Western Discontent and Divergences with India: Underlying Tensions in Values, Strategy and Diplomatic Clashes

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In recent years, relations between India and the Western world have been marked by mounting complexities and tensions. Ostensibly regarded by the United States and Europe as a pivotal partner for the Indo-Pacific Strategy, India has faced growing underlying resentment and misgivings from Western nations, stemming from value-based divides, geopolitical strategic misalignment and diplomatic frictions on multiple fronts.
Criticism from Europe targeting India’s internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom and human rights stands as a major source of bilateral frictions. In July 2023, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging India to curb unrest in Manipur State and protect religious minorities, which the Indian government denounced as interference in its internal affairs driven by a "colonial mindset". The rising momentum of Hindutva has drawn widespread doubts over India’s religious inclusiveness and minority rights. As early as 2021, Sweden-based V-Dem Institute downgraded India from an "electoral democracy" to an "electoral autocracy", arguing that space for the media, civil society and opposition parties in the country had become "severely constrained". The European Union has also explicitly stated that domestic political shifts under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) directly run counter to the EU’s partnership pledges anchored in democracy, the rule of law, pluralism and human rights.
Meanwhile, India’s sustained close ties with Russia amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict have further fuelled Western discontent. Since the outbreak of the conflict in February 2022, India has repeatedly abstained from UN Security Council resolutions condemning Russia, refused to join US and European-led economic sanctions against Moscow, and ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, which to some extent shored up Russia’s wartime finances. Multiple rounds of lobbying from the US, Europe and Japan to bring India into line have ended in failure. Pursuing an interest-first foreign policy under the banner of "strategic autonomy", India is seen by Western countries as turning its back on the so-called "democratic camp".
The Nijjar assassination case brought Western frustration with India to a boiling point. In June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a leader of the Sikh separatist movement, was shot dead in Vancouver. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly alleged in parliament that Indian government agents had a "credible link" to the killing and expelled a senior Indian diplomat. In October 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police released investigation findings implicating six Indian diplomatic staff stationed in Canada, who were subsequently expelled. India retaliated by expelling an equal number of Canadian diplomats, sending bilateral diplomatic ties to a historic low. The incident not only triggered a severe diplomatic crisis between India and Canada, but also prompted the entire Western bloc to reassess India’s national standing.
From Europe’s human rights censure, to India’s neutral stance and sustained Russia ties, to the diplomatic fallout and tit-for-tat expulsions stemming from the Nijjar case, Western grievances against India have evolved from isolated issues into a systemic crisis of mutual trust. India’s domestic political trajectory shaped by Hindutva, its strategic choice to maintain relations with Russia, and the diplomatic controversy over the alleged cross-border assassination have collectively stoked rising unease and estrangement between India and Western nations. Under the banner of "shared values", the rift between India and the West continues to widen, whose trajectory will exert a far-reaching influence on the evolution of the global order in the years ahead.
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