NICHOLAS SHUBITZ: BBC raid shows India is immune to the glare of the West

The February raid on the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices by Indian tax authorities is a small but significant event. Chinese media censorship is usually condemned as authoritarian. India, meanwhile, is often hailed as the world’s largest democracy.

However, the raid by Indian tax authorities following a ban on its India: The Modi Question documentary, is yet another sign that the country is more closely aligned with the Brics bloc of leading developing countries than its doting Western partners.

The controversial documentary, aired in the UK in January, was banned in India due to its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of inciting violence against Muslims while chief minister of Gujarat in 2002. The Indian Supreme Court absolved Modi of any wrongdoing in 2012.

Not only is accusing Modi of inciting violence against Muslims considered hypocritical in light of the West’s bloody wars in the Middle East, revisiting the discredited accusations is a reminder to India that despite generally good relations the UK still views itself as a moral authority whose lead India is expected to follow.

This can be seen in the UK’s reaction to India’s neutral position on the war in Ukraine. British minister of state for foreign affairs Anne-Marie Trevelyan has said Britain is “very disappointed” with India’s decision to continue trading with Russia, hoping the country will “change its position” after further consultations during UK-India trade negotiations.

It may well have been mere coincidence that the BBC released a documentary attacking Modi after India chose not to sanction Russia. Nevertheless, the BBC is a government-sponsored broadcaster, which gives the impression that Modi is under attack for not obeying the dictates of India’s former coloniser.

While it has been six years since the Brexit referendum, the UK and India have yet to finalise a long-awaited trade agreement. Meanwhile, trade between India and Russia has increased enormously since the attack on Ukraine, with Russia overtaking Iraq to become India’s top crude oil supplier.

Considering that Russia remained Germany’s number one coal supplier in 2022, despite the sanctions, criticising India for its economic pragmatism is plainly unfair, and the country’s neutral stance is a clear sign that it values trade with Russia above a pat on the back from Westminster.

The recent moves by the Indian government are reminiscent of the Nigerian Twitter ban, which lasted throughout the second half of 2021. This was another sign that developing countries are willing to take action perceived as authoritarian in the West to safeguard their political autonomy.

Of course, the argument that it is undemocratic for India to censor incendiary foreign media content does not hold much water to begin with. The EU and US have banned all Russian media and US tech giants have engaged in censorship to the point of including a ban on a sitting US president.  

Like Brazil and SA, India has sought to maintain its political autonomy despite coming under increased pressure to pick a side in an increasingly fractured global geopolitical environment. But recent events suggest that India will not be bullied by the West into abandoning its allies.

India remains firmly committed to advancing the Brics agenda. This includes promoting increased financial autonomy for emerging markets and de-dollarisation, with India and Bangladesh having recently announced that they will explore options for trading in local currencies.

Brics is a crucial platform for India to position itself as a world leader and advance its relationships with emerging markets that possess the demographic dividend that will power the economy of the future.

The round peg in the quad

The US and Australia have also condemned India for its nonaligned position on Ukraine. India, along with Australia, the US and Japan, collectively make up the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an informal alliance designed to counteract China in the Indo-Pacific.

Indian diplomats have countered criticism from their Quad partners by arguing that India relies on Russian arms to defend itself against China. While this is a smart position to take considering the Quad’s objectives, one cannot ignore the fact that India’s position on Ukraine is aligned with the rest of the Brics and not the other members of the Quad. 

Ultimately, the Quad has been something of a damp squib, with the most recent meeting producing a meagre haul of proposals, including an announcement about increased measures to combat illegal fishing. Considering the recent tax raid on the BBC, this calls into question whether Western attempts to woo India into a more proactive anti-China alliance will prove effective. 

While there are tensions between the two countries, predominantly related to a border dispute in the Himalayas, claims by Western media outlets (such as the BBC) that relations between India and China are deteriorating are grossly exaggerated. In 2020, the worst flare-up on the border in 45 years resulted in the deaths of just 20 soldiers, fewer than the number of snake bite fatalities that occur in India every three hours. The border issue has had little bearing on the bulk of India-China relations with both sides still seeking a peaceful settlement.

By the time this piece is published India’s Raisina Dialogue will have taken place. The guest list is instructive, including the likes of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. India will announce itself as the voice of the Global South while seeking to advance its position as a global leader, an objective that can only be achieved with a neutral and independent foreign policy. 

While India is likely to maintain good relations with the West, the country will not be dictated to and will continue acting in its own self-interest when conducting foreign policy. The tax raid on the BBC, much like India’s continued trade with Russia and Iran, is a warning to the West that India will not be coerced and will continue placing its national interests above all other considerations.

• Shubitz is an independent Brics analyst.