Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made some path-breaking changes in the way India’s does foreign policy. Normally a change of government does not lead to drastic changes for foreign policy objectives for a large country like India. That happens only when the change is revolutionary. A new leader in every sense of the term (new to the Delhi circuit in particular) can take a calculated risk by bringing in fresh perspectives to foreign policy and organise new ways of doing business with the outside world. The fact that Modi represents a government with a majority in the Lok Sabha, capable of taking difficult decisions. This has given him an edge over his predecessors of the last three decades. Modi’s energy and vigour also stands in contrast to the dysfunction and lack of energy in the UPA government in its second term. Modi has brought at least five new emphases to the conduct of India’s external relations.
First he has put domestic economic development at the top of India’s foreign policy goals. Contrary to the perception that Modi is spending too much time on foreign policy, the PM has viewed diplomacy as an integral part of his strategy to restore international confidence in India’s economic prospects and mobilise external resources for the modernisation and expansion of infrastructure and reviving the manufacturing sector. Although the estimates of potential foreign investments — for example, more than $35 billion from Japan, $20 billion from China and $40 billion from US companies — is still in the realm of conjecture, there is no denying the PM’s impressive effort to spread the message that India is now open for business. Few of his predecessors have spent as much time engaging the leaders of international business at home and abroad.
Second, Modi recognises the urgency of revitalising India’s relations with its neighbours in the subcontinent. The invitation to the leaders of the SAARC nations to attend his inauguration and the choice of Bhutan and Nepal as his first foreign destinations are clearly well thought out strategies. In Nepal, Modi demonstrated the ability to understand Nepali grievances, connect with its political classes as well as its masses, and signal the will to redefine India’s regional strategy. If Modi’s instincts on Nepal turned out to be right, he has a much bigger challenge in implementing the agreements already signed with Bangladesh, persuading Sri Lanka to deliver on Tamil minority rights, cautioning the Maldives not to play the China card and so on. For once India’s neighbours are look at it with respect, knowing fully well that is being commandeered by a man who means business.
