This article examines India’s strategic involvement in the Indo-Pacific by applying the framework of subaltern geopolitics. It critically assesses how postcolonial identity, normative aspirations, and structural constraints influence its foreign policy actions in the context of US-led strategic changes. Moving away from traditional views centered on power dynamics or alliance strategies, the analysis posits that India’s approach to the Indo-Pacific embodies a hybrid stance—merging strategic independence, targeted alignment, and a diverse institutional framework. This analysis explores India’s complex role in minilateral frameworks like the Quad, its reluctance to engage in formal military alliances such as AUKUS, and its advocacy for alternative regional initiatives including Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. This study illustrates the ways in which India’s marginalized geopolitical influence is articulated through spatial strategies, narratives focused on development, and a challenge to the prevailing dichotomies of Western and Chinese regional perspectives. By synthesizing perspectives from postcolonial theory and critical geopolitics, the article presents an innovative analytical framework that redefines India’s position not merely as a derivative participant in great power rivalries, but as a co-architect of a more inclusive and multipolar Indo-Pacific order.
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