Tharoor Urges Government: Keep BRICS 'Non-West, Not Anti-West' at Delhi Summit

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has advised the government to ensure that the BRICS summit hosted by India is seen as a platform that is “non-West, but not anti-West”, cautioning that an anti-Western image would not serve the country’s national interests.

Tharoor, a former United Nations diplomat and Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, was speaking to news agency PTI on Friday, as leaders from member countries prepare to gather in New Delhi.

“As chair, we have a particular responsibility to showcase both BRICS as a forum, the concerns of the Global South in general, but also while bearing very, very carefully in mind our direct national interests,” he said. “We want BRICS to be a forum that is non-West, but not anti-West. That is exactly actually the same agenda as every other country.”

He added that while he believed this approach was widely shared, “there are some others in BRICS who are very happy to take it as a geopolitical non-Western, but also anti-Western platform”.

Tharoor also pointed to the bilateral meetings expected on the sidelines, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Both the meeting with President Xi and the meeting with President Putin are going to grab world headlines,” he said, adding that India’s engagements should be guided by its national interest.

“Because all these world leaders are in India, there will be significant bilateral conversations. Our Prime Minister is bound to be meeting each of the visiting heads of state and government who seeks a meeting. And that may mean a dozen important meetings with these country leaders,” he said.

Former Union minister Salman Khurshid described the gathering as a “significant event” that allows India to demonstrate leadership on the global stage. Speaking to ANI, he noted that leaders of all 11 member countries, including China, Iran, Russia, South Africa and India, would be present.

“It allows India to demonstrate leadership and ensure that contradictions and conflicts are reduced to a minimum. It can’t be done overnight, but at least some attempt should be made,” Khurshid said. India, he added, has a role as leader and chairperson of the summit to “bring people together, converge, and accept positions that will create better conditions in the world”.

Prime Minister Modi said on Friday that leaders from across the world would gather in New Delhi over the next few days. In a post on X in Hindi, he said he was confident the summit would see “positive and meaningful discussions on various issues with the welfare of the world in mind”. He also shared a Sanskrit verse on the value of keeping the company of the virtuous and promoting dialogue and goodwill.

BRICS began as a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has expanded in recent years to include new members from Asia, Africa and West Asia. India is hosting the summit as chair of the grouping, a position that rotates among members.

The comments by the two Congress leaders reflect a continuing debate in India over how the country should position itself among major global blocs. New Delhi has long described its approach as one of strategic autonomy, engaging with several groupings while avoiding formal military alliances.