The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Thursday, 4 June, mounted a sharp attack on the Centre's foreign policy, claiming India's global standing has weakened sharply after the Pahalgam attack and that the country now stands without firm, unconditional backing from any major world power. In an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction said the geopolitical landscape has turned hostile, exposing a deeper crisis in national and economic security.

What 'Saamana' alleged

The editorial argued that India's position on the international stage has grown ‘severely unstable', leaving a nation of 1.4 billion people ‘virtually inconsequential on the global map'. It flagged a parallel domestic concern — a sharp downturn in the economy and a steep weakening of the Indian Rupee.

In one of its most pointed claims, the editorial alleged that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had reportedly ‘liquidated 83 tons of gold from the national treasury to stabilise the collapsing economy', a move it said was ‘kept hidden from the public eye' and raised fears about the future sale of national assets.

China, Pakistan and the diplomacy gap

The Thackeray camp accused the administration of projecting ‘a narrative of valour out of minor investigative details — such as tracing terrorist mobile phones back to China — while failing to demonstrate the political will to officially condemn Beijing despite clear evidence of its complicity'.

It contrasted India's position with that of other nations, arguing that ‘China, Russia, Yemen, and Turkey' have publicly stood with Iran, and ‘China backs Pakistan', whereas ‘India lacks a definitive, powerful global ally standing firmly by its side'. Critics, the editorial said, believe India has ‘systematically abandoned' the principles of Panchsheel and its traditional non-alignment policy.

Despite domestic rhetoric branding Pakistan a bankrupt state, the editorial noted, global powers like the United States and China continue to empower Islamabad for strategic reasons, while Iran and Turkey further complicate the regional matrix. It also faulted New Delhi for not severing trade ties with Beijing despite provocations like the Galwan Valley clash and the Pahalgam incident.

Neighbourhood under strain

The editorial said diplomatic ties with neighbouring countries have hit ‘a historical low'. It pointed to recent remarks by Nepal's Prime Minister publicly claiming that ‘significant portions of Indian territory are under Nepalese control', arguing this signalled that Kathmandu ‘no longer defers to New Delhi and has aligned firmly with Beijing'.

Nepal, once celebrated as ‘the world's sole Hindu nation', had drifted culturally and strategically away from India, the editorial said.

A Nehru-era contrast

Drawing a historical parallel, the Thackeray camp said that during Jawaharlal Nehru's era, India maintained ‘robust friendships and open channels of communication' with all border states. It contrasted this with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent travel to Western capitals like Rome, alleging a ‘distinct lack of proactive diplomatic engagement and empathy' towards smaller, immediate neighbours.

What happens next

The editorial is the latest in a series of sharp Opposition critiques of the Centre's handling of national security and foreign policy after the Pahalgam attack. With the monsoon session ahead, the Thackeray camp is expected to amplify these concerns inside and outside Parliament.