India's carefully calibrated grand strategy delivered a significant diplomatic win at the 18th BRICS Summit, according to a detailed analysis by India Narrative, with New Delhi successfully aligning diverse member-state interests, anchoring multilateralism in pragmatism, and reinforcing its standing as a consequential global player.

India's Strategic Approach at the Summit

According to the report, New Delhi's approach at the BRICS summit reflected a deliberate effort to advance its grand strategic objectives while preventing the forum from degenerating into a geopolitical confrontation — particularly between Russia and China. Hectic backroom negotiations, the analysis noted, underlined a seamless blend of two complementary doctrines: strategic de-hyphenation and strategic autonomy.

Strategic de-hyphenation kept the multilateral forum practical and focused beyond active conflicts and tensions, while strategic autonomy allowed India to foster convergence of interests and bring economics to the centre of the agenda. The report drew a parallel with the G-20 Summit held three years earlier, when a similar mix of the two approaches helped India navigate the forum under the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine War.

Three Shifts the Report Identifies as Critical

The India Narrative analysis outlined three key shifts it argues are essential for India's strategic autonomy to serve both national and global interests simultaneously. First, making multilateralism practical by pushing institutional and structural reforms in global governance rather than echoing bloc politics. Second, promoting India's BRICS vision — as enshrined in its re-anchored acronym — by becoming a strategic enabler to strengthen cooperation and resilience. Third, projecting India as a global major player offering strategic and sustainable alternatives, concretising supply chain and economic security through diversification and greater inclusivity.

Pahalgam Terror Attack Condemnation: A Key Victory

A major diplomatic victory identified in the report was the BRICS declaration's explicit condemnation — in the 'strongest terms' — of the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed and several others were injured. The attack was carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorists, according to the report.

The declaration also specifically singled out the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing, and safe havens, while expressing zero tolerance for terrorism and rejecting double standards in countering it. The bloc reaffirmed its commitment to combating terrorism in 'all its forms and manifestations'.

Global South and the Declaration

Apprehension had mounted before the summit that it might fail to reach a consensus declaration, the report noted. India's diplomatic manoeuvring shifted the narrative, aligned national and global interests, and ensured the Global South was adequately represented — allowing the spirit of the BRICS agenda to prevail.

Notably, India's recent decision to sign the SCO declaration — which aligned with Iran's stance — resulted in the joint declaration strongly condemning military strikes on Iranian territory and criticising unilateral Western economic sanctions. The report framed these outcomes as evidence of India's ability to hold multiple diplomatic positions without sacrificing strategic coherence.

What This Signals for India's Global Positioning

The analysis concluded that India's performance at the 18th BRICS Summit sends a clear message about the country's strategic rise — its capacity to shape multilateral outcomes rather than merely participate in them. With the summit declaration now in place, attention will turn to whether the institutional reforms and economic security frameworks India championed translate into concrete deliverables in the months ahead.