India, March 15 -- There is something almost reassuring about the predictability of India's Iran debate. The moment the US-Israel strikes started two weeks ago, the positions fell into prefabricated moulds with the speed of a well-rehearsed orchestra. The Left and the centre condemned New Delhi's silence as moral abdication. Government sympathisers dismissed the criticism as naive value-signalling. The broader strategic community too got divided along its usual fault lines. Thus far, however, the debate has generated more heat than light - that, I guess, is a sign that the most important questions are not being asked. Let us ponder over some here.

Many of us want New Delhi to take a clear and firm diplomatic stance on the war against Ira...