The election of Prime Minister Modi thrust India onto the front pages of newspapers around the world. After taking office in late May 2014, Modi made a number of high-profile international trips to the United States, China, Japan and Russia. And he has welcomed numerous foreign leaders to Delhi. The Indian public seems pleased with Modi’s and India’s role in the spotlight on the world stage.
Indians’ pride in their country has grown in recent years. Fully 85% of the public has a very favorable opinion of India, up from 72% in 2014.
Roughly three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed also have a lot of confidence in Modi doing the right thing regarding world affairs. But there is a definite partisan split in such support: 83% of BJP followers express a lot of confidence, yet only 63% of Congress backers and 61% of AAP followers agree.
Indians look with less favor on other nations. Just 43% have a positive view of Russia, relatively unchanged over the past few years. About four-in-ten (41%) see China favorably, yet that sentiment is up 10 points from 2014. And just 28% are favorably disposed toward Iran. In each case, those with at least some college education have a better opinion of other countries than do those with a primary education or less.
But, for many Indians, especially those living in rural areas, other countries are truly foreign. Roughly four-in-ten Indians express no opinion about Iran and Russia, almost three-in-ten have no view on China, and about two-in-ten say they don’t know how they feel about the U.S.
However, despite each of these foreign leaders’ recent visits to India and a Modi trip to their countries, 49% of Indians surveyed have no opinion of Putin, 47% voice no view of Abe and 42% express no sentiment about Xi. The only foreign leader who is relatively well-known is Obama (just 17% don’t know him).
Despite growth in confidence in their own nation, as well as in appreciation for foreign countries and their leaders, Indians see the world as a challenging place. Nearly three-quarters (73%) say they are very concerned about global climate change. And there is a strong regional difference in such anxieties. Nearly nine-in-ten respondents living in northern states are very worried about climate change, compared with about two-thirds in other parts of the country. Indians with some college education or more (80%) are more concerned than those with primary schooling or less (68%).
Similarly, almost half the public (49%) is quite concerned about global economic instability; 45% of Indians are very worried about cyberattacks on governments, banks and corporations; and 41% are quite concerned about the militant Islamic group ISIS. In each case, better-educated Indians, those with at least some college education, are more worried than those with a primary education or less. (For more on how Indians’ perceptions of global threats compare with sentiment in other nations, see this Pew Research Center report.)
Indians living in rural areas (63%) are greater proponents of such discussions than those living in cities (54%). And AAP (74%) followers are slightly more likely to support talks than are BJP (60%) backers.
But Pakistan is not the only security challenge seen by Indians. Roughly two-thirds (65%) of the public believes that the Naxalites – a Maoist guerilla group that originated in northeast India – pose a very serious threat to the country. AAP (77%) supporters are more concerned than Congress (59%) followers.
About six-in-ten Indians (61%) say the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba poses a very serious threat to the nation. Again, concern differs by party: AAP (79%) backers are more worried than BJP (62%) or Congress (51%) adherents.
Just 42% of the public voices the view that China is a very serious threat to India. This sentiment is relatively unchanged since 2013. There is a notable partisan divide on China. Fully 71% of AAP supporters see China as quite threatening, but only 43% of BJP backers and 35% of Congress followers agree. And geography matters. In northern states, 63% of respondents see China as a very serious threat. But few in the east (36%), south (27%) and west (24%) are that concerned.
