Feels like yesterday when the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi announced “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. At the time it was in context of production and service being shifted to India to make the nation self-reliant. The subject remained obscure. A policy that has defined decades of Indian stance on international matters.
In the past, the famous non-alignment policy of New Delhi painted a target on its back. Neither the Soviets nor the west was comfortable with a country as large as India, being unaligned. This stemmed from their insecurity of each other and the feudal mentality which was still very much the bed rock of the international order post WW-2 and reflected in the make-up of the permanent seats in the UNSC. International laws were made under the excuse of civilized practice but were exercised with extreme prejudice. Super powers called the shots and their subjects were coerced into agreeing while middle powers pretended to be sovereign while supporting their respective blocks, leveraging the benefits of their herd while convincing their citizens they were sovereign
India was yet a downtrodden, poverty stricken and ravaged land. A mere shadow of its former self, dismantled economically, industrially and culturally with its land divided arbitrarily and its people divided on identities. Non-alignment for India was not much different from the sovereignty of allied nations. It was a mere façade with shots being called by superpowers behind closed doors, in exchange for aid and equipment. A land that once spearheaded global economy and culture was now a mere chess board for the superpowers.
Their neighbours being the useful pawns, had no such inhibitions and either through the Hangover of recent colonialism, greedy of western favour or sheer masochism, they submitted their land and sovereignty to the powers that be, a practice that they haven’t yet ceased.
However, the sacrifices and compromises India made in the past paid dividends in a bureaucracy so battle hardened in foreign policy, it seems almost clairvoyant. India is no longer knocking at the door, it is at the table, and often it is one of their own making. Its influence in the IndoPac is undeniable, it’s economy, one of the largest and best performing in the world, a young population and if the past and recent events are any evidence, a formidable and highly adaptable military power.
In the light of this, our non-alignment has become the foundation of its foreign policy. However, having more cards up their sleeves has made it more of a proactive, relationship-based policy than simply passive lack of affinity to global blocs and so named, multi-alignment.
Times change, so do affinities, there are no permanent friends nor enemies in global politics, only shared interests. A widely accepted tenet globally, yet ironically, one of the least followed by the powers that be. India understood that its own interests will always be permanent. Change though they may, their importance will always be paramount to India and so, instead of anchoring policy to other actors, it pegged its policy to its people and interests, that allowed it to survive and be agile. Through the fall of Berlin wall to the Tarif wars and now the upheaval being caused by Washington.
Europe, understood common interests, yet they put their unwavering faith in Washington for decades, without hedging. To the world, they said they were sovereign, but it was performative at best. For decades US painted the great evil to the East, in Russia, then in China, for decades they applied international laws according to their convenience, and with the fall of the Soviet Union, smaller powers were left unprotected, at the mercy of the incumbent powers, now left unchecked. Europe did not seem to mind. They preached ethics and morality like a privileged toff while indulging the efforts from the Atlantic towards its scramble for power. The arrangement worked since Washington didn’t mind sharing the spoils of war.
National and cultural identity is a truly understated asset. Europeans have it, USA lacks it, India has it, Pakistan lacks it. It is not just flying a flag and calling yourself a nationality. It is understanding what it stands for. Pakistan was formed on the principal of a religion foreign to its ancestral culture, so they don’t have anything to depend on but that. US was built by colonists and immigrant who eradicated the sons of the soil, so their history starts with a revolt against people who were essentially their own. Not to undermine the fact that people aren’t trees and everyone comes from somewhere, but these two nations never bothered finding their identities. They relied on marketing over organic development. Naturally, USA is older and people have evolved a sense of identity, but it has been on a foundation of lies and the only organic thing about it is a time that no longer exists, and mostly haunts modern sensibilities.
Pakistan aside, the problem with US is that it became a hegemony and sold the story of an American dream and that they were the keepers of global freedom. Notions that don’t go hand in hand in a sustainable manner. You need resources for endless freedom of a growing population, and you need the resources on your own terms, meaning not everyone can exercise the same freedoms as you. A natural catch 22 evolved and NATO was the perfect workshop to hide the dents and scratches from its navigation.
Everyone knew that the world order as it is, would lead to abuse of power and no one bothered as long as they were benefiting. They took US friendship as granted because established cultures have a tendency to expect honour. Washington works on cold logic and they emulate honour. It has worked brilliantly, but it was only a matter of will before someone came along and decided that they didn’t need to pretend.
Nobel or not, Donald Trump has definitely done something that’ll be a boon for smaller nations. Much like Hitler made the world evolve into a more cohesive society even at a face level, Trump has managed to make the western leaders reckon with the skeletons in their closets.
Months ago, they criticized India for buying Rssian oil, for not uniting with the West against Russia, now, they face the axe from the very puppet master that pulled their strings. Be it Dr. Jaishankar’s words or Donald Trump’s unrefined megalomania threatening EU territory, or even the unscrupulous economic practices of Beijing. It is evident that the west is waking up to the reality of the world and can no longer ignore its participation therein. Mark Carney’s speech was an unmistakable beacon that US is no longer trusted and herd mentality will no longer be sustainable. As the East rises, it becomes imperative to follow pragmatism over a bloc. As EU signed the historical FTA and defence deals with India, it is all but clear that the world is finally deciding to choose for themselves and hedging their bets with stable, powerful nations, and India just fits the bill better than most.
How long this lasts and what sort of world will a truly multi-polar world be, remains to be seen but while Donald Trump bulldozes his way through his second term towards and apparent goal of reviving colonialism, it is safe to say that the once unshakable western powers are for now putting their money where their mouth is and sticking to principles.
