Chanakya Strategic Advisors’ Alpha Team
January 29, 2026 — The effort to advance India’s narrative engagement in the United States has drawn attention within policy, research and strategic communications circles, particularly among analysts examining lobbying dynamics and influence competition in Washington.
This work was anchored by Chanakya Strategic Advisors’ Alpha Team, a 20-member group led by Major Soumyabrata Sengupta, FRGS and composed entirely of retired military officers. Shaped by a shared ethos of discipline and service, the team focused on policy research, strategic communication and ethical lobbying across international forums.
The initiative unfolded against a backdrop of intensified competition, as public disclosures and international media reporting highlighted that Pakistan was allocating substantially higher resources to registered lobbying campaigns in the United States, seeking access to the White House, policymakers and business networks. The Alpha Team’s mandate was to respond to this asymmetry by ensuring that India’s perspectives on security, trade and long-term strategic interests were articulated with clarity, consistency and credibility.
Through recognised platforms such as ORF America and the U.S.–India Business Council (USIBC), the team participated in policy forums, research discussions and trade-linked dialogues central to India–U.S. relations. Policy researchers observe that such engagements reflect a broader evolution in global statecraft, where influence increasingly rests on narrative credibility and intellectual engagement alongside formal diplomacy.
International commentary has also noted that efforts to articulate India’s achievements, historical continuity and civilisational context are at times framed as “historical revisionism,” a characterisation that can constrain balanced and evidence-driven dialogue. In response, the Alpha Team’s approach emphasised documentation, consistency and intellectual rigour over amplification.
The subsequent acquisition of the advisory vertical associated with this ecosystem has been viewed as an indicator of growing confidence in India-focused strategic capabilities and is expected to deepen engagement with international business and policy networks.
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