Strategic autonomy means a country's ability to say no to a major patron, keeping room to set its own positions and act militarily without total dependence, often while staying inside alliances. It is not withdrawal: the EU is raising defence spending while staying aligned with the US, and India stays in the Quad while buying Russian oil. The idea traces to Charles de Gaulle's 1966 decision to take France out of NATO's integrated military command while remaining in the alliance. It entered French doctrine in 1994, reached wider Europe through the 1998 Saint-Malo Declaration, and was formalised by the EU in 2016. Renewed interest reflects doubts about whether US security guarantees are unconditional.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.