"How does India deal with a nation which is ranked 18th (in 2011) in the failed states index and is ruled by a military junta which demonstrates no signs of giving up? What sort of foreign policy does India adopt towards a country which links South Asia with Southeast Asia and hence, is critical for the fulflment of its ambitious look east policy? How does India frame its security policy when a major chunk of the insurgents wreaking havoc in its north-eastern region enjoy safety of this neighbouring country? Does it deal with the military rulers who possibly hold the key to India’s numerous problems and projects or it should it side with the thoroughly marginalised pro-democracy groups who have little hope of assuming control in that country? These are some of the questions that constantly agitated the minds of policy makers in New Delhi as they decided to affect a policy shift in India-Myanmar relations in the early 1990s. There has been no looking back since then. India made a choice for itself, preferring pragmatism over idealism, and stuck to it despite regime changes in New Delhi. This paper is a critical analysis of India’s Myanmar policy and its shift from an idealist position to one that is driven by pragmatism. Examining the drivers behind the policy change, the paper also attempts to foresee whether the policy, in its present form, is adequate for fulflment of India’s objectives in that country..."