India’s BBC Raid: A Warning To The West

The raid on the BBC 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. But a recent raid by Indian tax authorities on the BBC, following a ban on its “India: The Modi Question” documentary, is yet another sign the country may be more closely aligned with the BRICS 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 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 regarding the War in Ukraine. British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said that Britain was “very disappointed” with India’s decision to continue trading with Russia, hoping the country would “change its position” after further consultations during UK-India trade negotiations.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence 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 colonizers.

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 massively since the War in Ukraine, with Russia overtaking Iraq to become India’s top crude oil supplier.

Considering 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. Another sign that developing countries are willing to take action perceived as authoritarian in the West in order 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 such an extent it included a ban on a sitting US president.  

Just like Brazil and South Africa, 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 who possess the demographic dividends that will power the economy of the future.

The Round Peg In the Quad

The US and Australia have also condemned India for its non-aligned 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 themselves 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 squid, 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 flareup 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 just taken place. The guestlist is instructive. The conference will be attended by the likes of Italian PM 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 which 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.