This Republic Day parade in New Delhi is all set to display the unique confluence of diplomacy and defence together.
The marching contingents of Indian soldiers on Friday, January 26, will also carry the flags of the countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with the Indian flag – an unprecedented event in the sixty-eight years history of the Indian Republic Day celebrations.
It’s not that diplomacy and defence are mutually exclusive within the realm of high politics where states consistently pursue the goals of self-existence, security and survival in the world politics.
It’s only that India’s Republic Day celebrations have traditionally been reserved for an unalloyed display of its military might and capabilities, which was obviously to reassure the populace of the newly created republic that the nascent Indian-state was fully capable of preserving its hard-fought freedom.
However, the sixty-ninth anniversary celebrations of the Indian Republic Day will witness a welcome departure where diplomacy will also be equally on display along with the military might, getting the long due recognition of being a key tool in India’s armoury.
Indeed, this move reflects a lot about the changing maturity of the Indian state, and the manner in which the Indian strategic elite thinks about India’s security and perceives it’s place in the world.
This is a remarkable departure within Indian political elite’s thinking from viewing security and diplomacy as two mutually exclusive boxes – a sign that Indian polity is maturing - and accepting the famous maxim of international relations that “war is an extension of diplomacy by other means.”
For long the Indian state has under-emphasised the immense power of diplomacy in securing India as well as advancing India’s interests in world politics – a fact widely agreed among the experts of Indian foreign policy.
Probably, the changing perception within the topmost level of the Indian political elite towards the power of diplomacy in advancing India’s overall interests along with securing India would augur well for the future of Indian foreign policy bureaucracy.
It is important to note that despite the presence of some very high profile names and revered names in the legions of Indian foreign policy bureaucracy, the department has been restricted in its ability to project India’s power and secure India’s interests around the world for the major part of India’s existence as an independent state.
It was only after the end of the Cold War when India that majority of the current world knows as of today began to emerge slowly and tediously.
The decades after the end of the Cold War, which witnessed the unfolding of India’s economic reforms that catapulted it into the leagues of the world’s growing major economies along with a steely resolve to explode the atomic bomb and assert itself in the realm of national security has transformed India’s global image.
Probably, the next logical, and a long overdue, transformation, would be in the realm of how India views its foreign policy establishment and the galvanising role it can play in pursuit of its national interests in world politics.
The changes in the Indian foreign policy bureaucracy in recent years are already visible.
The manner in which India overturned the global boycott immediately after India chose to go nuclear in pursuit of its national interests eventually resulting in the high-profile Indo-US Civil nuclear deal (2005) which opened the doors for India’s entry into the coveted group of selected few countries controlling the elite nuclear regime, is legendary.
More recently, Indian diplomacy has gained major victories by securing India a place in the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and the Australia Group – the three of the four key global export control regimes.
More locally, in New Zealand, the office of the Indian High Commission has been working with a vigour and commitment towards the Indian diaspora that can only be described as – never seen before.
Indeed, the changes are in the air and widely welcomed.
However, what is happening in New Delhi now, on the occasion of Republic Day celebrations are indicative of the changes that have to come down and reflect the overall augmentation of the power of the Indian diplomacy – something which could only materialise with the augmentation of the Indian diplomatic corps.
The strengthened Indian foreign policy bureaucracy will be able to break diplomatic barriers limiting India’s national power and enhance its ability to break through free trade agreements and economic deals – much needed to bring prosperity in the country.
On this note, the Indian Weekender wishes the Republic of India, its citizenry, and the members of Indian diaspora all around the world warm greetings.