India, June 6 -- Sharing a long and porous border with Myanmar, confronting cross-border insurgency, managing refugee flows, advancing critical infrastructure projects, and countering China's growing influence leave India with little room for diplomatic idealism

Driven by strategic pragmatism, India has had to embrace the military government of Myanmar despite the severe democratic backsliding there. New Delhi recently rolled out the red carpet for Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in 2021 through a military coup that toppled the democratically elected government of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

India, which prides itself on being the world's largest democracy, nota...