Pradeep S. Mehta | To Lead Global South, What India Needs Is Its Own Meiji Moment

The successful consensus achieved during the September 2023 G-20 Declaration, followed by the joint declaration at the equally complex BRICS Summit, cements India's status as a true Vishwaguru (world leader). Credit largely goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose energy and authority successfully brought vastly different countries together. Behind the scenes, a dedicated, top-tier government team worked day and night to push both declarations across the finish line. Now, for India to truly harvest the rewards of these agreements, it must step up and use its influence to anchor a multilateral system currently drifting under the strain of global power struggles. The nations of the Global South look up to India’s leadership, but they need a lasting approach to drive change across governments, institutions and generations.

This is what makes Narendra Modi’s leadership historically significant. Beyond administering India through a series of government programmes, he has sought to redefine its civilisational confidence and development ambitions. In his 76th Independence Day address, Mr Modi placed the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047 at the forefront before his countrymen. It represents a generational sankalp to build a prosperous, self-reliant and globally influential India.

India should therefore begin thinking in terms of a “Modi Restoration”: consolidating the confidence and strategic direction set in motion by his leadership, carrying it forward under his guidance, embedding it in democratic institutions and advancing it through real jan bhagidari.

The historical parallel is Japan’s Meiji Restoration.

Beginning in 1868, under the leadership of Emperor Meiji, Japan transformed itself from a largely feudal society into a modern industrial power through investments in education, technology, administration and infrastructure. It absorbed Western knowledge without surrendering its cultural identity, enabling it to resist foreign domination and deal with major powers on stronger terms.

India need not emulate Japan’s militaristic path. The relevant lesson lies in its clarity of national purpose and sustained creation of state capacity. As India aspires to become a developed nation and a $40-trillion economy by 2047, it must match ambition with institutional strength, policy continuity and disciplined execution.

Mr Modi’s pragmatism, vision and political zeal have already transformed India’s geopolitical presence as was witnessed in the G-20 and BRICS Summits. India engages major powers on its own terms, acts as a bridge between competing blocs and speaks with greater confidence for the Global South. This outward assertion is anchored in his panch pran: building a developed India, removing the colonial mindset, taking pride in India’s heritage, strengthening unity and instilling a greater sense of civic duty.

The spirit recalls Lal Bahadur Shastri’s leadership during the food and security crisis of 1965. His call of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” resonated across social and regional divides, making citizens participants in national resilience. Mr Modi has displayed a similar ability to communicate directly with his countrymen and turn policy objectives into a shared cause. Through Viksit Bharat 2047, he has called upon every citizen to become a participant, rather than merely a beneficiary, in national transformation.

This appeal has been supported by a focused ease-of-doing-business agenda. The National Single Window System has brought numerous approvals onto a common platform; GST, shaped through the GST Council, created a common national market; and PM Gati Shakti has sought to integrate infrastructure planning coordination across multiple agencies and improve logistics and project execution. We are already aware of India’s strength, its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

At the heart of these reforms lies “minimum government, maximum governance”: the state should regulate where necessary while removing controls that increase costs, delay decisions and create uncertainty. The Jan Vishwas initiative has translated this philosophy into business regulation by replacing imprisonment for several minor procedural violations with proportionate monetary penalties, also benefiting small enterprises.

These reforms have strengthened India’s position in a changing global economy. Even amid tariff pressures and the transactional nature of Donald Trump’s trade policy, India has engaged the United States while diversifying its relationships and defending its strategic interests. Expanding trade relations with the UAE and the UK, alongside deeper engagement with Australia and the European Union, reflect this search for new markets. Meanwhile, Make in India, production-linked incentives and infrastructure expansion are positioning India as a democratic manufacturing base for companies pursuing a China+1 strategy.

This flexibility becomes especially valuable as tensions with China expose supply-chain vulnerabilities and conflicts threaten energy routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. We are also fast progressing on a non-fossil fuel economy and a low carbon emitter. Furthermore, India has emerged as a trusted bridge globally through its rising participation in GVCs.

A Modi Restoration must now carry India’s priorities from ambition to maturity. Having identified semiconductors, artificial intelligence, secure electronics, renewable energy, electric mobility and green hydrogen as strategic sectors, India must strengthen the institutions supporting them. It must also confront judicial delays, weak bureaucratic capacity, regulatory uncertainty and gaps in skilling.

This is why Mr Modi’s role as a healthy statesman and vision-maker remains vital. His guidance can sustain India’s strategic direction, mentor future leadership, deliver distributed growth and ensure that Viksit Bharat remains a generational mission rather than a time-bound programme.

The Meiji Transformation endured because its purpose became larger than one ruler. Similarly, the Modi vision must become an enduring national doctrine.

Mehta is the secretary-general at CUTS International, a 40+-year-old global public policy research and advocacy group. Tasmita Sengupta has contributed to this article.