As India moves deeper into a decade that will shape its global destiny, the nature of its engagement with the world is undergoing a quiet but profound recalibration. The questions before us are no longer confined to growth statistics or headline diplomacy. They are questions of intellectual confidence, strategic clarity, and the moral resolve with which a rising nation protects its people and projects its interests. The January 2026 edition of India Empire reflects this evolving moment, drawing together ideas, warnings, and opportunities from across continents.

At the centre of this issue lies the Banaras Hindu University conference, an event whose significance extended far beyond academic formality. The inaugural lamp-lighting at Banaras Hindu University, attended by a gathering of distinguished scholars and institutional leaders, unfolded as more than a ceremonial beginning. In that moment of shared illumination, continuity met questioning, and ceremony yielded to purpose. The light that moved from wick to wick seemed to echo the spirit of the conference itself, a collective search for clarity rather than comfort. Within this atmosphere, voices such as Prof Ghan Shyam and Dr Arpita Mitra helped guide the conversations away from ritual and toward reflection, engaging with history, policy, and the wider responsibilities of a nation whose ideas now travel as confidently as its interests. At a time when narratives are contested as fiercely as markets and borders, such intellectual forums serve as strategic assets. India’s rise cannot rest on economic strength alone; it must be sustained by the confidence to think, debate, and articulate its worldview with coherence and conviction.

That clarity becomes especially urgent when viewed alongside one of the most arresting pieces in this issue, Diaspora Under Siege. For decades, India has celebrated the success and visibility of its global diaspora, often rightly holding it up as evidence of the country’s soft power. Yet the lived reality for many overseas Indians today is growing increasingly complex. Across regions, subtle discrimination, political marginalisation, and targeted hostility are no longer isolated incidents. Through the voices of policymakers, analysts, and community leaders featured in this package, a clear warning emerges. India can no longer afford to view diaspora concerns solely through the prism of diplomatic etiquette. Strategic silence, beyond a point, ceases to be diplomacy and begins to resemble neglect. As India’s global profile rises, so too must its willingness to speak firmly and act decisively when its people abroad face sustained pressure.

This insistence on realism rather than rhetoric carries through to our Cover Story. In a world reshaped by supply-chain realignments, infrastructure competition, and technological acceleration, India is no longer positioning itself as a peripheral alternative. It is asserting itself as a central player. Our cover story, featuring Neeraj Bansal, Partner and Head of India Global at KPMG in India, captures this shift with clarity. The narrative is not aspirational flourish, but grounded execution. It speaks to an India building smarter systems, attracting patient capital, and aligning private enterprise with national priorities. This is growth that understands scale, but also sustainability, and credibility built not by announcements alone, but by consistent delivery.

Beyond these anchor stories, this issue travels widely across India’s diplomatic and economic landscape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ethiopia and the elevation of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership reflect a foreign policy that is both civilisational and contemporary. India’s engagement with Africa, as our pages show, is increasingly shaped by capacity building, digital public infrastructure, healthcare cooperation, and skills development. It is a partnership model rooted in respect and mutual growth rather than transactional gain.

Similar depth marks India’s engagements across West Asia, Latin America, and the wider Global South. Whether through trade agreements, energy cooperation, agricultural collaboration, or technology exchange, India’s diplomacy today is defined less by symbolism and more by substance. It recognises that influence in the 21st century is built patiently, through institutions, people-to-people ties, and trust earned over time.

Threaded through many of these stories is the evolving role of the Indian diaspora, not merely as cultural ambassadors but as economic actors, policy influencers, and bridges between nations. From returning entrepreneurs to global professionals shaping boardrooms and public discourse, the idea of the diaspora as a peripheral constituency is fast becoming obsolete. What emerges instead is a picture of shared stakes, and with it, shared responsibility.

Taken together, the stories in this edition suggest that India is entering a phase of global engagement that demands maturity. Celebration must coexist with scrutiny. Optimism must be tempered by strategic realism. And ambition must be guided by principle. As India Empire enters another year of chronicling India’s journey on the world stage, our commitment remains unchanged: to tell this story with depth, honesty, and perspective, without fear or flattery.

The conversations begun in these pages are not meant to conclude here. They are meant to travel, provoke, and perhaps unsettle. In an age of easy narratives, that remains the first responsibility of serious journalism.

Sayantan Chakravarty
sayantanc@gmail.com