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Journalism of Courage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brazil for the BRICS leaders’ summit was one of the longest he has made in the last 11 years.
While he has usually included a stopover visit to a country on the way to the summit destination and another on the way back, this time he included as many as four destinations. The PM arrives in India on Thursday morning from Namibia, his last stop.
The PM’s July 2-9 visit, which also included stops in Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, and Argentina, has been framed as India’s outreach to the Global South.
India and the Gaza war
The Global South outreach has its context.
India has taken a much more pronounced pro-Israel position especially since the war in Gaza started after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. This has been noticed by the developing countries, now collectively referred to as the Global South.
One of the first impacts was felt at the election for the UNESCO Executive Board vice chair in November 2023, in which Pakistan defeated India with the support of Global South countries.
Days later, the Second Voice of the Global South summit hosted by India witnessed a lesser participation of top leaders than at the First Voice of the Global South summit in January that year.
Several developing countries perceived India as positioning itself in the major powers’ club, taking a position in favour of Israel, and not criticising its actions in Gaza.
Turn away from Israel
At the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in Russia in June 2024, India joined in grouping in expressing “grave concern at the deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli military operation that led to mass civilian displacement, death and casualties, and destruction of civilian infrastructure”.
This was the sharpest statement by Delhi criticising Israel in a multilateral grouping till then. Its positioning was intended to protect its leadership position in the Global South, for which China is a contender.
This was repeated during the BRICS leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro this week in the context of both the Israeli-American strikes against Iran and the continuing war in Gaza.
On Iran, the BRICS declaration said: “We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025, which constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and express grave concern over the subsequent escalation of the security situation in the Middle East.” The declaration also expressed “grave concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with the resumption of continuous Israeli attacks against Gaza and obstruction of the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory.”
These more recent statements are seen as strategic hedging and a balancing act by New Delhi. While Israel is an important strategic partner with which India has a deep defence and security relationship, it also has an important constituency in the Global South, where many view Israel as the aggressor.
Pak, terror concerns
While Israel stood firmly with India during Operation Sindoor, not many countries from the Global South did. India conducted military strikes against terror locations and military bases in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, but several countries took Islamabad’s claims of civilians and civilian infrastructure being targeted at face value and without questions.
New Delhi then despatched multi-party political delegations to various capitals to explain its position, and to display its internal political unity against Pak-sponsored terrorism. The target audience was the political class in these countries, many of which are part of the Global South and currently members of the UN Security Council.
It is important in this context that the BRICS leaders’ declaration adopted in Rio late on Sunday night condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack “in the strongest terms”, and reaffirmed the commitment of BRICS “to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens”.
The Pahalgam paragraphs are a gain for New Delhi — having succeeded in persuading the other powers in the grouping, including China, to sign off on them — even as it has yielded on the paragraphs on Gaza and Iran. China has previously blocked attempts to sanction Pakistan-based terrorists and terrorist groups at the UN.
