A true assessment of a country’s foreign policy has to take into account its attention to issues which go out of the public eye. Such an evaluation has to also focus on the response of states whose interests, a country believes, it is promoting. As the Narendra Modi government enters the last stretch of its present electoral term, it would be useful to examine how it fared on some matters germane to these propositions. While not detracting from the government’s diplomatic achievements, including the finalisation of a “clean” Delhi G20 summit joint statement, such scrutiny would help in fully judging its foreign policy record.

India has emphasised, over the past several years, its affinities with the Global South. It has claimed that it is keeping the interests of developing countries front and centre in its positions on social and economic issues in multilateral contexts. The Modi government especially stressed during India’s G20 Presidency that it was giving voice to the aspirations of the Global South. For this purpose, it held a “Voice of the Global South” summit in January and again its iteration virtually in November. These were noble efforts, for the disparities between the advanced and developing worlds are growing in the digital era. And, as India straddles both worlds and joins the high tables where global rules are set, it wishes to signal that it will not turn its back on the interests of the developing countries.

With all this effort, it could be expected that it would secure the support of the Global South countries in elections, big and small, to UN bodies. It was therefore surprising that, in an election held on November 24 for one of the Vice President’s positions for the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific........

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