Major positive shift in world perception

Notwithstanding his critics’ remarks that holdalls are always ready at the 7 Race Course Road for foreign trips, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that it was a matter of pride and satisfaction for him that a major positive shift was taking place in the world about India, its potential and prospects.

In an interview to United News of India (UNI) recently on completing one year in office, Mr Modi observed that the world was new for him and he was new for the world. Changing image and perception about India in the world was a compulsion and “I did accept this challenge – I will go myself to hold dialogues to effectively tell the world about India, its potentials and prospects,'' he said. Mr Modi said that it should be a matter of pride for all countrymen that India's proposal before UN of the idea of the International Yoga Day was supported by as many as 177 countries for the first time in the history of the world body and passed within 100 days.

The world is now gearing up to observe the Yoga Day on June 21. Mr Modi said that at the onset of the 21st century, the concept of BRICS emerged and it was believed that the present century would be driven by members of the grouping. Soon this impression started emerging that India was weak in BRICS and the entire hypothesis was upset. “This situation put responsibility on my government. I was aware of the impact of the challenges.” Mr Modi gave full credit to the people for giving him a decisive mandate to form an absolute majority government after three decades, which, he said, had helped his regime to enjoy the image of a ‘decisive administration with confidence’ in the world. From his remarks in the interview, it is quite obvious that Mr Modi is unfazed by the barrage of criticism by his detractors that he has no time to undertake inland tours so extensively vis-a-vis foreign lands. In any case, Mr Modi appears to have brought a rare energy to India’s foreign policy, infusing it with a dash of colour and his own personal warmth in ties with world leaders even as he has kept up a frenetic pace in his diplomatic engagement –- visiting 18 countries in the course of his first year in office. Mr Modi brought in his own distinctive style right from the day he took over on May 26, 2014. His gesture to invite seven South Asian neighbours, from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Mauritius, to his swearing-in was an assertion of his government’s neighbourhood policy. The surprise invite and the sight of so many leaders from neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, were hailed as a major foreign policy coup. Mr Modi has not looked back since. He has met the leaders of all the ‘Permanent Five’ (P5) members of the UN - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France – interacting with some of them more than twice. Mr Modi has helped revitalise India’s relations with not just neighbours and the Southeast Asian region, but with the West, the Middle East, and even Latin America and the distant islands of Seychelles. Besides Mr Modi’s foreign visits and interactions with heads of state and government during their India visits, his External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been quietly busy in cementing India’s ties across the world, with Minister of State General(Retd) VK Singh actively chipping in.

The year-long hectic diplomatic calendar saw 162 diplomatic engagements with 101 countries between Mr.Modi, Ms Swaraj and MoS VK Singh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which stormed to majority on its own strength in the Lok Sabha elections, had in its poll manifesto promised to focus on India’s ties with neighbours. The neighbourhood outreach started in right earnest, beginning with key strategic neighbour Bhutan, which Mr Modi chose as his first port of call. Bhutan, India’s closest ally for decades, also shares a border with China. Besides visits to immediate neighbours Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and most recently Bangladesh, Mr Modi has travelled to Europe – visiting France and Germany, the US, Canada, China, and Australia and became the first Indian prime minister to visit Mongolia.

Mr Modi has visited Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji and Brazil. He has attended several multilateral summits, including BRICS, ASEAN, EAS and G20. Adding to the neighbourhood outreach, Mr. Modi signalled his government’s determined push to the ‘Look East’ Policy, by terming it ‘Act East’, and following it up with active engagement with the Southeast Asian region. To make the 'Act East' policy really work, the government is giving a major push to connectivity projects through India’s northeast to the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries – a region where China has a strong presence.

Mr Modi has followed it up with his 'Link West' policy, engaging with countries on India’s west, including the Middle East region. A hallmark of Mr Modi’s foreign policy is his stress on economic diplomacy, which he does through actively promoting his government’s 'Make in India' initiative, and assuring the foreign governments and the top corporates of ease of doing business in India. As part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Prime Minister has urged foreign governments to participate in India’s railways sector, in manufacturing, infrastructure, defence, smart cities, urban planning and other sectors. He has also been seeking active participation of foreign countries in his government’s other initiatives like Digital India, Skill India, Clean Ganga Mission, Swachch Bharat Mission and Renewable Energy.

Another important aspect of his foreign policy is interacting personally with top CEOs during overseas visits. The Prime Minister has met with the leading CEOs of most top companies in the world, inviting them to participate in the India story. Mr Modi’s US visit was the most-watched event in the diplomatic calendar in 2014, where he shrugged off any bitterness due to being denied a visa by the US government in 2005, and bonded with US President Barack Obama. In a major diplomatic coup, the Prime Minister got President Obama to be the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day Parade on January 26, 2015. Mr Obama became the first US president to attend the Republic Day parade, and also the American President to visit India twice during his term. He had previously visited India in 2010.Mr. Obama, who has called Prime Minister Modi a “man of action”, and shares a warm chemistry with him, also addressed a joint “Mann ki Baat” radio address with him during his visit to India in January this year. Even though India shares close economic ties with China, the relationship is overshadowed by unease over the unsettled boundary question, Mr. Modi has, however, tried to build a healthy relationship with the Chinese leadership. He has met Chinese President Xi Jinping four times in the past one year – possibly the most times he has interacted with any other world leader.

When President Xi came to India in September, Mr Modi invited him over to Ahmedabad and the two confabulated while taking a walk along the Sabarmati river front, amid a colourful backdrop with performances by folk dancers and folk musicians on the waterfront. In this, Mr Modi signaled a breakaway from the formal stiff diplomatic interactions – that have been the norms for decades in India – and also introduced states as equal participants in India’s foreign policy.Reciprocating the Prime Minister’s gesture, President Xi received Mr.Modi in his hometown of XI’an in Shaanxi province during his May visit to China and accorded him a spectacular traditional welcome.Though the boundary question did not see much progress during his China visit, both countries have made progress in cementing people-to-people ties and economic relations.

With Russia, Mr Modi has emphasised India’s close traditional ties. During his coming visit to Russia in July for the BRICS and SCO summits, he would be having his fourth meeting with President Vladimir Putin. The government has stated firmly that India is against Western sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. However, with Pakistan, India’s difficult western neighbour, the ties have only plummeted. The relationship, which started off on a promising note with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attending the May 26, 2014, swearing-in of Mr Modi and their short bilateral talks thereafter, petered out following Pakistan’s insistence on hobnobbing with Kashmiri separatists just four days ahead of the foreign secretary-level talks on August 25 last year. India has always maintained that there could be no third party in talks between the two countries. The persistent firing on the border and the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians has also added to the bitterness. Pakistan has also been constantly raising the Kashmir issue at international forums and has recently released 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi from jail, adding to the bitterness in ties.

Mr Modi’s latest tour to friendly eastern neighbour Bangladesh was a historic one, resulting in both countries ratifying the 41-year-old Land Boundary Agreement, one of the two outstanding issues which Dhaka has been keen on India to conclude. Mr Modi, during his talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his public speech at Dhaka University, assured Bangladesh that his government will continue to strive to reach an accord on the Teesta water sharing, while keeping all stakeholders on board.

With Japan, another friendly country, India upgraded its ties to special strategic global partnership during Mr Modi’s meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September last year. He shares a close rapport with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, with both sharing warm hugs during his visit to Brisbane last November. With South Korea, where he visited recently in May, both countries elevated their ties to Special Strategic Partnership and to hold the diplomatic and security dialogue in the “2 plus 2” format - between their foreign and defence secretaries. Till now India used to hold such a dialogue with Japan.

During his speech at the UN General Assembly in September last year, which was in Hindi, the Prime Minister proposed instituting an International Yoga Day, which was adopted in a record time. In December last year, the UN General Assembly adopted the India-led resolution declaring June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga’ with 175 nations joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for any UN General Assembly resolution.

A major change that Mr Modi has brought to India’s foreign policy is in removing the diplomatic jargon from the language that was traditionally followed by South Block for decades. Mr Modi’s speeches have an informal, simple style, in keeping with his own image where he likes to interact informally with people.Mr.Modi also brought in the use of Hindi into India’s foreign policy – which was earlier considered the sole preserve of the English language. Mr Modi, who began his diplomatic engagements in Hindi initially, aided by a translator, has now begun giving speeches in English – keeping in mind the audience. But while speaking informally to large audiences abroad, especially the diaspora, Mr Modi is at his best in Hindi.A major part of the Prime Minister’s interactions abroad has been with the Indian diaspora. Right from the time he held thousands of ecstatic Indians spell-bound with his speech at New York’s Madison Square Garden in September last year, he has made it a point to bind with the diaspora, and also urged them to participate in the India story in a big way.

The Prime Minister announced the decision to merge the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards with its Overseas Citizen of India cards, in a major relief, and lifelong visa to PIOs.Another important facet of Mr Modi’s foreign policy has been his outreach on Twitter and Facebook, not just with his multitude of fans and supporters but with global leaders too. He is on tweeting terms with Australian PM Tony Abbott, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, among others. The Prime Minister’s instant tweets and pictures of his interactions during diplomatic engagements give his followers a close look at developments in Indian foreign policy.

Mr Modi has also added the 'selfie' to India’s diplomacy, clicking selfies with many world leaders and posting them on twitter. The selfie diplomacy has proved a huge hit, including with the prime minister’s fans.

By Neeraj Bajpai