Inviting the neighbours

24th May 2014 - Link

In  this article all the content related with the pervious(UPA) government(foreign policies, weaknesses ect.)  is given in Blue and all the content related to current(NDA) government(Modi’s plans,strengths ect.)  is given in orange

Parts in Dr. Manmohan Singh’s foreign policies that Modi is likely to borrow

(The parts of Dr.Singh’s policy are given in blue and their followup action by Modi is given in orange)

1.Dr. Singh’s creative thinking on the neighbourhood:

• Focussed drive for better relations with Pakistan.
• Indian concessions on trade with Bangladesh.
• Massive reconstruction and infrastructure-building efforts undertaken in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
• India’s SAARC engagement 

These have India helped its standing in the region.

Invitations to all SAARC leaders on swearing in ceremony.

2.Loyalty to multilateral forums in the face of opposition: 

It was not just SAARC and the Non-Aligned Movement but also the building of BRICS (along with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa) that gave India a prominence on the world stage that held it in particular stead in the past few years.

BRICS leaders as early as mid-July, when Mr.Modi is expected to travel to Brazil to attend the summit along with Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

3.Focus on economic diplomacy.

Modi will be invited to G20 Australia. 

4.Quest for nuclear energy as an alternative source.

Canberra will hope that Mr.Modi’s G20 visit will also see signing of India-Australia uranium deal.

NOTE: Mr.Modi will pave the way for a much needed revision of the Indian Foreign Service’s size. In 2012, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) recorded a strength of about 815 officers, a fraction of the roughly 20,000 the United States has, or the 5,000 that China appoints.

Strengths of Modi Government

1.He isn’t dependent on the approval of State governments: that could try to block him, in the manner in which the Mamata Banerjee government blocked the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the Teesta deal with Bangladesh, or the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) governments in Tamil Nadu threatened ties with Sri Lanka over the UNHRC vote.

2.Mr. Modi’s policies will be unchallenged by his party: The Congress party’s disavowal of the Sharm el-Sheikh declaration will probably stand out as a watershed moment in Dr. Singh’s foreign policy, and he never quite stopped looking over his shoulder after that on ties with Pakistan. If UPA-II began on that note, it ended with Dr. Singh’s humiliation on the international stage, when hours before his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, his party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed a press conference “tearing up” his government’s policy ordinance on corruption.

Perils of the past

1.Terror groups: Some within the establishment in Pakistan who will attempt to sabotage any plans for peace talks with an attack. Already, the attack on the Indian consulate in Herat is being chalked up to Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed Taliban elements.

2.Mr. Modi’s own past record: on the 2002 Gujarat riots. As a result, his government’s actions on internal disturbances — riots and insurgencies — will be scrutinised by India’s neighbours for any hint of “majoritarian” bias.

Mr. Modi’s swearing-in could well serve as a kick-off point for a new foreign policy regime for South Asia; that is, if he desires to make a break with past precedents.