Indian Strategic Culture: Cultural History to Modern Geopolitics

The strategic approach of present day Bharat is the continuity of clustered ideas and experiences that India has generated over generations of great wars and friendships with the rest of the world from a very early phase of her cultural History.  

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‘Strategic Culture’ was first coined by Jack Snyder during the Cold War, he defined strategic culture as the “sum total of ideals, conditioned emotional responses, and patterns of habitual behaviour that members of the national strategic community have acquired through instruction or imitation and share with each other with regard to nuclear strategy”.

It refers to the assortment of beliefs and values that collectively shape the identity of a nation and set the pathway to follow by using the nation’s resources to meet the end goals of the country. It is an analytical tool that motivates policymakers to act in a specific way while handling various domestic and international crises. 

Although the rich history of India has time and again demonstrated a montage of diversified thoughts and strategic approaches in both its political and economic spheres, it has been questioned by certain strategic analysts like George K.Tanham. In his book ‘Indian Strategic Thought: An Interpretative Essay’, he argued that due to fragmented political history and colonial past, India was hindered form having a cohesive and consistent strategic culture.

CULTURAL HISTORY OF INDIAN STRATEGIC CULTURE

The Indian strategic culture can be traced back to its traditions, texts and schools of idea, and can be linked back to the present. Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata are more than just stories from the past, the protagonists i.e. Shri Rama and Shri Krishna teach us the role of “Dharma”, the righteous path that everyone must follow and preserve order.

These epics have had a huge impact that has driven the mindset of Indians for generations to make decisions during crises and consequently have made their way into the different contemporary strategic schools. 

The major turning point in India’s strategic culture is mostly considered when Chalukya wrote The Arthashastra dating back to the 3rd century BCE. It is a testament to statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. 

His ideologies helped Chandragupta Maurya to overthrow the Nanda dynasty and establish the Maurya Empire. In his Saptanga theory, Kautiya set forth seven essential organs of state, the king, the Ministers, The people and territory, The fort, A Strong treasury, a strong army and the Ally.

In this book, it elaborates on how to deal with friends and enemies, neighbouring states and how to confront them during war situations. Even in the modern era, this book is regarded as the most pertinent guide for making strategic policies.

In mediaeval times when India witnessed various powerful kingdoms, different dynasties used well-calculated strategies to have relations with the neighbouring kingdoms and expand their existing trade and territory.

Empires like the Maratha Confederacy, the Mughal Empire, the Bahmani Empire, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Cholas, the Kushans, the Mauryan or Ashokan Empire, and the name goes on. These empires marked our history with their great legacy and cemented their ideologies for centuries. 

We cannot deny that India has been a basket of an enormous amount of resources, and that is the reason why from Islamic to Turkish powers to Europeans, all tried to rule over the country and extract the value out of it. During the British era, the exploitation from our motherland increased exponentially, crippling our economy and core values.

This led to unequal power dynamics and exploitative policies that contributed to the persistence of wealth drain, hindered India‘s economic growth and development. The impact on India‘s social and cultural sphere was equally profound, fragmenting the Indian society and traditions. Yet our tradition and stronghold on our values made us revisit our ideas and ideologies. 

MODERN APPROACH OF INDIAN STRATEGIES

The modern Indian state approaches the strategical ideologies drawn from both its ancient and mediaeval past. Over time, various schools of thought have evolved, Nehruvianism, Neoliberalism and Hyperrealism, Marxism, Hindu nationalism or Hindutva and Gandhianism, are some of the major schools that influenced India’s policies in some way or another. 

The strategic policy of India is generally misinterpreted as it just revolves around wars.  Although, from Arthashastra, we can know how to win without battle, how to deal with stronger power, and how to choose between the risks associated with any course of action.

The complex nature of India’s strategic approach cannot be judged in a monotonous way, it is a combination of different compositions and complexities that have been refined over centuries, confronted by both internal and external disparities.

However, the strategic policy of India is generally misinterpreted as it just revolves around wars. It is true to a certain extent as India traditionally has stressed protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity, hence war is said to be matched by diplomacy.

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So, the current contemporary dynamics prioritise strategic autonomy and avoid alignment with any single major power bloc while establishing a constructive relationship with multiple global powers.  

The concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” is a Sanskrit phrase that translates to ‘the world is one family’ and has influenced the idea of “Viswa Badhu”, which has been the core principle of Bharatiya that runs through our veins.

Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi emphasised this concept by making it the theme of the 2023 G20 meeting hosted by India. It showcased India’s commitment towards “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. This resonates with the ideologies of India that sees the world as one global village, where the lines between nations, cultures and people have blurred.

CONCLUSION

Hence, the dynamic strategic approach of any country is an ever-evolving concept that deals with understanding a country's past and global orientation. In India, the core principle for keeping territorial integrity from the security and geopolitical standing has transcended political parties and electoral cycles.

The war in our histories, the geography of India and its strategic location, the cultural diversity and challenging geopolitical tussles, all have influenced the evolution of the Strategic culture of India.

The apparent short-term focus on pragmatic endeavours and other global strategic concerns is non-negotiable, having strong core values and long-term strategic culture is equally immanent for a country like India.

Striving for the goal of becoming the “Viswa Guru”, where India has envisioned itself as the knowledge giver to the rest of the world by maintaining peace and prosperity and emanating our culture and strong philosophical foundation to the global community.

India is expanding its international influence with the idea of a syncretic policy through its influential soft power and by constantly balancing and equilibrating between aggressive and negotiable choices, keeping the nation’s interest at the forefront.

These diversified visions of Bharat have expanded the perspective from being merely an economic powerhouse to an exemplary country, this kaleidoscopic vision of our foreign policy has become the driving force for nationalism in India and improved the image of being a reliable partner and brings a huge impact on the world by India’s diplomacy. 

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BY S.PRITICHCHANDA

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@thegeostrata.com