Mint Quick Edit | Republic Day calls for reflection: This year, let’s focus on how we engage the world

Amid all the convulsions of globalization, we have cause for optimism over India’s trade prospects.

A deal with the EU looks imminent, while the US has signalled it may not just relieve us of its punitive tariff for buying Russian oil, but go ahead with a long-delayed trade pact.

The geopolitical context is peculiar to say the least.

The US has all but turned its back on a rules-based world order.

The Pentagon, in its National Defence Strategy released on Friday, classifies it as one of the “cloud-castle abstractions" that have wasted US military dominance.

In the Indo-Pacific, it aims for a balance of power that would let the US, China and others in the region “enjoy a decent peace."

The irony is how weak the US has begun to look as a republic under its current leader, who seems to wield power with few checks and balances.

At such a fraught time, India must not only assert its strategic autonomy globally, but reaffirm its commitment to a republican form of governance.

The US may be losing its long cherished common-sense values, but we remember the Raj and have resolved never to be subjects of a crown.