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By:

Rajiv Shah

22 September 2025 at 8:32:23 pm

New Alliances, New Pressures, New Fault Lines

To its west, old relationships in the Gulf are acquiring new strategic and military dimensions. Across the Atlantic, Washington is increasingly using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy. At the same time, India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and prepares to host its summit when the grouping is being watched in the West as a potential challenge to the American-dominated global financial order. Individually, these developments may appear unrelated. Put together, they reveal a larger...

New Alliances, New Pressures, New Fault Lines

To its west, old relationships in the Gulf are acquiring new strategic and military dimensions. Across the Atlantic, Washington is increasingly using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy. At the same time, India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and prepares to host its summit when the grouping is being watched in the West as a potential challenge to the American-dominated global financial order. Individually, these developments may appear unrelated. Put together, they reveal a larger geopolitical churn in which alliances, energy, trade, currencies and economic coercion are becoming interconnected. India finds itself almost at its centre. The emerging Saudi Arabia–Türkiye–Pakistan security equation deserves particular attention. Saudi Arabia brings enormous financial and energy influence; Türkiye possesses considerable military strength, NATO experience and an expanding defence industry; Pakistan brings a large military establishment and nuclear capability with the open support of Washington. Any arrangement containing a collective-defence commitment naturally acquires significance beyond ordinary diplomatic cooperation. Alongside it, another strategic convergence has gradually developed among India, Israel and the UAE. It would be incorrect to describe this as a formal military alliance. Yet geopolitics does not operate through defence treaties alone. India's extensive defence and technology relationship with Israel, its rapidly expanding economic and strategic partnership with the UAE, and the UAE-Israel relationship following the Abraham Accords have created considerable common ground. I2U2—bringing together India, Israel, the UAE and the United States—added another institutional dimension. Thus, without necessarily becoming opposing military camps, two interesting strategic formations are visible across West Asia: Saudi Arabia–Türkiye–Pakistan and the looser India–UAE–Israel convergence. Balancing Challenge India faces a similar balancing challenge. The Gulf is not a distant geopolitical theatre for New Delhi. Nearly nine million Indians live and work there. India's energy security, investments, trade and remittance flows are closely connected with the region. The proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor also requires relative stability across this geography. Polarisation in West Asia can therefore rapidly become an Indian economic and strategic problem. There is another question Indian planners cannot ignore. If a future India-Pakistan confrontation escalates, how would any collective-defence commitment involving Pakistan be interpreted by Saudi Arabia and Türkiye? It would be alarmist to assume that either country would automatically enter a conflict against India. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has substantial economic and strategic interests in maintaining good relations with New Delhi. Nevertheless, defence planners are paid to examine possibilities before they become crises. While these equations develop in India's neighbourhood, economic pressure is emerging from Washington. The US Senate has voted 86–11 for legislation intended to increase pressure on Russia by targeting major purchasers of Russian energy. The measure could authorise tariffs reaching 100 per cent against goods from countries continuing large-scale purchases of Russian oil and gas, with India among those potentially exposed. China is powerful enough to shrug off similar challenges from the West." However this does not mean that America has already imposed a 100 per cent tariff on India. Further legislative steps remain necessary, and presidential waiver provisions are important. But the overwhelming Senate vote carries a political message that New Delhi cannot dismiss. Tariffs are no longer merely tools of trade protection; they have become instruments of geopolitical coercion. Washington's argument is understandable: revenues from Russian petroleum help sustain Moscow's economy during the Ukraine war, and reducing those revenues increases pressure on Russia. But in that case what about European countries who too were/are customers of Russian oil? India's question is equally legitimate: who should determine where India purchases the energy required by more than 1.4 billion people? If Russian crude remains commercially advantageous and helps contain domestic energy costs, New Delhi cannot reasonably be expected to make every energy decision according to another country's geopolitical priorities. Strategic partnership cannot become strategic obedience. This is where BRICS enters the larger picture. India holds the BRICS presidency in 2026 and will host its leaders at an unusually sensitive moment. BRICS is no longer merely the original grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Its expansion has considerably increased its demographic, energy and geopolitical weight. More importantly, discussions around BRICS increasingly touch a sensitive nerve in Washington: alternative payment mechanisms, local-currency trade, development finance and the possibility of gradually reducing dependence upon the dollar-dominated international financial system. The BRICS Summit this time is poised to take some decisive steps which may affect western interests especially US. (The writer is an advocate, legal, geopolitical and public policy analyst. Views personal.)

'Singh preferred his Maruti 800 over BMW'

Updated: Jan 2, 2025

Manmohan Singh

Lucknow: Manmohan Singh preferred his modest Maruti Suzuki 800 over luxury BMWs even when holding the office of prime minister as it reaffirmed his connection with the middle class and commitment to work for the common man.


Singh's humility and grounded nature were highlighted in a heartfelt social media memoir by Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Social Welfare (Independent Charge) Asim Arun, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who worked as Singh's chief bodyguard for almost three years.


Arun, who served as Singh's close protection officer for nearly three years during his tenure in the Special Protection Group (SPG), shared his experiences and insights into Singh's personality, emphasising his simple lifestyle and connection with the common man.


Recalling his role as head of the SPG's Close Protection Team (CPT) for the prime minister, Arun said, "As the AIG CPT, my responsibility was to stay with the prime minister at all times, like his shadow. If only one bodyguard could stay with him, it had to be me."


One anecdote Arun shared reflected Singh's simplicity - his attachment to his personal car, a modest Maruti Suzuki 800.


Despite having a fleet of high-security vehicles, including a luxurious BMW, for official travel, Singh would often express his preference for the modest car.

Arun recalled Singh telling him, "Asim, I don't like travelling in this car (BMW). My car is the Maruti."


He said he would explain to Singh the security rwequirements of the high-tech BMW but the former prime minister's gaze would always turn to the Maruti Suzuki 800 as his motorcade passed by it.


"It was as if he was reaffirming his identity as a middle-class man and his commitment to caring for the common man. While the BMW might symbolise the grandeur of the prime minister's position, in his heart, he saw the Maruti as his car," Arun added.


While talking to PTI Videos, Arun recalled that Singh's car - a constant emotional connection to his modest roots - was maintained inside the compound of the PM's residence.


"Dr Singh couldn't drive his Maruti Suzuki 800 due to protocol and my responsibility included starting the car daily and running it briefly within the prime minister's residence."


Talking to PTI Videos, Arun also praised Singh's disciplined routine.


"Even in the nation's busiest office, Dr Singh reserved an hour daily for reading. Whether it was a book or a research paper, his dedication to learning was extraordinary. During flights, he often carried books, reading 100-150 pages in a single sitting. His thirst for knowledge, even at the peak of his political career, was unparalleled."

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