What Happened
- Indian opposition parties — including the Congress, Left parties, and regional formations — condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026.
- Congress described the killing as a "targeted assassination" and invoked India's constitutional principles — sovereign equality, non-intervention, and promotion of peace — in its condemnation.
- Opposition leaders questioned the Modi government's "silence" over the West Asia crisis, calling it a "complete betrayal" of India's civilisational values, including Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Mahatma Gandhi's doctrine of ahimsa.
- Congress flagged Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel (February 25-26, 2026) — two days before the strikes began — and his speech to the Knesset as a failure of India's traditionally balanced West Asia policy.
- Concerns were raised about Indian nationals in the region, India's strategic stakes in Chabahar port, oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, and the broader impact on India's foreign policy autonomy.
Static Topic Bridges
India's West Asia Policy: The Doctrine of Strategic Autonomy
India has historically maintained balanced relations with both Israel and Iran — a policy rooted in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and later refined as "strategic autonomy" or "multi-alignment." India was among the first non-Arab countries to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1974, and maintained strong ties with Arab and Islamic nations throughout the Cold War. Post-liberalisation, India progressively deepened ties with Israel (full diplomatic relations in 1992) without formally abandoning its pro-Palestinian stance.
- India's West Asia policy serves multiple interests: energy security (over 60% of crude oil imports from the Gulf and Iran), diaspora remittances (over $100 billion annually from the Gulf), and counter-terrorism cooperation.
- India-Iran relations gained strategic depth through the Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), offering India a route to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia bypassing Pakistan.
- India-Israel relations deepened after 1992 and accelerated post-2014 in defence, agriculture, water technology, and intelligence sharing.
- "Multi-alignment" (as articulated by S. Jaishankar) allows India to maintain ties with multiple competing powers — US, Russia, Iran, Israel, Gulf Arab states — simultaneously.
Connection to this news: The opposition's criticism directly questions whether India is departing from strategic autonomy toward alignment with the US-Israel axis, which would have major consequences for India's standing in the Islamic world, energy supply chains, and the Chabahar project.
Chabahar Port and India's Iran Stake
Chabahar port (in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province) is India's gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and beyond, without passing through Pakistan. India has invested approximately $500 million in the Shahid Beheshti terminal. In May 2024, India and Iran signed a 10-year agreement for India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) to operate the terminal, with an additional $370 million commitment.
- Chabahar is India's answer to China's CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) and the Gwadar port just 72 km away — both designed to give Pakistan and China strategic access to Central Asia.
- The INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) — a multi-modal route linking India to Russia and Europe via Iran — is estimated to cut logistics time by ~40% and costs by ~30% compared to the Suez Canal route.
- US sanctions on Iran (reimposed in 2018 after Trump withdrew from JCPOA) created legal uncertainty for Chabahar; India secured waivers, but these require periodic renewal.
- Instability in Iran directly threatens Indian investments, operational continuity at Chabahar, and access to Central Asia.
Connection to this news: With Iran in turmoil after Khamenei's killing and a US-Israeli military operation ongoing, India's entire Chabahar investment and the INSTC framework face severe uncertainty — making the opposition's concerns about India's strategic interests substantive, not merely political.
India's Non-Alignment Legacy and the UN Principles
India's foreign policy tradition — articulated at the 1955 Bandung Conference and institutionalised through NAM — rests on Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence): mutual respect for sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. These align closely with UN Charter principles (Articles 2(1), 2(3), and 2(4)).
- India was a founding member of NAM (1961, Belgrade) under Jawaharlal Nehru, alongside Egypt's Nasser and Yugoslavia's Tito.
- Post-Cold War, India shifted from formal non-alignment to "strategic autonomy" — engaging with all major powers rather than staying equidistant.
- The concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ("the world is one family") from the Maha Upanishad has been invoked in Indian diplomatic discourse, including at the G20 2023 presidency.
- Opposition references to "ahimsa" and "non-alignment" in the context of the Iran strikes echo India's vote against Western-backed resolutions during the Korean War (1950) and its opposition to the Iraq War (2003).
Connection to this news: The opposition frames India's silence as a departure from foundational IR principles, making this a direct UPSC Mains ethics and polity question — testing whether India's foreign policy remains principled or has become transactional.
Key Facts & Data
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei served as Iran's Supreme Leader from 1989 to 2026 (37 years) — the second-longest serving Supreme Leader after Ayatollah Khomeini.
- India-Iran bilateral trade: approximately $2.3 billion annually (heavily constrained by US sanctions post-2018).
- Strait of Hormuz: ~20% of global oil trade passes through this chokepoint; ~40% of India's crude oil imports transit via the Strait.
- India-Iran Chabahar: India has invested ~$500 million; 10-year operational agreement signed May 2024.
- India-Israel bilateral trade: ~$10 billion annually (excluding defence).
- Indian diaspora in Gulf: ~9 million — among the largest, sending over $40 billion in annual remittances.
- Congress (the opposition party) held power during the signing of India-Iran gas pipeline MoU (2005) and the Chabahar framework (2003, 2016).