Anger in diplomacy: MNC on India’s reaction to Kashmir’s tweet

The advent of social media has undoubtedly changed how diplomacy is conducted between countries. Still, it was surprising that the Ministry of External Affairs and Commerce put as much energy into ensuring that many multinationals withdrew last week social media posts by their Pakistani distributors. The posts, which appear to be part of a coordinated exercise sponsored by the Pakistani establishment, marked February 5 as “Kashmir Solidarity Day” in Pakistan – and included New Delhi’s highly aggressive campaign for “Kashmiri liberation”. The message was said. The government’s displeasure was justified, given that these companies, including Hyundai, Toyota, KFC, Pizza Hut, and pharma major Schwabe, also have thriving businesses in India, and it was strange that private multinationals would take such political stances. Will post charged messaging at all. However, where a scathing word or even a small statement of disapproval would have sufficed, the Modi government decided to go the full distance: even calling the Korean ambassador Ensured that Indian embassies take up the issue with other governments. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also took up the matter with his Korean counterpart, who apologized to the Indian people. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in Parliament that Hyundai India The original apology was not “coercive or explicit” enough, even as social media consumers in India threatened to boycott products made by the companies concerned.

While the government may feel that it has achieved its objective by ensuring that the companies and governments involved are in agreement about positions, it must also consider that its actions, which are a safe and powerful global There seem to be some differences with , but should also be considered. The players are seen in the rest of the world. India’s claims on Jammu and Kashmir are strong, and widely accepted, and not so fragile that some social media posts, which appear to be only in Pakistan, could in any way dent. Second, in democracies, holding foreign governments accountable for the actions of local distributors of their private companies can have unforeseen consequences. It is also worth considering whether State Department resources are better spent on furthering India’s interests, diplomatic over short-term controversies such as the State Department’s objection to pop star Rihanna’s post on farmer protests last year. on spending capital. The apologies and statements thus drawn may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory, if one believes that the intentions of those behind the objectionable posts in Pakistan to draw attention to their propaganda on Kashmir were also met. A quiet word with multinationals may work better than a public display of diplomatic protest.