![Saffron shadows are now coloring India’s political discourse, but the script is anything but profound. It’s more Bollywood than reality. [Image via Hindutva Watch]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3438534890_6eef53ecb0_k-e1792827833286.webp)
Over the past 12 years , Narendra Modi has tried to reshape India’s domestic politics and regional approach employing Hindu nationalist, centralised and assertive ways.
![Prime Minister Narendra Modi with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at an official event. [Photo Courtesy: Praveen Jain via The Print].](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/20-scaled-e1755601883425-1024x576-1.webp)
India’s strategic autonomy faces pressure as US trade leverage, energy dependence, and defence ties test New Delhi’s balancing doctrine.
From the Sundarji Doctrine to Cold Start and 2025’s Operation Sindoor, India’s offensive doctrines aimed at rapid strikes against Pakistan repeatedly backfired, exposing operational gaps and narrowing its strategic options in multi-domain warfare.
![India's strategy crisis is unfolding like a tangled web, where bold ambitions clash with glaring missteps. [Image via The Canadian Press/AP]](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ap24288649325611.webp)
India’s strategy crisis unfolds like a tangled web, where bold ambitions collide with glaring missteps on the global stage.
The fall of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Indian Lok Sabha elections has revealed a significant decline in Narendra Modi’s popularity.
![US-India flags fly at the White House. Since 2014, political metamorphosis of India under the BJP has diverged toward a Hindu-centric identity [Image via Reuters].](https://southasiatimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2023-06-21T195636Z_979887234_RC2VN1AOY3KX_RTRMADP_3_USA-INDIA-1704088052.webp)
Since 2014, political metamorphosis of India under BJP has diverged from Nehru’s liberal vision towards a Hindu-centric identity led by Modi.