India–Myanmar Relations at the Crossroads:
Redefining Interests Through Values
✍️ Suryavanshi IAS Insight Desk
🗓️ August 5, 2025
📘 GS Paper 2 (International Relations) | GS Paper 3 (Internal Security) | Essay
🔔 Introduction:
On May 12, 2024, a haunting image surfaced — schoolbags lying before a bombed school building in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, targeted by the military junta’s airstrikes. Behind this image lies a deeper question for India:
Can the world’s largest democracy continue its silence as its neighbour descends into authoritarian violence?
🧭 The Problem: Strategic Realism vs Moral Vacuum
India’s current approach to Myanmar is driven by “strategic interests” — border stability, counter-insurgency, and balancing China’s influence. But this realism now borders on strategic complicity.
⚠️ Reality Check:
Over 5,000 civilians killed
2.5 million displaced
Ongoing civil war and collapse of institutions
Yet, India continues formal engagement with the junta while disengaging from Myanmar’s vibrant pro-democracy resistance.
🔍 Why This Matters: India’s Role in Asia’s Democratic Future
India’s global aspirations — whether as Vishwaguru, UNSC permanent member, or regional stabiliser — cannot rest on selective morality.
🧩 Strategic silence is not neutrality — it’s a missed opportunity for leadership.
🛤️ The Way Forward: A 4-Pillar Values-Driven Myanmar Policy
🟩 1. Democracy as Strategic Capital
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Support the National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic resistance.
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Share India's experience in:
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Federalism,
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Peaceful coexistence,
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Centre-state cooperation.
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Create academic and civil society linkages.
✅ India is the only regional power that can export democratic federalism — not just weaponry.
🟥 2. End All Military Transfers to the Junta
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Halt sale of:
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Communication/navigation tech,
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Diesel,
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Dual-use hardware.
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Withdraw all covert and overt military cooperation.
❗ India cannot build peace with the same hands that arm a dictatorship.
🟦 3. Open Humanitarian Corridors
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Prioritise aid delivery in Sagaing, Chin, and Rakhine.
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Reinstate the Free Movement Regime (FMR) scrapped in February 2024.
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Partner with:
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Local networks in Mizoram,
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International NGOs,
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Replicate Thailand’s cross-border aid model.
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🔐 Aid should bypass the junta. Civilian hands must deliver relief.
🟨 4. Protect Myanmar’s Refugees, Don’t Punish Them
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Stop deportation of asylum seekers, especially in Manipur and Assam.
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Recognize displaced persons as refugees, not “illegal immigrants”.
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Uphold non-refoulement, a basic tenet of humanitarian law.
⚖️ India’s Constitution and conscience both demand compassion.
🏁 Conclusion: Time to Walk the Talk
India calls itself a “Vishwabandhu” — friend of the world. But the true test of friendship is not in speeches, but in courageous policy choices.
A Myanmar policy rooted in human dignity, democracy, and security is not idealism — it is enlightened self-interest.
🌍 In helping Myanmar reclaim its democracy, India reclaims its soul.
🧠 Reflective Essay Theme:
“A nation’s foreign policy is a mirror of its moral imagination.”
— Discuss in the context of India’s neighbourhood diplomacy.
📝 Mains GS-2 Practice Question:
Q. Examine how a values-based foreign policy towards Myanmar could serve India’s long-term strategic interests in the region. Suggest a roadmap.
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