Diplomacy · 13 September 2026
The BRICS gala had a better line than the communiqué
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in New Delhi, reached for classic Indian music. Policy dialogues fill the folder. This fills the room.
Summits are built to produce text. The BRICS 2026 meeting in Delhi will be remembered, if it is remembered, for a paragraph on finance and a photograph of flags. A smaller camera caught Anwar Ibrahim talking about Indian music as if it were not a courtesy.
That is not a substitute for strategy. It is a reminder that India still exports something the world does not need a working group to receive. We filed the moment because cultural diplomacy is not a soft word for people who actually listen.