The India Way : Strategies For An Uncertain World
Author: S. Jaishankar
Publisher: Harper Collins India, New Delhi
Year: 2020
Hardcover
ISBN 9789353579791
Price: Rs. 425:00, 240 pp.
Reviewed By : Gp Captain R S Mehta (Retd)
This book gives the reader a panoramic view of what Indian foreign policy is all about and the broad direction in which it is headed. The book acquires importance from the fact that it is coming out of the horse’s mouth, that is, from the Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar, at a juncture when international relations have entered an era of uncertainty due to the emergence of new global power dynamics with a potential to change the old world order with a new one.
In diplomacy, it is not usual for practitioners to let others read their mind. After all, transparency and predictability are not the virtues valued most in this business. But Mr S. Jaishankar is no ordinary diplomat turned minister. To use his own words, it may not be his ‘way’ to let him come under the “pressure of political correctness” or under the “weight of accumulated dogmas” (p. xi). Hence, if publishing a book on India’s foreign relations while still in the driving seat is a daring act to perform, that is exactly what, the serving Minister of External Affairs has done in his intensely absorbing book written in his most inimitable and contemplative style with the literary flair, for which he is well known.
Overiding the notion that diplomacy is an art of concealing more than revealing, Mr Jaishankar has again broken that taboo by revealing in his book more than enough about the “Indian Way” for the the world to know what Indian diplomacy is all about, how it is different from others and what is unique about India’s foreign policy stance under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. In fact, instead of divulging India’s top national secrets and sensitive information, this work will go down in history as a brilliant exercise of communication and messaging to the world about India’s arrival and its readiness to do business as a responsible, pluralistic, democratic nation with a future, committed to upholding these values “in terms of geopolitics, shared challenges, market attraction, technology strength or burden sharing” (p. 126).
The book is thoughtfully organised under eight aptly worded headings, all pregnant with deep meanings. “The lessons of Awadh” recounts how under the “Panipath syndrome” India in the past had often exercised the “default option of playing defence” (p. 4), reflective of a mindset that did not comprehend external events well, allowing the events to come upon it; rather anticipating , analyzing and leveraging them to its own advantage when they did come.
Under “The Art of Disruption” the author emphasizes how international events cannot be viewed in “exclusion of trends”(p. 22). He wittingly observes that in the last two decades or so, “China had been winning without fighting, while US was fighting without winning” (p. 21). Just to give the reader a feel of the extent of disruption the world is witnessing today, Mr Jaishankar reveals that “in other circumstances, the USA could be practicing the art of the deal. But in an unfavourable landscape, it seems more focused on changing the terms of engagement…and discard what no longer works for it” (p. 21). Therefore, when “the most powerful nation of our times should change course so sharply, it has a significance that is hard to overstate”. He argues that disruptions are more favourable for the “middle powers” giving birth to a new phenomenon in this multipolar world, that is, plurilateralism.
By far the most interesting chapter of the book is “Krishna’s Choice” wherein the author has drawn unique parallels between a “multipolar world with frenemies” competing with each other to arrive at a balance of power against the backdrop of a clash of values and similar moral dilemmas that “Kauravas” and “Pandavas”, the two legendary warring groups faced in their epic struggle in the Mahabharata. It appears that there are no conceivable situation in modern foreign affairs wherein a clue or an inspiration cannot be extracted from a similar situation in the epic. Mr Jaishankar explains this beautifully with a series of examples connecting them to the current state of international relations, which is novel and interesting. At the same time, he emphasizes that the world can seldom find elsewhere the values contained in this treasure trove of wisdom that deliberates the dilemmas of statecraft, strategy and actions not with the clinical dryness of the treaties of Kautilya, Sun Tzu or Machiavelli, but by juxtaposing the complexity of human affairs in the context of human values, propriety and righteousness, and tries to show the right path for the entire humanity. In his own words, “Mahabharata is not a compendium of clinical principles of governance…instead it is a graphic account of real life situations and their inherent choices” (p. 48).
Those who are looking for clues about the direction in which Indian foreign policy is heading , can find them in ample measure in the chapters that follow: “The Dogmas of Delhi”, “Of Mandarins and Masses”, “The Nimzo-Indian Defence” and “A Delayed Destiny.” Knowing well that the route to realization of the ultimate geopolitical potential of India passes through the sea, a full chapter is devoted to it titled “The Pacific Indian.” However, lack of hard content related to augmentation of naval prowess in this chapter may disappoint the sea-power enthusiast in India.
The Indian traditional thirst for strategic autonomy and its aversion to join any vintage military arrangement to bolster its regional security, finds its usual echo in Chapter two where Mr Jaishankar shares India’s clear preference for “collective security” or a “broader consensus” over the “alliance construct.” (pp. 32-34) The viability and reliability of such an arrangement is open for debate. His concept of the emergence of the southern middle powers and the centrality of ASEAN in any Indo-Pacific security structure is also dealt with briefly in this book. Readers will find the meticulous account of the evolving Indo-Japanese strategic convergence, and consolidation of the concept of QUAD plus, in the face of the rise of China, interesting. Their far-reaching strategic and economic implications for India as well as the world has been emphasized. While India’s relations with the US, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, the South East, South Asia, China, Japan and even Africa has been discussed at length, what is surprising is that discussion on its all-important and crucial relationship with Israel has been played down by making only passing mentions, raising a doubt if it was done deliberately
Overall, it is a an excellent book for the global audience , both professionals and casual, as much for its highly relevant and authentic contents coming straight from the horse’s mouth, as much for the lucidity of language, style and abundance of insightful expressions that are a treat for the mind.
India’s struggle to find its bearing in turbulent times and attempts to carve out a global independent identity for itself that is benign, promising, modern, progressive, tech-savvy and entirely eager to contribute its bit to world peace and prosperity in an “uncertain world”, is well enunciated in the book.
* The Reviewer retired as a Group Captain from the Indian Air Force and is currently visiting faculty in the Department of History, Amity University. Email: shekhar_mehta1111@hotmail.com
