New Delhi, Dec. 31 -- India's foreign policy firmament faced some of its strongest challenges in recent years in 2025, ranging from a four-day conflict with Pakistan to a rapid downturn in India-US relations over President Donald Trump's whimsical policies, and upheaval in neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal with far-reaching impacts on bilateral ties.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first few world leaders to visit Washington in February after the inauguration of Trump's second term and the two leaders agreed on a roadmap for trade and other strategic sectors, few could have imagined the speed with which a relationship built up over the past two decades would hit an all-time low just months later.

Trump's repeated claims ...