Lessons in Diplomacy

The ongoing global situation demands an appraisal of the overall approach to deal with the nations when it comes to a sustainable foreign policy. India has to recalibrate its approach to deliver apt response and messages when it matters the most in the present uncertain geo-politics guided by inconsistency. India’s precision guided Operation Sindoor meant to decimate the terrorist infrastructure in POJK and Pakistan to inflict damages in Jammu and Kashmir and rest of India evoked an escalation by Pakistan to defend its nefarious designs. Instead of co-operating with India to dismantle the terror bases acting from its soil, it went overboard to justify the inhuman acts of its radical mercenaries. In this conflict India maintained the poise and maturity so that South-Asia is not plunged into instability. What is worse, the United States (US) instead of understanding the bilateral dimensions of the Indo-Pak conflict jumped to reap the dividends when there was not any need for that. As the two nations had reached an understanding for the ceasefire through their DGMOs to de-escalate. The US wanted to score the brownie points. It is a different story that India debunked the American claim but one thing is clear that the US  was engineering the  stratagem to bail out Pakistan and that as well established by the IMF doles for Pakistan when military junta hijacked government in Islamabad was responsible for escalation and indulging in the nuclear blackmail. In order to sensitise the international community, the Indian  government sent the teams of the Parliamentarians to various nations   to galvanise the world opinion and explain the Indian point of view and defeat Pakistan in its own game of propaganda and plausible deniability. This is indeed appreciable. India needs robust diplomatic initiatives at various levels that must span beyond the traditional bureaucratic mechanism. The ongoing turn of events in West Asia and the Middle East also demands diplomatic consideration. The reason being the political turmoil and international dimension of the Israel-Iran conflict  and the US meddling  can have a devastating impact in this part of the world. The reason being the religious inclinations and above all the oil economy that depends on the import of oil from the  present conflict zone. Then we have the China factor that affects the Indian sovereignty as they have a clear cut policy of shrinking the Indian influences in the Himalayas and the sea. We have argued many times in these columns that the US and China may have rivalry to outsmart each other to uphold their strategic interests but when it comes to containing India the two end up operationalizing the ploys that make them look similar. There was a time of non-alignment that India followed religiously but now the situation has changed and India cannot be a mute spectator  and as such  it has to be proactive to safeguard its national interests. We are witnessing the new permutations and combinations in which old foes are emerging as new friends. India can’t wait and watch. It has to prepare the template to play on the international chess board. The reason being that it is a populous nation and a thriving economy. It cannot allow itself to be contained by the subversive ploys  that are defining the new strategic games. That is why the Indian diplomacy has to graduate to the new level from where it can safeguard the national interests.