India’s engagement with the world needs a reset. Our neighbours are drifting away from us, and our proud reputation as a robust democracy is under question, even as our sovereignty is threatened by an increasingly aggressive China. Unfortunately, over the last decade, India’s foreign policy has been defined by more chest-thumping and myopia, and a reduced focus on sharp and effective diplomacy. Our government is more preoccupied with image management and projecting the Prime Minister as a self-styled Vishwaguru than with improving relations with allies and containing our rivals.
The Congress party’s recently unveiled Nyay Patra or manifesto has a clear vision to restore India’s voice on the global stage. It crafts a strategy that carefully blends soft power with hard power to enhance India’s role as a trusted, respected, powerful voice on the world stage. The Nyay Patra aims to strengthen four critical pieces that build India’s soft power.
The first is India’s status as perhaps the only strong, sustained democracy across the postcolonial world. In the polarised decades of the Cold War, India carved out a middle path for itself, characterised by our unique combination of social welfare and democratic freedoms. When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru spoke, he summoned the moral authority of India’s unique democratic fabric, and his own legitimacy as a committed democrat. And the world listened in awe. This proud tradition continued to Manmohan Singh. As memorably stated by then-US President Barack Obama, when Dr Singh spoke, “the whole world listened.”
Unfortunately, over the last decade, PM Modi’s intolerance of dissent and attack on democratic rights has tarnished India’s image abroad. The Congress manifesto promises a full restoration, as well as an enhancement, of our democratic rights and freedoms. We will protect artistic freedom and independent journalism, stop arbitrary internet shutdowns, and not interfere in the Indian people’s personal choices in food, dress, love and marriage.
Second, the Congress promises to restore India’s global reputation as a voice for peace, moderation, and co-existence in world affairs, in line with our historical conception of the world as one family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam). India used to have the courage to take a principled stance on international issues, even when this required confrontation with the West. Under Congress, India will once again be a clear, unflinching voice for global peace. The Mahatma’s India must be reborn.
Third, we will revive the Neighbourhood First policy pioneered by Manmohan Singh’s government in 2008. Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal have drifted towards China. To succeed, our neighbours must be accorded respect, a sentiment which has been markedly missing under the Modi government. Only then can we restore and repair our special relationships with our neighbours. An India that its neighbours don’t trust is an India that will find itself isolated on the global stage.
The defining challenge for Indian foreign policy in the 21st century is to maintain our sovereignty amidst periodic incursions by China. Unfortunately, the PM and Home Minister have denied China’s occupation of Indian territory. This has deeply compromised India’s national interest. The first step is to acknowledge the status quo, as Congress has consistently and unfailingly done.
Our commitment is to restore the pre-Modi status quo at the border with China. To achieve this and other objectives, we will develop an integrated national defence strategy — one vision that will underpin all our actions, across national defence, external affairs, and infrastructure development. The major points of this vision are clear. We will reverse the decline in defence expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure, will restore the integrity of our armed forces by scrapping Agnipath, and work with our neighbours and our allies abroad to strengthen our position vis-a-vis China. The Congress will provide direction to our policymaking.
Our manifesto repeats our enduring and unwavering opposition to terrorism, and our commitment to work with allied nations to eliminate terrorism everywhere. We also repeat our long-standing position that any engagement with Pakistan depends fundamentally on its willingness and ability to end cross-border terrorism. Without clear evidence of progress on this front, we cannot engage with Pakistan constructively.
Finally, we will restore alignment between our economic and foreign policy. After a wave of trade deals signed under Manmohan Singh, our economic engagement with the world has faltered under the Modi government, limited to deals of insignificant value. Meanwhile, China and ASEAN have signed RCEP and our industrial competitors like Vietnam are securing access to European markets. Partly as a result of the Modi government’s failed trade policy, our net inbound FDI has collapsed, as foreign investors do not see India as an attractive destination for industrial investment without reliable access to export markets.
The Congress will re-engage, make every effort to conclude long-pending trade negotiations with other countries in the interests of Indian producers and consumers. We reiterate a commitment to rule-based international trade.
The Congress manifesto promises a powerful reset in our engagement with the world. We promise to restore India’s moral legitimacy as a country that stands for sovereignty and peace and to regain the country’s leadership in our neighbourhood. We will simultaneously ensure the integrity of our borders, work against the threat of global terror, and facilitate India’s economic growth through foreign trade and investment. The Nyay Patra’s vision for India is that of a country with a voice, one that will be heard and respected across the world, and one that 140 crore Indians can be proud of.
The writer is former Union Minister for External Affairs
