Swift Despatches

onths before Democrat Congressman Ton Lantos died in February 2008, he had, as then chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Indian diplomats that unless New Delhi and Washington were on the same page on Iran, it would be impossible to elicit the support of Congressmen for the nuclear deal. The warning from Lantos had a special meaning—for he wasn’t an India-baiter but a close friend of New Delhi—and it was promptly relayed in a despatch to the headquarters.

Such assessments are indeed the stuff of diplomacy, say Indian diplomats, who claim their embassy in Washington routinely prepares profiles of key administration officials as well as that of Congressmen, detailing their worldview, their stance on issues relevant to India, and those aspects of their personal lives which could surprise even the best among gossip-writers in Washington.

Indian diplomats track leaders in neighbouring countries even more closely, studying their personality profile to determine the role they could play in the future. So when Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Pervez Musharraf as the army chief in 1998, a despatch from the Indian mission in Islamabad noted rather presciently, “His natural inclination will be to make a grab for power.” Despatches from neighbouring countries, insist diplomats, are at times akin to scandal sheets. As one of them told Outlook, “I shudder to think what would happen if some of the Indian telegrams from neighbouring countries were made public.”

What Americans call cables are either referred here in India as despatches or telegrams, depending on their length. But the difference is really of nomenclature. Despatches are lengthy, in contrast to telegrams which are not supposed to exceed a page-and-a-half. Telegrams are a rarity, usually sent for the perusal of the top leadership of the country. Earlier, despatches were sent through diplomatic bags and could at times take 10-15 days to reach the headquarters. Now, however, despatches and telegrams are sent through e-gram, which is essentially a secured e-mail accessible only to the person who has the key to decipher it.

The Indian diplomat, like his American counterpart, is expected to report, through despatches to headquarters, the salient features of his or her conversations with important leaders or key figures in the country of his or her posting. Such a despatch typically spells out the reasons for choosing such leaders for interactions, and their views on issues important to India. Despatches are also sent on developments in the country or the region where the diplomat is posted.

Despatches of junior officials posted abroad are sent to the joint secretary heading their divisions in New Delhi. Ambassadors, however, send their despatches to the secretary and can often mark the names of other senior MEA officials to whom these may be circulated.