India's foreign policy: shift from non-alignment to multi-alignment

India’s foreign policy has undergone a paradigmatic transition from the Nehruvian doctrine of Non-Alignment to a contemporary framework of Multi-Alignment. The Cold War context, post-colonial identity, and quest for strategic autonomy shaped Non-Alignment as India’s principal diplomatic instrument from 1947 to 1991.The end of bipolarity, economic liberalization, nuclearization, and the rise of China redefined India’s external environment, compelling a recalibration toward strategic partnerships across competing power blocs. This paper traces the historical evolution, doctrinal shifts, and institutional drivers behind India’s move from Non-Alignment to Multi-Alignment. It analyses key milestones: Look East Policy, nuclear tests of 1998, Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, and India’s positioning in BRICS, SCO, G20, and I2U2. The paper adopted mixed-method approach relying both on qualitative historical analytical study and quantitative factual data in the course of the research. It collected relevant data from both primary and secondary sources. The study concluded that Multi-Alignment is not an abandonment of Non-Alignment but its twenty-first-century adaptation — a flexible, interest-driven strategy to maximize autonomy, economic growth, and security in a multipolar world.