‘Dridhta’: How India’s BRICS Leadership Catalyses Resilience in a Multipolar World

(A) Introduction to the Arenas of Multipolarity in the Global South

The world is becoming increasingly multiplex with emerging centres of power and alternate regional institutions of diplomacy altercating the conception of a traditional global order categorised by the notions of ‘polarity’ where new avenues of development and economic stability are established in the Southern Bloc. India leads in this initiative of establishing congenial bi-lateral relations with the key players of the international economy thus, implementing the notions of multipolarity in the realist world spectrum.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement of “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability” through the XVII BRICS Summit held at Rio-de-Janeiro remains the central aspect of this article. Dridhta therefore aims to introspect the multifarious initiatives of India in lieu of the XVIII BRICS chairmanship scheduled in 2026, thus understanding new arenas of development and cooperation in the global system paving way for the establishing a multiplex world order through a substantial balance of geopolitical alliances and structural hierarchy of nation states that substantially synchronise sustainable development, inclusive governance, financial incentives and multimodal trade connectivity through multilateral alliance and institutions.

(B) The 17^th BRICS Summit as a Strategic Pivot

The XVII BRICS Summit held at Rio-de Janeiro emerged as a catalyst that sanguinely critiques the inefficacy of the premier international organisations to bring about a vital change in the global order, thereby vocalising the need for major changes in the broad paradigms of financial, political, and global governance structures. The summit therefore acts a strategic pivot for India exemplify the voices of the ‘Global South’ in her pursuit of global affairs by substantially championing the motto of “One Earth, One Family and One Future” through it’s recent reforms and initiatives of manifesting collective interests and diplomatic dialogue .India also plays a vital diplomatic role in achieving the agenda to “Respond, Recognise, Respect and Reform” the challenges of the developing nations amplifying the cause of peace and security through the BRICS forum, with specific condemnation to violent acts of terrorism in “words and practice” in parlance to the Pahalgam attack earlier this year that fosters the Gandhian concept of non-violence and strategic autonomy in a conflict prone geo-political landscape.

 Economically a thorough analysis of the of the Rio-de Janeiro Declaration remains pivotal to understand the enhanced role of global mobilization in International Monetary and Financial change to strengthen climate finance, that remains a key takeaway in the summit. The Summit also made specific advances towards vocalising the efficacy of the Paris Treaty and United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for sustainable development, Furthermore the development of Non-Development Banks (NBD’s) in financing at least 40% of BRICS projects by 2026 in the developing economies acts as a pivot to mitigate the challenges of sustainable development and representation in the global south ensuring capacity to mobilize resources, foster innovation, expand local currency financing, diversify funding sources, and support impactful projects that advance sustainable bonds and de-dollarization in the Asian countries. The entry of Indonesia as the 11^th member state in the organisation bolsters the agenda of inclusive global governance alleviating strategic partnership with the ASEAN states in the Southern Bloc. 

The objective of the 17^th BRICS Summit is therefore perceived as a bulwark to champion the cause of substantially reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) through normative evaluation and a sustained need for redemption , whereby India emphasises upon the inadequacy of “20^th century organisations to administer nations of the 21^st century global order” staunchly advocating the aspirations and key challenges of the BRICS community in the broad paradigms of equivocal representation, increased participation in international administration, fair access to economic incentives and  contemporary security which are inadvertently overlooked by the Western Bloc. 

(C) India’s 2026 BRICS Chairmanship- A Resuscitation to the ‘Global World Order’

The XVII BRICS Summit focused upon the need to adapt the current architecture of International Relations to reflect the contemporary realities. Statistically the BRICS has endorsed itself as a beacon for positive change in the Global South, where it constitutes about two thirds of the global population, 26 percent of the global trade and about 40 percent of the global GDP index. As an instrumental organisation for the developing nations, the BRICS aims at establishing compassionate exchanges in enhancing mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation thus, playing a vital role in enriching societies and developing the southern economies. In this regard, the summit called for more efforts to respect diversity of cultures, high value inheritance, innovation and creativity with an aspiration of fostering the current theme of ‘Global South cooperation through inclusive and sustainable governance’ with optimistic aspirations from India hosting the foreign minister meeting post the 80^th UN general assembly session. India’s role to resuscitate it’s economic partnerships with West Asia and South Africa is a vital  opening for new avenues for trade and investment that aims to provide the nation with key trade routes and multimodal connectivity in the global supply chain. The Subcontinents initiative of de-dollarizing the Southern bloc is therefore perceived as an excellent diplomatic strategy to establish multimodal economic network and new avenues of financial infrastructure through sustained initiatives and reforms of the BRICS forum that sanguinely align and function with the financial institutions of the West, ensuring cooperation and interdependent actions in the world system. 

(D) Samapan- a justified conclusion

The growth of BRICS as a parallel mechanism of governance in East-Asia plays a vital role of coordination and congenial facilitation in the fulcrum of global politics. The concept of a multiplex world therefore remains relevant to analyse the BRICS Summit of Rio-de-Janeiro as it stresses upon decentring power and authority denunciating the concept of hegemony or polarity perhaps any values associated to a country or geopolitical faction. It is therefore justified to acclaim that the 2026 BRICS Chairmanship shall act as a catalyst fostering multilateral coalition, regional autonomy and institutional innovation in the contemporary system fostering resilience and cooperative diplomacy to make a visceral impact in the liberal international order.