Hurdles in India’s efforts to drive world diplomacy
In this chaotic world, India’s role in brokering peace has thus become significant.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has made an important statement. “We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India,” he said.
Russian spokesman Dimitri Peskov went a step further and claimed that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi could play a pivotal role in facilitating talks between the two sides.
It isn’t an ordinary achievement.
This is the same Moscow that in 1971 had welcomed Indira Gandhi, the then PM of India, when she went seeking Russia’s help after being humiliated by US president Richard Nixon. Leonid Brezhnev was then the head of Soviet Union. The friendship forged then has survived the test of time.
From the time Modi rose to power in 2014, he has made extensive efforts to define India’s role in the emerging global order. From August 21 to September 5, the PM travelled to Poland, Ukraine, Brunei and Singapore. During this period, foreign minister S Jaishankar visited the Maldives and Kuwait. The South Block is now busy preparing for Modi’s upcoming visit to Russia and the US over the next few weeks.
Modi’s visits are shaping India’s place in the shifting geopolitical landscape. The PM’s latest Brunei and Singapore visits exemplify this. Brunei has immense oil reserves and part of its shores lie in the South China Sea, where China has aggressive ambitions. China wants to strongarm Brunei and get concessions on oil from the small nation.
This is unacceptable to the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. Seen from this perspective, Modi’s presence in Brunei assumes tremendous significance. Like China, India needs oil and like Brunei, it has been facing problems from China for decades.
Singapore, in turn, has been our old ally and its spectacular progress attracts young enterprising Indians. The island nation plays a key role in Asean and in the changing global scenario, India-Singapore relations needed timely strengthening. With Singapore’s help, we can fulfil our dream of turning India into a semiconductor hub.
The current scenario requires nimble diplomacy.
Why? A new global challenge has emerged over the past two-and-a-half years with Russia and Ukraine bleeding each other. Experts had felt that the conflict would spread to neighbouring areas and they have been proven right.
Now Israel and its neighbours are locked in a deadly war, leading to another geopolitical crisis. The US, her allies and all their might haven’t been able to stop the war.
We are in the age of declining US power.
In this chaotic world, China wants to increase its influence. Its leader Xi Jinping wants to make China the global leader replacing the US. His ambitions propel him to fuel global flare-ups instead of bringing them to an end.
India’s role in brokering peace has thus become significant.
Singapore’s seasoned diplomat, expert in geopolitics and economics, writer and speaker Kishore Mahbubani says the world is spiralling out of control and it needs a country such as India and a leader like Modi to re-establish order. Mahbubani rates Modi as the third most influential leader after the presidents of the US and China and even suggests that Britain should relinquish its seat at the UN Security Council for India.
But Modi is facing headwinds within the country. The PM’s grand welcome in Brunei and the killing of a young man in Faridabad hogged media headlines in equal measure. Cow vigilantes had shot the young man dead suspecting him to be a cattle smuggler. Who are these cow vigilantes? Who has given them the right to kill in the name of protecting cows? Who will rein them in?
Tragically, those leaders who should have shouldered the responsibility of tackling the menace are aggravating it. Those who took oath on the Constitution are inciting people to use Bangladesh as a scapegoat. It’s not a surprise that many thoughtful Bangladeshis are unhappy that their country’s image is being tarnished to further internal political gains.
Such needless statements have made our diplomats work even harder as they work tirelessly to build a positive image for India with sincerity and integrity.
Are those indulging in the business of hate listening? The country, which has big dreams, expects them to behave responsibly.
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
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