| Abstract: | The involvement of India in West Asia has changed, as in the post-independence era, it was more ideologically oriented but in the modern times, it is more pragmatic and multidimensional in its foreign policy. Both the opportunities and limitations to India are found in the region that is usually rife with instability, power centres and entrenched conflicts. Being an importer of energy to West Asia, a large expatriate base, and growing economic and strategic connections, India has had to implement a flexible and adaptive policy framework. This paper will discuss the idea and practice of strategic balancing in Indian relations with West Asia and how India can be involved in a relationship with oppositely hostile actors without necessarily forming formal alliances. It claims that the Indian strategy has been a deliberate attempt to maintain strategic autonomy, and enhance the national interests in the economic, political, and security spheres. Meanwhile, the paper highlights the threats of regional polarization, great power rivalry, and the changing geopolitical alliances. By putting the policy of India in the context of the past and the present, the paper will give an in-depth analysis of the changing nature of the role of the country in a very divided and varied region. |
