A WPS National Action Plan for India?

As of May 2025, more than 100 United Nations (UN) member states have adopted National Action Plans (NAPs) for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the associated Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. In principle, NAPs are relevant for all states, conflict-affected or otherwise, as these can potentially provide direction towards realising sustainable peace in domestic contexts and meeting international commitments—as laid out in the WPS resolutions—for the maintenance of international peace and security. Barring a couple of exceptions, there have been no initiatives to develop a WPS NAP for India, neither by the government nor by the feminist civil society actors that work in conflict-affected parts of the country. Against this background, the article examines the scope for an Indian NAP for the implementation of the WPS agenda. Specifically, it draws attention to the outward orientation of the government’s initiatives vis-à-vis the agenda and the ambivalence within the civil society regarding Resolution 1325. The article argues that it is not possible to envisage the adoption of a WPS NAP by India in the near future because of the nature of the government’s stance on the agenda and, importantly, the divergences within the feminist civil society in the country.