Future Directions Of India's Foreign Policy

It is an old aphorism that the more things change, the more they remain the same. But if there is one thing that can be said with certainty about the 21st century, it is that it will be fundamentally different from the 20th. 

New Realities
The dominant themes of the last century were issues such as colonialism, apartheid, and the Cold War. Countries pursued international relations through the prism of the East-West divide. This divide was aggravated by an ever widening North-South gap, with attendant political and economic tensions. 

The Cold War has now been consigned to the dustbin of history, colonialism has been eradicated, apartheid has been banished and the supremacy of democracy established in much of the world. India played an important role in these processes through its initiatives and by its activism in international organisations like the UN, NAM and the Commonwealth. But the international community is still not at the point where we can proclaim the "end of history". As old ideological conflicts have died down, new challenges have emerged to engage our energies and attention. 

India's Foreign Policy
Where does India fit into a world being shaped by the realities of the 21st century? And what are the parameters on which India’s foreign policy should be based so that it can respond effectively to the challenges of the new millennium? 

India’s foreign policy has shown elements of both constancy and change over the last five decades. While we have preserved the basic principles that were enunciated by the founding fathers of the Republic, we have also crafted creative responses to the challenges of the post Cold War and the post globalisation world. This has been made possible, in large part, because on foreign policy and national security matters, our country has had a broad national consensus, cutting across all political divides, ever since independence. 

Those who decry the absence of a tradition of strategic thought in India would do well to go through a 2300 year old Indian treatise called Arthashastra. Its author, Kautilya, probably ancient India’s greatest strategic thinker, had enunciated six forms of state policy called the Circle of States. He declared that peace, war, neutrality, show of force, alliance and making peace with one and waging war with another are the six forms of state policy. A close examination would indicate that nothing much has really changed over the last 2000 years and that inter-state relations are still based very much on the six fold policy enunciated by Kautilya. We live in an era of strategic uncertainties where conflict between nations is still a fact of life. What has changed, perhaps, is the manner in which we wage war and seek peace. 

Just as Kautilya talked of the Circle of States, a useful conceptual framework for the consideration of India’s foreign policy would be to view it as consisting of three concentric circles around a central axis- the first of our immediate region, the second of the larger world and the third of over arching global issues. 

Global Issues
Let me start with the outer circle first – that of global issues. In India we have an ancient Sanskrit dictum - Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - which translates roughly as "the World is one Family". We can see now how relevant this dictum has become, as global inter-dependence has become the buzz word of the 21st century.

Only through a framework of concerted international cooperation can we confront and, eventually hope to defeat, the global challenges to our common future such as terrorism, drug trafficking, environmental degradation, the AIDS pandemic, population growth, poverty and food and energy shortage, to name but a few. 

Promoting Democracy
One of the fundamental pillars of our foreign policy, based on our status as the world’s largest democracy, has been the promotion of the democratic way of life. Democracy has proved to be, by far, the best form of governance, especially in multicultural, multi-religious, pluralistic societies. Sustainable development requires governance that is democratic, both in form and substance. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has used the experience of India to illustrate this. A sub-continent plagued by famine during its colonial history changed its destiny after opting for democracy – it continued to experience crop failures, but never a famine. Why? Because, democratic governance, with all its elements, has to be accountable to its people. 

Democracy can also be compared to a very delicate flower. Any rough handling can cause it to wither. Those who talk of "controlled democracy" or "sustainable democracy" are, in effect, destroying the concept and negating its benefits. 

Terrorism
While authoritarian regimes and dictatorships have always been threats to democracy, the biggest challenge to democratic societies today is posed by the scourge of international terrorism. The ideological ‘isms’ of the 20th century have been replaced by an ‘ism’ which is the repudiation of all ideologies, and that is terrorism. Terrorism rejects all established treaties, boundaries, limitations and norms, whether geographic or moral. For this reason, it marks a huge regression in the human condition, from civilization to barbarity, from the rule of law to the rule of the jungle. 

We, in India, have been experiencing cross border terrorism for over two decades, first in Punjab, then in Kashmir as well as in other parts of the country. In the last 20 years, more than 60,000 Indian lives have been lost to terrorism. But it took September 11 to bring the global reach of terrorism into the collective consciousness of the world. 

It is a self evident truth that democratic, multicultural societies are the prime targets of terrorism and are also the most vulnerable to its attacks. Terrorists exploit the civil liberties, religious tolerance and cultural diversity in our countries. They seek to destroy our democratic fabric by fomenting sectarian divisions and cultural tensions and ultimately deprive us of that very freedom which they have exploited. 

It is also a fact, often ignored, that the sponsorship, bases and finances for terrorism come from totalitarian military or theocratic regimes. They nurture and support extremist terrorist groups to further their political agenda. It is here that we should look for the roots of terrorism. Those who keep harping on the "root causes" of terrorism should recognize that they are found in the military adventurism and religious extremism promoted by totalitarian regimes. 

"There must be no hiding places for terrorism or terrorists; no hiding places for their money and no semantic hiding places either. The distinction some claim between terrorists and freedom-fighters is false and dangerous. The victims enjoy no such distinction. There must be no such distinctions either in international law". Ladies & gentlemen, these are not my words but those of my good friend, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

We have been confronted with the same menace in Jammu & Kashmir for a decade and more. The recent elections in the state, where 45% of the electorate braved a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation by Pakistan backed terrorists, and in which more than 800 people lost their lives, was a victory of not only the ballot over the bullet but a victory for democracy itself over terrorism and extremism. I believe that the commitment of the people of Jammu & Kashmir to democracy deserves to be applauded and commended. 

The world now accepts that terrorism can be tackled effectively only with a global and comprehensive approach. UN Security Council Resolution 1373 shows the right direction. However, the world’s democracies have to co-operate effectively in its implementation and ensure compliance of other countries. Double standards in dealing with terrorism will not do. This requires collective political will, undiluted by short-term political, military or economic calculations. We cannot condone terrorism somewhere, while condemning it elsewhere, because this leniency will boomerang on all of us. We have to recognise that the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre, the December 13 attack on the Indian Parliament, the October 12 attack in Bali, and the recent terrorist atrocity in Moscow are all part of a single continuum, of one global arc of terrorism, and if we are to conquer this menace, we have to systematically choke off the four crucial lifelines of terrorist groups: refuge, finances, arms and ambivalence on the part of the international community. 

Nuclear Issue
I am aware that there are critics who question India’s decision to go nuclear in 1998. My government believes that the overt exercise of the nuclear option by India has helped remove potentially dangerous strategic ambiguities in the region. It has enhanced the strategic space of the country and granted to it the needed autonomy. This does not imply any complacency. On the contrary it emphasises India's awareness of and commitment to greater restraint. That, amongst other reasons, is why we have sought to reassure countries in the region that our tests do not alter the essentially defensive character of our security policy. We have shown this through the announcement of our intention to maintain only a minimum credible deterrent, a policy of no-first-use and a voluntary moratorium on further explosive nuclear underground testing. Mindful of our increased responsibilities we have also sought to increase the scope of confidence building measures with our neighbours. 

Moreover, our decision to acquire a credible nuclear deterrent has not deflected us from our commitment to the global elimination of weapons of mass destruction and our belief that peace between nations in this new century is best guaranteed by nuclear disarmament, and not nuclear deterrence. India will continue to take the lead in formulating genuine multilateral disarmament initiatives, and in their implementation. We believe that just as we have been able to outlaw chemical weapons and biological weapons in a global, uniform and non-discriminatory manner, we can outlaw nuclear weapons on the same basis. 

Small Arms

Simultaneously, there is an equal urgency in attending to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their easy availability with non-state actors. This trade must come to an end, not through policing but by an international, legally binding compact that all countries should adhere to.

Economic Policy
Economic policy is a fundamental pillar of foreign policy. Having had the privilege of serving as India’s Finance Minister, I can say through personal experience that an essential underpinning to the weight and vibrancy of our international role is the economic strength of the country. Our ambitious growth plans, the second generation of our economic reforms and the fiscal discipline which we are pursuing vigorously are meant to achieve this. The Indian economy has been one of the fastest for the last two decades. Our GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 6% over the last decade. Despite a global recession, India’s growth prospects are promising. Our objective is to double the per capita income in the next ten years. We are at the very epicenter of the Knowledge Revolution and the Indian IT industry is on track to achieve its long term aspiration of US$ 50 billion in export revenues by 2008. India has about 30% of the global workforce of software professionals and approximately 35% of software workers and entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley are from India. In fact, one Silicon Valley joke is that the I in the IT stands for Indians!

India’s foreign policy is geared towards promoting a greater understanding of the legitimate needs of all developing countries. It is difficult to pursue enlightened approaches to development in a world where ODA levels are falling, protectionism is on the rise, terms of trade are stacked in favour of the rich, debt burdens have spiralled, corporate governance need urgent re-definition, and the volatility of international capital transfers has affected productive investment flows to the South. It is depressing to note the statistics given in the Human Development Report of 2002, that 2.8 billion people still live on less than $2 a day and the richest 1% of the world’s people receive as much income each year as the poorest 57%. Industrial country tariffs on imports from developing countries are four times those on imports from other industrial countries. In addition, as is well known, OECD countries provide $1 billion a day in domestic agricultural subsidies, which is more than 6 times what they spend on ODA for developing countries. 

Democratization Of International Institutions
What this highlights is an urgent need to reorient international financial institutions to the needs of developing countries. And this will not be possible unless changes are made to the governance structures of these institutions. We need to readjust the structures of decision-making in international bodies to reflect contemporary realities. We cannot hope to foster a democratic culture in the world until the principal international institutions are themselves democratised and made more representative. This is especially true of the UN. The democratization of the UN Security Council to better reflect current day geo-political realities is one of the key reforms required to maintain and enhance the relevance of the United Nations.

India's Neighbours
Let me turn now to the first circle of our foreign policy, that of our immediate neighbourhood. India has always sought to maintain good and friendly relations with all its neighbours and we do have excellent relations with all - except Pakistan, which has uniformly repaid our peaceful overtures with hostility. The issue here is very clear. We want a peaceful, a prosperous and a stable Pakistan. But Pakistan has to decide what kind of long-term relationship it wants with India. We are prepared to resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including Jammu & Kashmir, through a process of bilateral dialogue but we cannot accept the promotion of terrorism as an instrument of State policy. We have repeatedly extended the hand of friendship to Pakistan. But when our Prime Minister went to Lahore, Pakistan responded with Kargil. And when we invited General Musharraf to Agra, he wasted the opportunity by grandstanding before the press. The main problem with the leadership in Pakistan is that it continues to believe that it can calibrate terrorism and dialogue simultaneously and use terrorism as a pre-dialogue negotiating tactic. Such tactics can never succeed and the sooner Pakistan realises this, the better it will be for its own future and for peace in the region. 

With China, we continue to discuss the boundary question regularly, while also maintaining meaningful dialogue and diverse cooperation in all other areas. We have resumed our close traditional and civilisational links with Afghanistan. We are participating energetically in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and continue to assist the Transitional Administration in the task of restoring peace and stability to that troubled land. In Sri Lanka, we wholeheartedly support the ongoing peace process and hope that it will mark a real turning point and that the aspirations of all communities will be addressed within a unitary framework. 

Wider World
I come now to the second circle, that of India’s engagement with countries outside its region. Learning the lessons of the Cold War and drawing from the experiences of the Nonaligned Movement, we believe that a stable global political equilibrium can only be achieved through a multipolar and cooperative world order. 

We are actively developing our relations with the broader world on this basis. Our strategic partnership with Russia reflects our convergences on bilateral, regional and international issues. There is a new warmth and candour in our relations with USA. We have excellent bilateral political and economic interaction with countries of the European Union and institutionalized annual India-EU Summits, the last one having taken place this month in Denmark. Southeast Asia, Asia-Pacific, Central Asia, the Gulf and Iran are special areas of our focus. Today, India is implementing a 'Look East' policy which is underpinned by important economic considerations. Some significant steps in the pursuance of this policy have been taken with the admission of India as a full dialogue partner of ASEAN and a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, in 1996. The first India-ASEAN summit next month will mark a new level of our engagement with the region. 

India-UK Relations
Within the EU, our relationship with the UK is a very special one, shaped by two and a half centuries of historical association. Today, the relationship is entering a new phase based on shared values and common interests. The four meetings between the Prime Ministers of the two countries in the last 12 months are a testimony to the strength and vitality of the bilateral relationship. The New Delhi Declaration signed in January this years embodies this new partnership. Today India and the UK have ongoing and robust cooperation in diverse fields such as counter-terrorism, UN Reform, UN Peacekeeping, Science & Technology, education, environment and defence. Our trade and economic relations with the UK are also expanding. Bilateral trade has already touched the level of £ 5 billion and our aim is to double this in the next four years.