'India has affirmed that it is a soft state that believes in meeting antagonisms halfway'

Over the years, it has become customary for Indian prime ministers to end their foreign visits on an almighty high. Atal Bihari Vajpayee's US visit was no different. So what if all those brave words about not signing the iniquitous CTBT sound a little less convincing now. And so what if Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms is still pressing the Clinton administration to not yield on sanctions. When the transient paparazzi convince themselves that India is flying high, India does end up flying very high. Earthly realities can wait sleeping out the jet lag.Of course, that's being a bit unfair. The prime minister's New York visit did produce tangible results. First, Vajpayee's UN speech clearly indicated that India doesn't have the stomach for a long, sustained spell of diplomatic isolation. India has affirmed that it is a soft state that believes in meeting antagonisms halfway. This may seem galling to the BJP and RSS that hoped for a new beginning. Unfortunately, India wilted under pressure and it hasn't taken Vajpayee too long to realise it. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}However, to suggest that this implies a return to the wishy-washy pre-Pokhran days is wrong. Vajpayee has broken with the past and is not guided by spurious Third Worldism and anti-Americanism. India has countered Nelson Mandela and Vajpayee did embrace Benjamin Netanyahu. That's a big advance from Sonia Gandhi's family diplomacy.Conventional diplomacy may not be able to strengthen a new Indo-US equation. In this context, the prime minister's Asia Society speech last Monday could form the central text of the Vajpayee doctrine. When he described India and the US as "natural allies", he was not merely acknowledging the futility of 51 years of anti-imperialist posturing. He was also conceding that we backed the wrong horse in the Cold War. That's an encouraging start. What is important now is to put some meat into this relationship. It's doubtful whether conventional diplomacy can achieve the necessary results. India's diplomats still traipse round the world scoring imaginary goals against the imperialist heartland. They combine their inadequate entertainment allowances with a ghetto mentality. The end result is India's diplomatic irrelevance. This has to change, but not by thrusting organisations like the CII or other New Delhi-based think tanks into the new frontiers of Indo-US relations. A new beginning cannot be made either on an attitude of slavishness or by contesting the fundamentals of Indian self-interest. Likewise, Washington needs to put its traditional South Asia experts out to grass. Having entered into a cosy relationship with the anti-BJP intelligentsia in India, they are either misfits in the new dispensation or plain obstacles in the path of a more meaningful, but equal, bilateral relationship.To succeed and endure, any strategic partnership needs fresh interlocutors. It is heartening that Jaswant Singh established contact with Senator Helms. He should now make it his business to meet Speaker Newt Gingrich and maybe even invite conservative polemicist Irving Kristol to visit India. Think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the editorial page editors of The Wall Street Journal are also worth cultivating. They, rather than the liberal establishment in the US, may understand India and appreciate its compulsions better. They will certainly comprehend the advantages of a democratic India over a totalitarian China.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 12, 1998--- ENDS ---

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'India has affirmed that it is a soft state that believes in meeting antagonisms halfway'

Wanted: New interlocutors in Washington and Delhi.

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