By Brig Sarvesh Dutt Dangwal (Retd)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on 12 May 2025, was more than a national broadcast—it was a declaration of intent, resolve, and red lines. Delivered against the backdrop of Pakistan’s IMF bailout and fractured international calling out of Pakistan as a perpetrator of terrorism, it marks a defining moment in India’s strategic trajectory. This essay explores the contours of what is now emerging as the Modi Doctrine, and how it must shape India’s new normal in the realms of diplomacy, defence, economy, and internal unity.
A Moment of Reckoning
At 8 p.m. on 12 May 2025, the Prime Minister of India delivered a stark warning to Pakistan, urging it to abandon terrorism as an instrument of state policy. The speech, assertive and emotionally resonant, reaffirmed India’s commitment to confront terrorism not just rhetorically, but with tangible action. Yet, beneath the gravitas of the moment lay uncomfortable realities: India stands diplomatically cornered, its moral case diluted by global indifference, and its adversaries emboldened by international acquiescence.
The IMF’s bailout to Pakistan, with unanimous support and no abstention by any member state, including India’s
supposed partners, is a strategic and moral defeat. Worse still, the US President’s public hyphenation of India and Pakistan—offering both equivalence and parity—delivered a symbolic slap to India’s global image.
In this grim backdrop, the Prime Minister’s speech cannot remain an exercise in optics. It must trigger a national strategic transformation—an actionable doctrine rooted in realism, driven by national interest, and capable of shaping the world’s perception of India. This, in essence, is the Modi Doctrine.
- Strategic Posture: From Restraint to Deterrence
“Peace is desirable, but not at the cost of dignity and lives of Indians. The cost of cross-border terrorism will now be prohibitive.” — PM Narendra Modi, Address to the Nation, 12 May 2025.
The Modi Doctrine represents a clear departure from India’s erstwhile tradition of strategic restraint. Since 2014, India has displayed a willingness to use calibrated force: the surgical strikes of 2016, the Balakot airstrikes of 2019, and increased border engagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). However, the events of 2025 necessitate a bolder posture—a doctrine of offensive deterrence.
India must now institutionalise a policy of graduated escalation— pre-emptive, precise, and politically resolute. This will require:
- Upgrading integrated theatre commands for faster and joint response.
- Building AI-enabled surveillance and precision-strike capability.
- Expanding the strategic role of the RAW, NTRO, and Defence Cyber Agency to include deep penetration and disruption missions.
The Modi Doctrine must ensure that no adversary—state or non-state—views India as a soft target again.
- Diplomacy Recalibrated: Interest Over Ideology
India’s diplomatic tradition of moral persuasion and non-alignment has hit a ceiling. The IMF’s blind endorsement of Pakistan’s bailout—despite its terror record—signals the erosion of India’s normative leverage. The Modi Doctrine demands a pivot: from moral high ground to hard-nosed realism.
Key shifts must include:
- Pursuing transactional diplomacy with major powers, especially the U.S., EU, and Russia, to protect core interests.
- Strengthening regional influence through economic interdependence, military-to-military engagements, and energy diplomacy in the IOR (Indian Ocean Region).
- Building strategic capital in forums like BRICS+, SCO, Quad, I2U2, and G20 to isolate Pakistan’s terror ecosystem.
India must also master narrative warfare—investing in think tanks, strategic communication units, and global media engagement to counter Pakistan’s propaganda and to correct global misperceptions.
III. Economic Sovereignty: Power Through Prosperity
Strategic intent without economic heft is a hollow shell. The Modi Doctrine recognises that economic power is strategic power. If India seeks to influence IMF decisions, alter global trade terms, or create a regional economic order, it must first consolidate its domestic economy.
Key recommendations include:
Reorienting Make in India into a “Build for the World” industrial strategy.
Achieving supply chain independence in strategic sectors: defence manufacturing, rare earths, semiconductors, and AI-based platforms.
Strengthening financial diplomacy via sovereign wealth investment, concessional trade pacts, and a rupee-based trade bloc in South Asia.
The Modi Doctrine envisions economic resilience as the foundation of global stature—especially as global powers increasingly use finance as a geopolitical tool.
- National Will: A Unified Front for a National Mission
A doctrine is only as powerful as the society that backs it. The Modi Doctrine places a strong emphasis on national unity, public resilience, and cultural cohesion. In an age of hybrid warfare, information manipulation, and internal subversion, social trust and political consensus are strategic assets.
To this end, the government must:
- Invest in a National Strategic Education Curriculum to build awareness of India’s geopolitical challenges among the youth.
- Strengthen civil-military synergy by enhancing the role of veterans, reservists, and civil institutions in nation-building.
- Launch a nationwide “India First” campaign that transcends caste, religion, and region to focus on sovereignty, self-reliance, and pride.
The creation of a National Security Council 2.0, with cross-sectoral expertise and real-time decision-making power, is crucial for aligning domestic and foreign policy in times of crisis.
Conclusion: A Doctrine in Motion
The Modi Doctrine, as signalled on 12 May 2025, is India’s moment of strategic adulthood. It acknowledges a world where global institutions are transactional, morality is selective, and power determines principle. It responds not with victimhood but with vision. But the speech must become a doctrine in motion—visible in policy, practice, and posture.
India cannot afford the illusion of global sympathy. It must earn respect through strength, resilience, and clarity of purpose. It must walk the talk. The Prime Minister’s words have created a moment of clarity. The task now is to institutionalise that clarity into a coherent and uncompromising national strategy.
India’s new normal is not about being loved. It is about being feared by adversaries, respected by peers, and trusted by its own people. That, in essence, is the Modi Doctrine—India’s blueprint for reclaiming its destiny.
