Foreign Policy

India And the Chaotic World

We live in the world full of chaos & violence. Diplomacy has seen some aggressive changes in past some years. The very ideal of expansionism is being vigorously pursued by world powers. From America to Europe to Africa and Asia, a well scripted game is being played. The world politics is seeing some major shifts as a result of instability, either already present or planted.

The geo politics today, faces a great challenge. The present chaos therefore is a big test for the diplomatic world to come to terms with. Extremism instead of peace has emerged as an important tool to destabilize some powers and maintain the supremacy. As a result everyone's busy playing their own trump cards. Some of the best examples are: US and Russia at constant loggerheads. The European Union is in deep economic & social trouble. While Africa is witnessing the rise & rise of Islamic extremism which has stumbled its growth story. The ray of hope , hence, where some logic prevails , seems to be Asia. Economically as well as socially. Yet in Asia, we observe a lot of strategic hits n misses. The Middle East is going through a really hard time and in South East Asia we are staring at a rise of possible power tussle between India and China. In Indian Sub continent , a major problem today, is Pakistan and its policy of using terrorism as a part of state policy vis-à-vis India. While the Asian Countries have not yet achieved substantial progress in eliminating economic and social evils, yet, some Asian powers use terror as an effective tool in foreign policy. China has created problems due to its own attitude. China n its neighbor are always at verbal wars with each others. Constant conflicts thus, leading to troubled bilateral relations is a common thread that narrates the Asian Story.

So, between all the chaos, instability and violence, how well is India positioned?

Let us summarize some recent developments and India's long standing diplomatic past.

A very minute observation is:: India is a changed nation. Today's Indian policy of engaging with the world is far away from Nehru's romantic and neutral plus non alignment theory. Today's India is multi aligned, multi engaged and pragmatic yet assertive.

Off late, India never sided with nor did it took deep interest in geo political matters. The nation was consistent on its non alignment stand, well propagating the message of ''Live and let Live''. This has heavily earned good reputation for India in those areas where interference by world powers has become a daily affair. The recent rescue ops that India carried in Syria, Yemen, Nepal etc  proved that NAM (non alignment movement) and India's neutral stand on all outstanding multilateral issues , are a result of good will that India has earned. While the NAM without doubt has been success story for India, it had its own back drops. Example : India's presence in Indian Ocean Region was limited, at times drifted the small states towards China which is a possible threat to India's strategic n deep national interest.

But change is law of Nature. With a  rise of new aspirations in India and with advent of strong geo political games perused thoroughly world wide, slowly but steadily, India is moving towards multi alignment. Earlier the tussle between US n Russia and a heavy lobbying by some big powers , influenced India's foreign policy which resulted in confusion. The best narrative is that of India's stand as against Pakistan n Af-Pak region. Yet, the new India doesn't hesitates engaging more with world. What explains the drastic change? Same Country, same set of bureaucrats and same office still there's a change of narrative in South Block and a change of perception in New Delhi's view of world. It is engaged like never before, it is busy like never before and most importantly it is asserting itself like never before. What's the change then? The change is that of aspirations. The change is that of perspective. The change is definitely that of leadership.

The biggest change is India has started asserting herself loud and clear that She shall fall prey to lobbying not anymore. She shall not allow interface by any world power in her narrative towards the world. No more is she shy of using her deep strategic asset of Soft Power! Her strong cultural bonds with nations at large. In fact this is definitely the deep asset that brought Sri Lanka, Bhutan n Nepal more close to India. She has again started saying that her sole motto is ''Let the life on earth be happy'' Let it be Yemen, Syria, Nepal, Iraq etc, she has made it clear that peace n co operation withy mutual respect and dignity is in her DNA. Her ancient beliefs are still relevant and her mantra of universal tolerance, universal acceptance n universal brotherhood is still intact and when time comes she shall remind the World about it again n again.

India maintains a large army. Yet she uses it not to wage a war nor to preach peace but to protect her national interest and to help humanity at large. Recent relief and rescue efforts by India in Nepal are the best examples.

Recent trip by Indian Premiere to China is best suited to explain how Indian diplomacy is going through dramatic change. Status of Indo China ties remains: Its Complicated but that doesn't means there’s a full stop! Yet the joint statement refers that unless disputes resolved there cannot be business as usual. This assertion. This dynamism is something that many commentators on Foreign Policy have missed. This shows that 'Bold yet Pragmatic India' has finally arrived on world stage. Late it may be though, but India has arrived! As the saying goes, Better late than never.