Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha President and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Saturday, 13 June called for accelerated development of India's own sovereign artificial intelligence capabilities, citing the United States government's abrupt suspension of foreign nationals' access to Anthropic's most advanced AI models on national security grounds.

What Triggered the Remarks

The US government, invoking national security authorities, issued an export control directive suspending all access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for any foreign national — whether inside or outside the United States, including foreign national Anthropic employees. In a statement, Anthropic confirmed: 'The net effect of this order is that we must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance. Access to all other Claude models is not affected. We apologise for this disruption to our customers. We believe this is a misunderstanding and are working to restore access as soon as possible.'

Surya's Position on Technological Sovereignty

Reacting to the development, Surya described the move as 'a stark reminder of the risks associated with dependence on foreign technology platforms.' He said the US had suspended access to its most advanced AI models 'overnight, without notice' for every foreign national on earth — a phrase that underscores the unilateral, non-negotiable nature of such restrictions.

'For a country of India's civilisational weight and geostrategic position, with its own unique security challenges, there is simply no alternative to building sovereign AI capability,' Surya said. He further argued that the episode 'makes that clearer than any policy argument ever could.'

Why This Matters for India

The incident highlights a structural vulnerability in countries that rely heavily on foreign-controlled AI infrastructure. For India — which has been scaling up AI adoption across defence, governance, and industry — the sudden inaccessibility of frontier models demonstrates the geopolitical risk embedded in technological dependence. This comes amid growing global debate on AI sovereignty, data security, and strategic self-reliance, as governments increasingly classify advanced AI systems as critical national assets.

Notably, India has made initial strides toward AI self-sufficiency through initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission, but frontier model development at the level of Fable 5 or Mythos 5 remains a work in progress. The US action adds urgency to those efforts.

Broader Context

The US government's use of export control authority to restrict AI model access marks a significant escalation in the weaponisation of technology policy. It is the first known instance of a government invoking national security law to cut off a frontier AI model from all foreign users simultaneously. Anthropic indicated it is working to restore access, suggesting the directive may be contested or clarified, but the episode has already demonstrated how quickly access to critical AI infrastructure can be severed. For policymakers in New Delhi, the episode is likely to reinforce arguments for domestic compute capacity, indigenous large language model development, and reduced dependence on US-headquartered AI platforms.