As the G20’s term president, India has chosen a theme for this summit that sends a message to the entire world: the importance of avoiding polarization, conflict, and bloc formation. Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, global tensions are once again on the rise, and the trend towards polarization is increasing. India, which played a leading role in the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War era, is now taking responsibility once again in a world that is beginning to divide into blocs, offering an alternative path to the entire world
Through its message at the G20, India once again reminds the world that there is an alternative to war and bloc formation, emphasizing the possibility of coexistence under the banner of peace and brotherhood. Indeed, we can say that India’s religious and cultural heritage is entirely non-violent and peace-oriented. When we look at the historical context, it is worth recalling that Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement, also exhibited nonviolent resistance against imperialism. In Indian tradition and philosophy, there is an absolute prohibition against harming, injuring, or even killing another living being. In this regard, India positions itself as a significant balancing, mediating, and unifying actor in the international system. With its democratic values, India has been able to establish good relations with the West, and at the same time, it can develop positive relations with China and Russia, which are both seeking a multipolar world.
India, desiring to build a peaceful future under a single umbrella and opposing the perception of G20 as a Western bloc, has made extensive efforts to ensure the participation of Russian and Chinese leaders in the Summit
India is making efforts to collaborate with all nations and states that aspire to a shared world and future without fully aligning with any specific axis. Just as it did in the past, India is conveying the message that the “Third Way” is, in fact, the “One Way” for the salvation of humanity. In this regard, India, just as it played a founding role in the “Non-Aligned Movement” during the Cold War era, is announcing to the world that there is an alternative path outside the Western and Eastern blocs, and that this path leads to unity in the name of peace and brotherhood. New Delhi is inviting the entire world to come together under the banner of multilateralism with the slogan of peace and brotherhood.
India, without pursuing any bloc politics, strives to neutralize every international platform it is a part of. For example, as a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which is considered a Western platform, India prevents this group from turning into an “anti-China” axis. Similarly, as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), India desires this platform to focus entirely on regional security issues. Likewise, India prevents BRICS, which is prominent in building a multipolar world, from transforming into an “anti-Western” formation. Lastly, India opposes G20 from becoming an entirely anti-Russia and anti-China bloc and makes efforts to prevent this. In summary, the theme of “One World, One Family, and One Future” at the G20 Summit is a strong message from India aimed at uniting the world.
New Delhi’s message of “One World” at the G20 actually tells us that the division between the West and East during the Cold War era has disappeared, and a new world order is beginning to take shape from the perspective of multipolarity. While embracing a multipolar world, India is also against the fragmentation of the world and its division into blocs. In this sense, the messages of “multipolarity” and “one world” are actually integrative messages. India does not allow international platforms to be used for bloc politics. In this regard, New Delhi opposes the marginalization of Russia and China through the G20 Summit. Furthermore, India also objects to the exclusion of Western democracies from the BRICS platform.
Neither the United States, China, nor Russia can accept India declaring its autonomy in world politics and seizing global leadership. Therefore, these major powers may view New Delhi with a competitive eye. As the major powers continue to create “new others” for themselves, India’s effort to unite the world under the slogan of “One World” is indeed a challenging task.
