ISLAMABAD Dec 27: A leading Indian newspaper, The Hindu, has described 2025 as a year of major failures and setbacks for India’s foreign policy at the global level.
According to The Hindu, India’s foreign policy in 2025 failed to meet expectations, turning the year into one of broken promises. The report stated that symbolic diplomacy, personal relationships, and narrative-building could not substitute for real economic, military, and diplomatic power.
The newspaper noted that India made commitments not only to itself but also to its partners without possessing the necessary influence or capacity to fulfill them.
The report said that 2025 proved to be the most difficult year of the century for India, marked by challenges such as a 25 percent tariff regime, additional restrictions on Russian oil, and curbs on H-1B visas. Compared to 2017, India’s role in the 2025 US National Security Strategy has been significantly reduced.
According to The Hindu, despite multiple high-level engagements with China and Russia, no tangible security progress was achieved along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Under US pressure, India was also forced to retreat from its position on importing Russian oil.
The newspaper described the Pahalgam false flag operation as a serious security failure and acknowledged that Indian military actions following the Pahalgam incident failed to gain international diplomatic support.
It further stated that India’s silence over aircraft losses after its military action damaged its credibility, while the announcement of a mutual defense agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan dealt an additional blow to India.
Indian analysts, the report said, are now recognizing Pakistan’s leadership as “hardline and well-organized in its capabilities,” while India–Bangladesh relations have reached their most strained point to date.
The newspaper concluded that India’s tendency to blame others remains the biggest obstacle to reform and realistic policymaking.