India, Oct. 9 -- External affairs minister S Jaishankar's statement that India has gone "beyond advocacy" to bring about a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and an agreement on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea is welcome news. In a parallel back-channel process, India's good offices were used to facilitate a high-level direct engagement between the UAE and Iran, with the aim of easing tensions between the two States. These developments indicate anascent shift from the establisheddiplomatic practice of the past fewdecades, when Indian foreign policy tended to shy away from international peacemaking initiatives. The recent instances of departure augur wellfor a rising power. Major powers always projectthemselves as problem-solversand solution-providers in order to accumulate soft power, gain acceptance as responsible players, and compete with rivals in multiple corners of the world. Although these motives are not altruistic or humanistic, being seen to be doing good helps sustain a big power's leadership or hegemony and burnishes its image. This is why even US President Donald Trump, who is an absolute transactionalist and abhorrer of"globalism", keeps bragging abouthaving ended eight global wars(factcheckers obviously dispute it). In 2026, Trump also set up an organisation called the Board of Peace, with 27 member-countries and the lofty goal "to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict." Of course, Trump's devastating war against Iran and his military intervention in Venezuela can be held up as illustrations of his true nature. His actions, which are against fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, mean he is nowhere close to being a true advocate of peace, let alone being in consideration for Nobel Peace Prize that he so covets. But the point here is that peacemaking by the US benefits its national interests and gives Washington a say in shaping international security through diplomatic means. The other superpower of our times, China, is well aware of the power dimension that is inherent in peacemaking. In 2025, it launched the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed). IOMed has 47 signatory States and claims to be working "to promote and facilitate peaceful settlement of international disputes and to develop friendly relations and cooperation among States through mediation." China has mediated, brokered, or otherwise facilitated agreements between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sudan and South Sudan, and among the Palestinian factions. The results of all these peacemaking efforts are mixed, at best, and China's own aggressive expansionist and militaristic behaviour in Asia suggests that its global peacemaking spree is mere window-dressing. But appearing to be a peacemaker bolsters China's self-promotion as a different kind of superpower, one whose rise need not be feared by anyone. India is not yet a superpower and hence is not going to replicate exactly what the US andChina are doing in name of peacemaking. Unlike Washington and Beijing, New Delhi is not a direct military stakeholder or a predominant economic force in eitherEastern Europe or in West Asia. But the fact that India is not a camp-follower of either the US or China and is steadily rising as an independent power centre, with strategic autonomy of its own, lends it credibility as a peace mediator ormessenger. This is the reason whyboth the Russians and the Ukrainians, as well as the Emiratis and the Iranians, have appreciated India's role and taken India's behind-the-scenes constructive conversations, messages, and suggestions seriously. Over the past decade, as great power rivalries, tensions, and wars peaked, there has been a clear vacuum in terms of influential, trustworthy, and reliable States that can bring warring parties to the table in an effort to find common ground. By adopting a pro-peace,pro-cooperation, and pro-rules-based-order stance, India has carved out a distinct identity for itself as a bridgebuilder between the geopoliticalantipodes of East and West, North and South. This avatar of India brought rich dividends when it hosted theG20 summit in 2023 and the BRICS summit in 2026. But arriving at aconsensus in large multilateral forums whose summits India hosted is notsufficient, because the optics of such summits do not last forever. What will - as India rises - issustained political will in New Delhito invest in peacemaking in theconflict-torn parts of the world with the clear-eyed purpose of enhancing India's power and stature. Conflict-affected regions where India enjoys robust strategic partnerships, and where the timing for mediation is ripe, should be prioritised for diplomatic interventions to yield long-term gains that are in Indian interests, and lay the basis for India to emerge as a third force vis-a-vis the US and China. Unlike in the era of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, when as a newly independent India ventured into a frenzy of peacemaking efforts in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Suez Crisis, and the Congo Crisis outof a sense of moralistic solidaritywith post-colonial nations, the scenario today is one where India has greater material and human resources,and bigger ambitions. Arguments that India "lacks capacity" for peacemaking due its thinly stretched and small foreign service corps or that India does not have enough "leverage" in many war zones to succeed are misplaced. Special peace envoys, representatives, and negotiating teams from India can be drawn from a wider pool of parliamentarians, lawyers, judges, academicians, and domain experts, alongside career diplomats. As for leverage, it is not given on a platter but has to be earned by striving for it. The time for India to shed hesitations and step up to the plate as a peacemaker is now....