TOKYO — “The Indian Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World,” a book published in 2020 by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and widely read in Japan and elsewhere, is intriguing because it explains in an easy-to-understand way how India, which belongs to the democratic camp but places importance on its relations with China and Russia, behaves on the world stage.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was treated warmly when he visited the U.S. in late June. While President Joe Biden’s administration is eager to entice India to the Western bloc, the book argues that India does not want to make a choice between the U.S. and China or Russia. Pragmatic judgments on issues such as energy procurement and economic growth are critical to India’s survival. These considerations determine the nation’s diplomacy, Jaishankar argues.