Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces a daunting challenge as his administration looks to deport Rohingya refugees while fending off international criticism — a balancing act expected to test New Delhi's superpower aims. Escaping what the United Nations has called "ethnic cleansing" in Myanmar's northwest state of Rakhine, thousands of Rohingya — a Muslim-majority ethnic group — have sought shelter in neighboring countries.

Rome's Muslim Community rallies during a demonstration in support of Rohingya Muslims on September 18, 2017 in Rome, Italy. Stefano Montesi / Corbis / Getty Images

Around 40,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to India over the past decade, out of which 16,500 are registered with the UN's refugee agency. Bangladesh, meanwhile, has received over 400,000 new arrivals since Myanmar's military began intensifying attacks on Rohingya villages last month. As the violence in Rakhine escalates, New Delhi — which is not a party to two major international refugee laws — now wants to deport its population of Rohingya escapees back to Myanmar on what it says are national security concerns. This week, Modi's administration said it had evidence of terror links between some India-based Rohingya and extremist groups such as Islamic State. Met with condemnation abroad and embraced by right-wing nationalists at home, the deportation plan is currently being debated in India's Supreme Court. "There is urgent need for deft diplomacy by India," Ashok Sajjanhar, India's former ambassador to Kazakhstan, said in a Tuesday report published by the Vivekananda International Foundation, a non-partisan think tank. The world's biggest democracy has to "simultaneously contend with challenges in its relations with its two extremely significant and sensitive neighbors, Bangladesh and Myanmar, as well as with international human rights watchdogs," he continued. It's a tricky dilemma for New Delhi, which is looking to compete with China as a leading Asian power.

The Rohingya crisis will test "New Delhi's place in global politics," warned Kabir Taneja, associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. "How [India] balances the age-old conundrum of moralistic decision-making and realpolitik could shape its capabilities of geopolitical influence." Modi must play his cards right to avoid undermining India's positioning in the region, Taneja continued — especially because China has already thrown its political weight behind Yangon.

Why India wants to deport the Rohingya