THE 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, held on September 12-13, 2026, produced a 140-point Declaration that is at once an assertion of Global South aspirations and a mirror to the contradictions of the grouping itself. For the Left, the task is neither to applaud nor to dismiss, but to read the document critically, recognising where it advances the struggle against US-led unipolarity, where it falls short, and where the Indian government's own conduct betrays the Declaration’s spirit.

NOT AN ANTI-IMPERIALIST FORUM

BRICS is not an anti-imperialist front. It is a forum that strengthens multipolarity against the unipolar project promoted by the US. This distinction matters. The grouping includes countries with radically different social systems: China’s socialist-oriented economy, Russia’s oligarchic capitalism and India’s big bourgeoisie led bourgeois-landlord State, now governed by corporate-communal, Hindutva forces. Of course, when we look at the other States, the diversity increases. So, these are not allies in a common anti-capitalist struggle. They are all States trying to carve a space for themselves in an undemocratic, dollar-dominated, US-centric international order.

That limitation is inherent. It explains why the declaration condemns ‘unilateral coercive measures’ without naming the US. It explains why it speaks of ‘maximum restraint’ in West Asia without identifying Israel as the aggressor. The declaration's silences are not accidents; they are the price of consensus among States with divergent alliances and class interests.

ECONOMIC HEFT SANS POLITICAL CLOUT

BRICS countries together constitute more than half of the global population and roughly one-third of global GDP. They hold enormous economic weight. But they do not have commensurate political clout in international bodies like the UN, the IMF and the World Bank. This is an anomaly the Declaration seeks to address.

The Declaration calls for UN Security Council reform where only China and Russia are permanent members among the group. The Declaration needs to be appreciated for noting that ‘no woman has ever been elected UN Secretary-General’. This should immediately be addressed when a new Secretary-General is to be shortly elected. And of course, the woman so elected should be one who represents and stands for the interests of the Global South. This assumes significance as, till date, only one national from Latin America and the Caribbean and two each from Africa and Asia have occupied the position.

The Declaration calls for IMF and World Bank reforms to better reflect the changing weight of emerging and developing economies, supporting greater voting and quota representation and more transparent leadership-selection processes. It backs WTO reform and reaffirms support for an open, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system. It expresses serious concern over rising tariffs, non-tariff barriers and protectionist measures. It condemns unilateral coercive measures contrary to international law, noting that such measures disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. It expresses concern over Cuba due to the tightening of the unilateral blockade and reiterates the necessity of ending it.

These are welcome positions. But they remain within the framework of reforming, not transcending, the institutions of global capitalism. The Declaration does not challenge the dollar’s reserve-currency status, the IMF’s structural adjustment conditionalities, or the debt architecture that keeps the Global South in perpetual servitude. The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement and the BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative are steps toward financial resilience, but they are modest ones. The proposed BRICS Grain Exchange and the AGRIN network address food security without confronting the corporate agribusiness monopolies that dominate global food systems.

THE CHALLENGES BEFORE THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Poverty, healthcare, unemployment, debt and artificial intelligence are all challenges before the Global South. BRICS countries too face these challenges, except perhaps China, which has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and developed indigenous technological capacity. The Declaration recognises these challenges: it commits to the 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Developments Goals), acknowledges inequality as a root cause of most challenges, and takes note of proposals for an international panel on inequality. It addresses AI governance, digital public infrastructure, health cooperation, tuberculosis, food security and disaster preparedness.

But recognition is not resolution. These challenges can be met only by standing up against US imperialism and its aggression and by refusing to accept the terms of a global order designed to extract surplus from the periphery and concentrate it in the core. The Declaration’s call for greater access to AI resources and international cooperation for the Global South is meaningless if the underlying intellectual property regime, controlled by US corporations, remains intact. Its support for universal health coverage is hollow if Big Pharma’s monopoly pricing is not challenged. Its food security provisions are inadequate if agricultural subsidies in the US and EU continue to distort global markets.

CLIMATE CHANGE: DEVELOPED COUNTRIES MUST PAY

Climate change is a major concern for BRICS. The latest natural disaster witnessed in Nepal and the El Nino effects in our country, unseasonal rains and severe floods on the one hand and drought on the other, reflect the impact of climate change on our country. Given such a background, it is heartening that the Declaration calls for stronger disaster-risk reduction systems and recognises that developing economies face particularly serious climate-related financing challenges, including large gaps in funding for adaptation. But here too, the Declaration stops short of naming the culprits.

The climate crisis is not a shared responsibility. It is the product of two centuries of unconstrained carbon emissions by the developed countries. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, must be upheld. Developed countries should bear the responsibility, not the Global South. They owe a climate debt to the countries they colonised and exploited, and they must pay it through technology transfer, concessional finance, and genuine emissions reductions at home. The BRICS nations should demand reparations for climate damages, not just adaptation finance.

INDIA: A JUNIOR PARTNER OF US IMPERIALISM

The most glaring contradiction in the New Delhi Summit is the conduct of the Indian government. The BJP-led Union government has adopted a foreign policy that compromises with the US and acts as its junior partner. This is against the spirit of multipolarity.

India has deepened its strategic partnership with the US through the Quad, AUKUS, military and trade arrangements designed to contain China. It maintains a strategic relationship with Israel even as the Declaration calls for Palestinian self-determination within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. It has remained silent on US aggression against Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. It has refused to categorically condemn Israeli genocidal violence in Gaza.

This is not the conduct of a country committed to multipolarity. It is the conduct of a country that wants the benefits of BRICS membership without the costs of confronting US hegemony. The BJP government led by Modi wants to sit at the table of the Global South while dancing to the US tune.

The government should recalibrate its foreign policy and stand in solidarity with Palestine, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and other countries targeted by the US. The government should learn to face the reality – both external and internal. According to a study conducted by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in 15 countries in West Asia, 44 percent named Israel and 21 percent named the US as the State that poses the greatest threat to Arab security. Iran stood at a distant third at 6 percent. This is not a new trend: Israel has consistently ranked as the top threat, and the US has consistently been second. A near-unanimous 84 percent of respondents agreed that Israeli policies threaten the security and stability of the Arab region, while 77 percent said the same of US policies. When asked about their feelings toward the US in general, 56 percent expressed negative feelings – a higher percentage than a decade earlier. It is not just the mood in the Arab world. The Pew Research Center's Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey, covering 36 countries found that large majorities in most countries hold negative views of Israel. The Indian government should open its eyes to this reality and distance itself from the US and Israel.

The other reality is internal. The government tried to hide poverty by covering slums ahead of the Summit and pushing the homeless away from city centres. Poverty, inflation, unemployment and homelessness cannot be swept under the carpet or fudged through economic statistics and publicity blitzes.

THE PATH FORWARD

The New Delhi Declaration articulates the grievances of the Global South. It challenges unilateral sanctions, supports Palestinian rights, and calls for institutional reform. But declarations do not liberate people. Struggles do.

The Left must expose the gap between rhetoric and reality, hold governments accountable, and build movements that can force real change. BRICS is not an anti-imperialist forum. The task is not to abandon it, but to transform it and push it beyond the limits of multipolarity.

The people of Palestine, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela need more than declarations. They need action. And that action will come from the organised working class, the peasantry, the youth, and all those who refuse to accept a world ordered by US imperialism. The struggle continues.