As Dr S Jaishankar, the dynamic External Affairs Minister of India, entered the auditorium in the midst of the audience comprising people from various walks of life, everyone around gave him standing ovation. On stage, when he offered flowers at the feet of the idols of Lord Ram-Lakshman-Sita-Hanuman, everyone appreciated rootedness to culture with applause. Later, when he said, “India is a mindset,” and, “Culture is a country’s brand,” the complex world of geopolitics and India’s rise in it got instantly etched in the collective consciousness of Nagpurians. For those studying diplomacy and trying to decipher the geopolitical dynamism, the symbolisms and statements together enriched their understanding, at Dr S Jaishankar’s conversation in the programme organised by Manthan Live and Vishwamanthan Research Foundation at Kalidas Auditorium in Persistent Systems Hall in IT Park here on Saturday. In his conversation with the audience, the External Affairs Minister offered perspective on a range of aspects including the need for reforms at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), changes that have bolstered up India’s image on the world stage in the last 10 years, India-China standoff, achievements, impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), economy, culture, humane-ness of diplomacy, India’s balancing act in Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts etc.

 

To a question on the UNSC reforms that India is pitching for, Dr S Jaishankar replied that the United Nations ‘used to be more relevant’ in 1950s and 1960s. As far as UNSC is concerned, he dubbed the five Permanent Members or P5 as the ‘self-styled Chaudharis of the system’ and said that it was easier for them to dominate smaller nations. “But, interestingly, these five are not the top five largest economies of the world. Some are fighting among themselves, there is split opinion over Russia-Ukraine conflict. Meanwhile, other countries have become confident. India has grown in stature to an extent that others are saying that she must be UNSC Permanent Member. Also, India has demonstrated its capability to strike consensus during G20 Summit that she hosted. With this proven capability, India can contribute more to the UN set up,” he explained. At the same time, he remarked that the world did not ‘give’ things generously and sometimes one had to ‘take’ those.

 

Asked about India’s balancing act in Russia-Ukraine conflict, the External Affairs Minister and a seasoned diplomat said that there was pressure not to buy oil from Russia. It was because of the difference of experience between India and the Western world vis-a-vis Russia. India had to manage the oil crisis and had no option but to buy oil from Russia. “If India did not buy from Russia, the entire world would have been in a tight situation buying oil from limited resources, leading to increase in oil prices. I had to convince the Western countries in this regard,” he elaborated. Of course, the balancing act was done to protect India’s own interest. His reply to another question made the context clear. Every country puts its interest first and there is nothing wrong in it. India also is doing the same thing, he said. “For example, my decision cannot be made in China’s interest,” he said. India should be clear to advocate and defend own cause, he added.

 

On another occaasion during interaction with the audience, he added another facet to this. Stating that the world was competitive, he said without mincing words, “In this situation, I can keep grumbling or be ready to contest. To have the capability to contest at international level, I must have good governance, firm leadership, and set own house in order. Today, India has better capability to compete.” The stronger a country is at home, the better it is in the world, he added. In the past 10 years, India has worked on that aspect of diplomacy aiding the rise of the country in geopolitics. Dr S Jaishankar listed various achievements of India including massive successful vaccination drive during COVID-19, providing foodgrains to 80 crore population to combat hunger and malnutrition, help to small businesses, changing business culture, increasing the scale and impact of doing things, social and societal changes, increasing number of educational institutions and expanding their footprint to other countries, boost to connectivity, making people more skilled, etc. According to him, the achievements in past 10 years shall serve as foundation for the next 25 years -- ‘Amrit Kaal’. “Our power, weight, and influence has grown. We shall be the world’s third largest economy in a few years. We are discovering what we can do, and accordingly our aspirations and ambitions are growing,” he underlined.

 

With change come new challenges. Asked about the challenge posed by AI in geopolitics, the External Affairs Minister described AI as ‘one of the most powerful changes’. “We do not know where it will take us. But, one thing is clear that data as resource has extraordinary value in this era. How to nurture and manage data, and how to become more data conscious are the points to ponder over,” he observed. In this context, he felt that data privacy and data security had to be harmonised with flow and development of businesses. As far as social media is concerned, he called it a ‘reality’ and a ‘new energy strengthening democracy’. Asked about his advice to youth about social media, he quipped, “No advice. Only good wishes. For, I trust that in ‘Amrit Kaal’ they will take India forward.”

 

Dr S Jaishankar proudly mentioned about the change in global perception about India in the past 10 years. According to him, there has been a ‘profound change’ in the Gulf countries where many Indians were working and were respected. Next month, he informed the audience, Swaminarayan Temple would be inaugurated in Abu Dhabi. As for the US, he observed that its relationship with India started taking a positive turn when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India. “There is a marked difference in ways that the US views India today. It recognises India’s importance in technology and business,” he added. Similarly, there has been a ‘tremendous change’ in Australia. A lot of countries are finding a good friend in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a ‘Vishwa-Mitra’ (world’s friend) is being realised. This is a geopolitically positive concept as several relationships centre around building reliable friendships so that support comes on issues of importance, he stressed.

The widely appreciated diplomat of International repute offered some more perspective on the issue of friendship and balancing act. Asked about how India struck balance while dealing with complicated situations she faced while being part of different groupings like QUAD and BRICS having different countries, he replied with a smile, “It is complicated. But, not so complicated that we cannot deal with it.” He cited the example of ordinary people who attended parties with different sets of people and still managed to have good relations with them.

 

This simple analogy evoked a loud round of applause and approving laughter from the audience. In this context, he later on said that it was Indian nature to be independent and not act like someone else’s subsidiary or enterprise. “India is a mindset, and not just history and traditions,” he emphasised. On the latest row over derogatory remarks of political leaders of Maldives, the External Affairs Minister commented that India always followed ‘neighbourhood first’ policy. But, he quickly added, “Politics is politics.” Recognising this nature of politics, he said, India was trying to build a connect with people that was stronger than political changes in different countries. This connect is being established by way of buildings roads, energy infrastructure, improvement in transport systems, tourism etc. For, he felt, “Diplomacy is very humane. Returning favours and reciprocating generosity is very natural to humans.”

 

Dr S Jaishankar had an advice for businessmen and citizens too, as far as contributing to the national objectives was concerned. Stating that power flowed from ‘many barrels’, he listed economy and culture as two important barrels. On economy front, India has started producing things that it imported previously. But, he lamented, many still bought ‘sasta maal’ (cheaper goods) from other countries stating that it made business sense. “Many countries feel proud that they make goods themselves. We need to understand that if we cannot manufacture goods, we cannot grow. To build economic strength of a country, we must strengthen manufacturing. Also, the citizens should feel proud in buying made in India products,” he advised. As far as culture is concerned, he observed, “Culture is a country’s brand. We should practice and propagate our culture.” He cited examples of International Yoga Day, popularity of Indian wellness practices, celebration of festivals as symbols of cultural branding.

 

While citing various examples, the External Affairs Minister was able to drive home his point everytime. The audience also acknowledged it through laughter, eagerness to ask more questions, loud rounds of applause, and standing ovation. While leaving the hall, one statement of Dr S Jaishankar everyone carried home: “The game has just started...”, raising their curiosity about better understanding of geopolitics. At the outset, Dr Jaishankar, noted businessman Manish Nuwal; Sameer Bendre, Chief of Operations, Persistent Systems Ltd; and Vijay Chauthaiwale, National Executive Member of Bharatiya Janata Party lighted the traditional lamp to mark formal start of the programme. Nuwal felicitated Dr S Jaishankar with idol of Lord Ram and a scarf hand-woven by Nagpur’s artisans. Vijay Chauthaiwale moderated the conversation, which witnessed full attendance in the auditorium.