[By Prem Sagar Baudel, translated by Whale Life]
Following every India-Pakistan conflict, New Delhi always dispatches high-level delegations to various global capitals. This is not only crisis diplomacy but also a complex component of India's evolving cognitive warfare strategy aimed at shaping global perceptions through coordinated actions, legitimizing its stance, and gaining strategic advantage in the information domain.
To understand this strategy, one must examine two aspects: India's broader efforts to construct its international image and its specific practices targeting neighboring countries such as Nepal.
In Nepal, historical ties, geographic proximity, and complex power dynamics form a unique melting pot of influence.
I. Shaping a Global Giant: The Architecture of India's International Image
India’s motivation to pursue a favorable international image is multifaceted, with core strategic goals including recognition as a major power (relative to China), attracting foreign investment and technology, expanding trade access, isolating Pakistan on anti-terrorism issues, managing overseas diaspora perceptions, and countering negative narratives (such as those regarding the Kashmir issue and minority rights). Its cognitive warfare toolbox is richly diverse:
1. Diplomatic Narrative Weaving:
As "the largest democracy": This core pillar emphasizes shared values with the West, positioning India as a stable, pluralistic counterbalance to non-Western systems; this narrative is widely used in forums such as the G20 and Quad.
As "world mentor" and soft power: Promoting yoga, Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine), Bollywood, cuisine, and spiritual traditions to cultivate goodwill and showcase cultural heritage. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and vast diaspora communities act as multipliers for this narrative.
The second India-Nepal Cultural Festival event hosted by the Indian Embassy in Nepal was held in Lumbini in late 2024. Photo source: Indian Embassy in Nepal.
As "development partner": By showcasing its own development journey, providing aid, training, and technical support (especially in Africa and Asia), India is expanding its influence and presenting itself as an alternative to Chinese loans. Initiatives like the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) are key carriers.
As "spokesperson for the Global South": Positioning itself as a defender of developing countries' interests in climate negotiations, trade rules, and UN reform, and seeking support and legitimacy.
As "responsible nuclear-armed state": Emphasizing restraint, a no-first-use policy, and commitment to global non-proliferation norms to alleviate proliferation concerns.
2. Economic Diplomacy and Connectivity:
Market magnet: Showcasing a vast consumer market and growth potential to attract investment and promote economic interdependence, making partners more likely to accept its political stance.
Infrastructure and investment: Projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) or investments in Iran's Chabahar Port demonstrate India's strategic reach and economic leadership.
Digital diplomacy: Promoting its IT prowess (such as Unified Payment Interface UPI, Aadhaar identity authentication system, etc., digital public infrastructure) as exportable development solutions to enhance its image as a strong innovator and problem-solver.
3. Strategic Communication and Media Influence:
Global media engagement: Actively engaging with international media (print, digital, broadcast) to ensure its perspectives are heard, especially during crises. Post-conflict delegations exemplify this point.
Think tanks and academic exchanges: Establishing long-term academic influence and shaping public opinion about India through funding professorships, sponsoring conferences, and engaging scholars.
Social media dominance: Leveraging extensive digital networks (government accounts, diplomats, opinion leaders) to directly disseminate narratives to global audiences, bypassing traditional media gatekeepers.
Counter misinformation: Setting up specialized institutions and strategies to proactively identify and counter narratives deemed adversarial (particularly from Pakistan, occasionally from China).
In 2020, the Nepalese government banned several Indian news channels operating in the country.
3. Projecting Global Leadership:
Vaccine friendship: Although India’s COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy later faltered, it significantly enhanced its image as a benevolent and capable global actor.
Climate initiatives: Ambitious renewable energy targets and assertive stances at climate summits established India's significant role in core global issues.
Peacekeeping contributions: As a long-standing major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces, India reinforces its image as a responsible stakeholder.
Post-conflict delegations sent by India around the world embody the essence of cognitive warfare in the following ways:
Seizing narrative control: Defining the causes, course, and solutions of conflicts according to India's stance.
Isolating opponents: Seeking international condemnation/sanctions against Pakistan (focusing on terrorism issues).
Reassuring allies: Reiterating India's commitment to stability, adherence to the "rules-based international order," and status as a responsible major power.
Mitigating negative impacts: Proactively preventing or countering negative reports about escalation risks and humanitarian impacts.
II. Nepal's Test: India's Application of Cognitive Influence on Himalayan Neighbors
India-Nepal relations are uniquely complex, characterized by open borders, deep cultural and religious ties (Hinduism, shared pilgrimage sites), extensive economic interdependence, intertwined historical influences, and the rise of nationalism in Nepal seeking greater autonomy. Compared to its global strategies, India's cognitive strategy towards Nepal is more tightly integrated, pervasive, and controversial.
India's core objectives in Nepal:
Security: Preventing Nepal's territory from being used to harm Indian interests (historically involving third countries, currently mainly focusing on China).
Stability: Containing the spillover of domestic unrest in Nepal (refugees, armed conflict).
Influence: Maintaining dominance over Nepal's foreign policy and economic choices, limiting Chinese "penetration."
Resource acquisition: Ensuring cooperation in cross-border rivers (hydroelectricity, irrigation) and transportation routes.
Defusing anti-Indian sentiment: Managing negative narratives exacerbated by historical grievances and accusations of Indian interference.
Nepalese people protest against India's border road construction crossing Nepal's territory in Kathmandu.
India's cognitive tools in Nepal:
1. Dominant media and information ecosystem:
Saturation: Indian news channels (in Hindi/English) dominate Nepal's cable TV, shaping perceptions of regional and international events and often reflecting Indian perspectives.
Language advantage: The popularity of Hindi has facilitated the penetration of Indian media and cultural products.
Influencing local media: Historical ties, Indian companies' advertising revenue, ease of accessing Indian sources, and direct contact have collectively created a reporting environment that highlights Indian viewpoints, sometimes uncritically accepted.
Accusations persist that India indirectly supports pro-India media in Nepal.
2. Cultural-religious kinship as transmission medium:
Shared heritage: Continuously emphasizing shared Hindu civilization, religious sites (Pashupatinath Temple, Janakpur, Mukti Nath), and festivals to foster closeness. Actively promoting through cultural exchanges, temple restorations, and religious diplomacy.
Soft power output: Bollywood films, Indian music, TV series, and literature are popular in Nepal, creating familiarity and positive associations with India. Educational links (students studying in India) also build long-term connections.
Open borders: Beyond their practical functions, they symbolize unparalleled intimacy and mutual dependence between Indonesia and emphasize this through discourse systems.
3. Economic interdependence as leverage:
Basic supplies: Nepal's daily fuel, essential medicines, and most food supply are almost entirely dependent on India, becoming a powerful implicit tool during disputes (such as the unofficial blockade imposed by India in 2015), constantly reminding Nepal of its vulnerability.
Nepal has long been highly dependent on India in the energy sector. Diagram showing 10 oil and gas exploration blocks in the country. Photo source: Nepal Government website.
Trade deficit: Nepal's massive trade deficit with India strengthens economic dependency. Indian narratives often highlight its "generosity" while downplaying structural imbalances.
Investment and aid: Indian investments (especially in hydropower and infrastructure) and development assistance are crucial for Nepal. These are packaged as benevolent partnerships, shaping India's image of kindness. Related projects are often seen as highly visible symbols of cooperation (or dependence, depending on Nepal's perspective).
Overland monopoly: Nepal's landlocked nature makes India its primary transit route. Smoothly managed transit is portrayed as cooperation, while interruptions are explained as necessary for logistics or security reasons.
4. Political intervention and elite networks:
Deep political connections: Indian diplomats and intelligence personnel maintain extensive networks across Nepal's political parties, constituting direct influence and providing intelligence collection channels.
Mediation and advice: India has historically played the role of mediator in internal political conflicts in Nepal (such as during Maoist rebellions and Madhesi movements), regardless of whether welcomed by Nepal, India considers itself an indispensable stakeholder in Nepal's interests.
Framing "national interests": Indian officials frequently comment publicly on Nepal's internal politics (such as constitution-making, treaty signings, political appointments), packaging these as concerns for "stability," "inclusiveness," or India's security, directly shaping domestic political discourse in Nepal.
5. Exploiting internal fissures:
Madhes factor: The complex dynamics between Nepal's mountain elites and the Madhesi population adjacent to India provide India with levers for influence. India's stance during the Madhes movement (such as in 2015) is viewed by mountain groups as foreign interference, while Madhesi groups see India as their advocate. India maintains influence through this method.
III. Special Features of India's Cognitive Warfare in Nepal - "Big Brother" versus "Elder Brother/Saathi":
India walks a tightrope between projecting necessary influence ("Big Brother") and portraying goodwill guidance ("Brother/Partner"). Its cognitive warfare aims to reinforce the latter narrative, while Nepal's critics often focus on the former.
Chinese factor: Every move by India is interpreted under the lens of "countering China." India portrays China's involvement (investment, military aid) in Nepal as potentially destabilizing or a "debt trap," while highlighting its own participation as inherently reliable. Nepal skillfully plays the "China card" to extract concessions from India.
A Chinese company-built Pokhara International Airport in Nepal.
Managing nationalism: Nepal's rising nationalism - catalyzed by historical grievances (1950 treaty, blockade incidents, perceptions of Indian interference) and identity claims (secular republic vs. Hindu nation) - poses the greatest challenge to India's cognitive strategy. India's missteps often inadvertently fuel this nationalism.
Nepal's counter-cognitive strategies:
Nepal is not a passive recipient. It actively counters and navigates India's influence:
Diversification strategy: Deepening ties with China (trade, transit, investment) and more actively cooperating with other major powers (US, EU, Japan) to reduce excessive reliance on India.
Sovereignty declaration: Taking symbolic positions (such as issuing new maps containing disputed territories, pushing forward connectivity projects with China despite Indian opposition) to demonstrate independence.
Domestic narrative control: Cultivating media and political narratives emphasizing sovereignty, nationalism, and historical grievances against Indian hegemony. Sometimes regulating Indian media content.
Playing both sides: Skillfully leveraging Sino-Indian competition to extract economic and strategic benefits from both sides.
Constitutional declaration: Although controversial, the 2015 constitution was a significant move to declare Nepal's independent national status. Its definitions of citizenship and federal structure are primarily based on Nepal's own stance, sometimes even contrary to Indian preferences.
IV. Conclusion: A Persistent and Evolving Game of Chess
India's efforts to shape its international image and apply cognitive influence (especially in Nepal) reflect its profound understanding of 21st-century power dynamics.
Although India's global outreach attempts to portray itself as a responsible, democratic, and rising civilizational great power, its strategy towards Nepal reveals a sharper aspect of cognitive warfare in this asymmetric relationship.
Media dominance, cultural affinity, economic leverage, and political intervention - these elements are deeply woven into the fabric of bilateral relations. Their effectiveness is complex: deep cultural ties and economic interdependence indeed create reservoirs of genuine goodwill and mutually beneficial foundations.
However, historical baggage, perceptions of excessive influence, and blunt methods of economic coercion (whether real or perceived, such as the 2015 blockade) continually undermine these efforts, fueling Nepalese nationalism and driving Kathmandu toward diversification (mainly towards China).
The future of India's cognitive game with Nepal hinges on a key shift - moving from a posture often perceived as coercive persuasion to a truly reciprocal partnership based on mutual respect. This means:
1. Consistent respect for sovereignty: Avoiding public comments on Nepal's internal affairs and respecting its constitutional processes.
2. Predictable and uninterrupted economic relations: Ensuring basic supply and transit routes are never "weaponized," even during periods of political differences.
3. Equal dialogue: Solving long-standing issues (border disputes, treaty revisions) through patient, respectful diplomacy that acknowledges Nepal's autonomy.
4. Collaborative frameworks: Jointly designing development projects and regional cooperation frameworks, abandoning the dynamic of donor and recipient.
India's cognitive warfare strategy is powerful. Its challenges lie in maintaining influence in Nepal (and increasingly globally) in the information age. It needs not only to control narratives but also to take actions aligned with the values and respect pursued by sovereign partners. How India recalibrates this balance will determine whether it wins a willing partner or continues a cycle of resentment - ultimately harming its own strategic goals and carefully crafted global image. This intricate puzzle of influence depends on mutual recognition of each piece's position and value within the whole.
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