The Republic Day in India is a major national festival. It is not just the show of military power and the diversity of cultures. It is the message of how India sees the power, democracy, and responsibility in the stormy world. It is also the reason why this event draws keen attention in Europe. Due to the growing intensity of India-European Union interaction in the form of strategic partnership, supply-chain collaboration, continuous Free Trade Agreement talks, the Republic Day 2026 and following this India-EU summit will have certain diplomatic importance. The fact that the European Union leaders have been invited as the chief guests, preceding the India- EU Summit, is an indication of a convergence of strategic interest. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa are expected to be there, and it is a rare and symbolically potent event in the history of India-EU relations. The message of the parade is direct but indirectly communicated that India exudes power without imposing any pressure. Its disciplined military performance accentuates on the democratic control of civilians, institutional maturity, and strategic restraint as opposed to intimidation. In contrast to the parades organized to destabilize the competition, the Republic Day in India conveys the feeling of stability, predictability, and collaboration. This is an important indication to European observers. India is not a revisionist powers, but a self-assured democratic actor who is able to play a role in the global order and increasingly act as a representative of the Global South in the world order.
Republic Day as strategic symbolism
The deeper meaning of the Republic Day in India has got its interpretation based on civilizational interpretation of power with moral and ethical restraint. India being an ancient civilization has traditionally understood authority not as the ability to dominate, but as the obligation to generate, uphold, and maintain the state of righteousness (Dharma), which is founded on justice and balance. The accuracy and strictness of the armed forces express professionalism and preparedness, whereas the dominant role of the current civilian political leadership strengthens democratic accountability of the military power. At the same time, the cultural tableaux, based on various territories, languages, and cultures, stresses the idea of unity in diversity as one of the main principles of the Indian state. To the European Union, this symbolism is a promise of predictability, institutional stability, and a rule-based approach to the exercise of power, which find more than their fair share of favour in the normative commitments of Europe itself. Professional armed forces of India with its growing support of indigenous defence forces are a model of transparent and accountable military power. The ritual openness of the Republic Day Parade is a very contrasting one to the opaque or aggressive military signalling elsewhere. The military capability of India is essentially defensive, deterrence based and it is based on constitutional accountability. This is a clear signal to the European partners that India is not a destabiliser, but a responsible and viable security partner who is determined to ensure the stability of the region and the world. India has always stood for humanity and welfare of the international community.
India’s role as a responsible global actor
This credibility of the strategic symbolism of Republic Day Parade of India lies in the lived practice. The Indian international position is not aspirational rhetoric but the cumulative result of its long-term behaviour, which indicates responsibility, restraint and devotion to the larger international community. India is one of the most argumentative and plural democracies in the world. The Indian political system is anchored based on constitutionalism, separation of powers and supremacy of law, which is anchored in a written Constitution. An independent judiciary plays the role of a protector of basic rights, and timely competitive elections make sure that political competition takes place freely inter-ideologically, regionally, and socially. This adherence to the principles of democracy is what makes India a credible participant in the world system. The actions of India during the COVID-19 pandemic put the civilizational values into practice. India has been one of the largest manufacturers of vaccines in the world, yet it has been able to supply millions of doses to countries in developing regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America despite being world’s one of the most populous countries. India reinstated in processes like vaccine diplomacy that reflects ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ was not a motto, but a reality. The donation to the world health security strengthened the image of India, both as a country that values collective human good over selfish strategic benefit. The history of terrorism in India has made it develop a responsible and containable security doctrine. India has never exported instability outside its borders even though it has been facing persistent threats. Its robust and continued adherence to the United Nations peacekeeping missions also reflect an international perspective to security. India is strong but restrained, which is one of the messages of the Republic Day Parade, power that is responsible, the nationalism that corresponds to the interests of the world community. Today, India is one of the most significant bridges between the Global North and the Global South, in both moral and material capacity. It has continually formulated the development issues of smaller and developing states, which included fair growth and climate justice, access to technology and global welfare. The credibility of India to act as the representative voice of the Global South derives out of three aspects, the credibility of its civilization as based on inclusive worldviews, the experience of its democracy in the face of diversity on a grand scale, and its strategic autonomy that enables it to make independent judgment outside of the politics of the bloc. The Republic Day Parade symbolism supports this argument, and it portrays an image of India as a strong, self-assured power that does not have to be coerced to represent the majority world. India behaves and symbolizes its need to have substantial reform of the UN Security Council. India, representing almost one-fifth of the world’s population and has been one of the most faithful contributors of UN peacekeeping, a responsible nuclear state with a deferential doctrine. The Republic Day Parade is the reason why India wants to be placed on the high table not to take over others, but to have the global governance more representative and accountable to the contemporary realities.
Strategic Convergence in a Multipolar World: Implications for India–EU Relations
The Europe is increasingly identifying friends who may be stable democratic security actors and at the same time help in creating a sustainable multipolar order in a world of geopolitical ambiguity and change in the balance of power. These European priorities find their reflection in the Indian strategic signalling which is most clearly manifested in the Republic Day messaging. The image of an actor who can be predicted and adheres to the rules in international relations is reinforced by transparency and constitutional check of military power to which the parade was dedicated and institutional maturity as its conditional factor. This is accompanied with a lot of comfort to the European Union. The principles of core EU normativity are the Indian philosophy of following an international order, which is founded on rules, the importance of sovereignty, dialogue and non-coercion. When Europe is reviewing its external relationships outside the conventional transatlantic models, India is one country that has the potential to balance its power without destabilizing zones or weakening international bodies. In addition to being symbolic, there are strategic implications of this convergence. Increasing defence cooperation is accompanied by cultural symbolism and common democratic values especially in maritime security, defence technology and capacity building. The Indian policy to the Indo-Pacific, which is based on transparency, inclusiveness, and the international law, continues to support the new EU Indo-Pacific policies. Moreover, the common motivation towards reform of the world governance institutions enhances India-EU coordination in the multilateral platforms. Combined, these aspects indicate that the Republic Day is not just a ritual, but a tactical indicator of the strengthening of India-Europe partnership in a multipolar world.
India being a fastest developing global economy proves that the material power does not necessarily have to be separated with the concept of moral responsibility. Its geopolitical position is an exceptionally unusual combination that the values of ancient civilizational experience that shape contemporary state-power, and the growing military strength accompanied by constitutional checks and balances and moral austerity. This amalgamation gives India with a unique voice in the modern global governance discussions at multilateral forums. India is offering a different way of economic strength, inclusiveness, power, accountability, leadership and humility at a time when unilateralism is commonly combined with economic strength. This Republic Day under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi represents a country that is ready to assume a larger burden in setting the world standard and international institutions reform, as well as to provide collective security. The message of India to the world is self-evident. It does not aim to dominate and coerce but to set the example, to stick to the traditional values of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (World as a one family).
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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