India to recalibrate its expectations from Europe, noting that the EU remains distracted by transatlantic pressures and internal challenges. He said India should remain open to deeper engagement but not be passive in the face of moral lecturing or limited strategic commitment from European partners.