President Obama’s comment that “India is not simply emerging but has emerged” charmed his Indian audience. Was President Obama’s assessment rhetorical or was he making a valid appraisal? India’s record on indices of democratic governance, economic growth and socio-political stability are encouraging if not exquisite. Yet power implies a relational aspect which makes India’s foreign policy – style and substance – a critical factor in determining its power profile in international affairs. Though India’s claim to great power glory was professed much before the country achieved independence in 1947, the current phase reflects India’s willingness to work towards that goal rather than make a fortuitous claim to it. India has started the process by taking fresh look at its traditional positions, but the Asian elephant can truly emerge by articulating a vision for the future.
While the goal of India’s foreign policy, much like other states, continues to be defined by its national interests, India is avoiding the use of traditional jargon in communicating its foreign policy. In words of former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, “If India is to become a credible candidate for permanent membership of the Security Council then we must adjust out traditional positions.”
India’s unease with the presence of great powers in its geographical vicinity is replaced by interest in creating an inclusive security and economic architecture in Asia. Since 2004, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has referred to the concept of Asian Economic Community. India is talking of building a ‘qualitatively’ different relationship with the major powers. Rather than expressing anxiety, India is welcoming the possibility that Asian security in the 21st century would be shaped by the interactions between major Asian powers and influential external actors such as European Union, Russia and the United Sates.
The most perceptible manifestation of India’s growing pragmatism in foreign affairs is its changing approach to ‘good’ neighbourly relations. Prime Minster Manmohan Singh was frank in stating that “the mere lowering of tariffs and pruning of negative lists does not add up to creating relations of mutual benefit.” According to Prime Minister Singh “the glass of regional cooperation, regional development and regional integration is half empty…Declarations at Summits and official level meetings do not amount to regional cooperation or integration.” India no longer considers the success of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a specimen for proving its managerial and leadership abilities.
Though India is aware of the challenges in its neighbourhood it no longer refers to these as constraining forces. The involvement of anti-India Communist party in Nepal’s mainstream politics, persistence of the issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Sri Lankan Government’s offensive against LTTE were issues of concern which were not hyped in the usual calamitous tone. Relations with Pakistan have remained problematic but India is attempting to discard the big brother responsibility. Exchange of dossiers on Mumbai attacks and subsequent meetings between Indian and Pakistani diplomats indicates that though dialogue has resumed, India is not interested in gathering accolades by resuming the peace process. India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao categorically stated that “no breakthrough is expected” in the next round of India-Pakistan talks due in March-April 2011. India is strengthening its case against Pakistan by referring to Pakistan’s anti-India terrorist activities within the wider discourse of the global war on terror.