April 3, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Yuvaraj Gogoi in the India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs:
Visiva Shastra: India and the World by Dhruva Jaishankar throws some insights on the above pertinent question It is an engrossing account of India's engagement with the world from the past to the present, along with hints for future engagements. The title Visinva Shastra ("A treatise on the world' as Jaishankar has called it) seems inspired by Kautilya's 'Arthashastra. In tune with the realist strands of International Relations (IR) theories, Jaishankar a cknowledges the isomorphic character of inter-national relations by maintaining that the configuration of the international system has been conflictual and centres around power politics and security since ancient times.
March 18, 2025
Macalester College listed “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” under books written by its alumni.
March 17, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Harsh Pant of Open Magazine:
Foreign policies of mature democracies don’t radically alter their course with every change in government. But a combination of Modi’s leadership style and some fundamental structural transformation in the international system has meant that Indian diplomacy must be nimble and agile to adapt to today’s world. It is this intersection of old and new, of an India trying to map out a new role for itself in a world still defined by old mores and institutional rigidities that Dhruva Jaishankar explores in his very readable Vishwa Shastra: India and the World.
This is not a typical academic tome but an attempt “to channel an inherently Indian perspective on some issues, overturn some conventional wisdom, and contribute to India’s strategic vocabulary.” In so doing, the book effectively melds India’s past and its ongoing struggle to carve its own space in the global order. There is a lot here that will appeal to scholars and policy practitioners but essentially this is a volume that synthesises the growing body of work on India’s external relations and derives some sound policy ideas on issues ranging from internal security, neighbourhood challenges and China to the Middle East and global governance.
March 11, 2025
ThePrint published an excerpt of “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”, highlighting how politics, domestic imperatives and self-image coalesced to become Modi’s foreign policy.
March 10, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Kanishk Shekhar of the Hindustan Times Uttrakhand:
In the book, Jaishankar notes that the understanding of India's engagements with the world past, present and future remains limited even in the year 2025. Jaishankar told Vaishnav that this was not always the case. "Looking at it from an outsider's perspective, there was a lot of curiosity about India traditionally," he said. "Columbus discovered the United States when he was trying to find a way to the Indies. During the colonial period, there was a lot of interest in India. And it continued into the post-independence period."
March 6, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Kanishk Shekhar of The Commune:
Dhruva Jaishankar’s book, “Vishwa Shastra,” represents a genuine effort to address this gap. As he articulates, “Outsiders have often sought to interpret India, but with rare exceptions, such works often impose their own lenses.” His book seeks to modernize India’s strategic lexicon by providing a fundamental overview of India and its global context. It presents a formal and systematic analysis that examines geopolitical developments, particularly focusing on India’s rise and the historical progression of its political identity.
February 8, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Soumya Bhowmick of The New Indian Express:
In an age of global uncertainty, Vishwa Shastra offers a timely framework for understanding India’s place in the world. From navigating the US-China rivalry to addressing transnational threats like climate change and pandemics, Jaishankar’s analysis is grounded in realism and resonates with contemporary challenges.
The book avoids prescribing a singular narrative or vision, instead inviting readers to engage with the ideas presented critically.
Jaishankar challenges readers to rethink India’s role on the global stage—not as a peripheral player but as an active architect of international norms and institutions.
The book balances reflection with prescription.
January 26, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Ameya Kulkarni of Organiser Weekly:
Written for a diverse audience for a student of social science, civil services aspirant or even a seasoned diplomat - Jaishankar moves away from the polemical to being descriptive and in the process debunking the notion that India somehow lacked a strategic culture or even a capacity for strategic thought. Putting it differently, India has certainly the capacity to look at the return of the second Trump administration not just in terms of the H1B, for New Delhi well understands that issues of immigration are domestic domains of nation states; rather the current dispensation is more interested in the implications for Europe, the Indo-Pacific and issues of bilateral and multilateral trade. India has the strategic wherewithal to think and act to protect its national interests, objectives and priorities.
January 2, 2025
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Suhasini Haidar of The Hindu:
Finally, there’s Dhruva Jaishankar’s Viswa Shastra: India and The World, a scholarly recounting of Indian foreign policy over the ages, that begins with ancient strategic treatises, goes through pre-independence foreign policy thought, followed by the first few decades of the Indian Republic. Jaishankar marks 1991 as a significant turning point of “fundamental change” in Indian foreign policy — broadly as a reaction to global events like the Gulf war, Israel-Palestine peace process, the collapse of the Soviet Union and withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the resultant period of U.S.-led unipolarity in the world.
December 16, 2024
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Sreemoy Talukdar of Firstpost:
There are several themes that run through the book as it creates a narrative framework. Chief among those is the theme of timing. That India is in a geopolitical sweet spot has been severally commented. Jaishankar goes down to explaining in painstaking detail the steps that led us through this spot – those decades constituting some of the most challenging times for Indian leaders and policymakers as the country was hemmed in from all sides and caught between rival blocs during the Cold War’s great power competition.
December 15, 2024
“Vishwa Shastra: India and the World” was reviewed by Sridhar Krishnaswami of The Hindu Business Line:
Written for a diverse audience — for a student of social science, civil services aspirant or even a seasoned diplomat — Jaishankar moves away from the polemical to being descriptive and in the process debunking the notion that India somehow lacked a strategic culture or even a capacity for strategic thought. Putting it differently, India has certainly the capacity to look at the return of the second Trump administration not just in terms of the H1B, for New Delhi well understands that issues of immigration are domestic domains of nation states; rather the current dispensation is more interested in the implications for Europe, the Indo-Pacific and issues of bilateral and multilateral trade. India has the strategic wherewithal to think and act to protect its national interests, objectives and priorities.
December 14, 2024
Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America, was mentioned in an article by Swastik Sharma of The New Indian on his Dec. 6 visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University where he gave a talk about his first book, “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”:
The event underscored JNU’s pivotal role as a hub for intellectual engagement on international studies. Faculty members noted the relevance of Dhruva’s work in the context of India’s G20 presidency and its increasing prominence in global decision-making forums.
Dhruva’s book has been well-received in academic and policy circles for its nuanced perspectives on India’s foreign policy trajectory. His interaction at JNU reflects the growing interest in bridging academic discourse with real-world policy challenges, reinforcing the importance of informed debate in shaping India’s global narrative.
December 11, 2024
ThePrint published an excerpt of “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World”, the first book from Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director, ORF America:
Finally, there is an opportunity for India to take a bigger leadership role at two legacy institutions: the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Commonwealth. Although their purpose and utility are increasingly in question, India now presents the largest economy in both organizations. This presents it with an opportunity to repurpose these groupings to make them more relevant to the present day.