‘Bharat Natyam’ in Indian Diplomacy

Late Jyotindra Nath Dixit (Mani Dixit to his many friends and admirers) took over as Foreign Secretary on 1 December 1991. He retired 26 months later, on January 31, 1994 – then the retirement age was 58.

Republic and Moscow

Those were times of change. On December 25, 1991, General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, the flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was lowered in the Kremlin for the last time, and the next day, the USSR was formally dissolved. In its place 15 republics emerged. India accepted the challenge and prepared to open new embassies in Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Central Europe to forge new ties with these countries while maintaining its traditional ties with Moscow.

In January 1992, India and Israel established full diplomatic relations, announcing the opening of embassies and the exchange of ambassadors for the first time, opening the door to a relationship that has become one of India’s most important strategic partnerships in the past three decades. evolved into one.

nuclear deal

On 31 January 1992, Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao attended the first meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the summit level (India was a member in 1991–92), which was chaired by British Prime Minister John Major. Meanwhile, Mr. Rao held a bilateral meeting with the President of the United States of America, George H.W. Bush, where both the leaders decided that in a changing world, India and the US need to have candid exchanges on issues that They were divided during the winter. Warning; The issue identified was ‘Nuclear Proliferation and Disarmament’; The first meeting took place two months later during Mr. Dixit’s visit to Washington, sowing the seeds of ongoing negotiations through ups and downs, which led to the 2008 India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement.

At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on 27 January 1992, Prime Minister Rao’s ‘Look East’ policy began to take shape as India and ASEAN began a regional-dialogue partnership. By the end of 1995, it had matured into a full-fledged dialogue partnership and, in 1996, India joined the Security Dialogue Forum, the ASEAN Regional Forum. Since 2002, relations have further strengthened with the annual India-ASEAN summit.

on China and Taiwan

After intense talks during Mr. Rao’s visit to China in September 1993, the two sides initiated a number of confidence-building measures, most notably the India-China Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Peace along the Line of Actual Control. border area. This laid the foundation for the relationship that spanned two decades.

Also, India and Taiwan held talks to open economic and cultural centres; Taiwan opened its office in Mumbai in 1992 before relocating to Delhi, while India established the India-Taipei Association office in 1995.

The above examples give an idea of ​​how India was responding to the changes taking place around us and in the wider world. As a junior colleague who had the privilege of working closely with Mr. Dixit during these years, I often heard him patiently interacting with foreign diplomats and answering questions from curious journalists who are involved in Indian foreign policy. Trying to understand the upcoming changes.

Whispering comfortably on his pipe, secluded to his friends, he would say to us, “In Indian diplomacy, sometimes, you need to do a little Bharatanatyam.” The point was simple – you can appear in different forms to others, but after securing your interests the first time.

UN vote dynamics

In recent weeks, the debate and discussion in the Indian media and TV talk-shows about India’s stand on the Ukraine conflict and its votes in the UN Security Council and General Assembly is an opportune moment to reflect on the Dikshit doctrine.

Clearly, the Indian government has chosen to ‘avoid’ on the basis of its assessment of its core interests. However, there is a cardinal principle attached to the Security Council votes on issues in such charged times. The purpose of a ‘for’ or ‘against’ vote is to give a clear message of ‘support’ or ‘opposition’. It’s a black or white option, and once used, the message is clear.

On the other hand, ‘Repealing’ takes us to a gray zone as it is the middle way. This can be seen as either a fence (which is a sign of helplessness) or makes room for a diplomatic maneuver (which is a successful outcome). In the example of Ukraine – the West should be satisfied that India ‘expelled’ as it expected India to oppose the West’s draft proposals given New Delhi’s traditional relations with Russia, while Russia should also feel satisfied at India’s ‘expulsion’ as he might have expected New Delhi. To give in to Western persuasion.

The second outcome is positive but at the same time to manifest in different forms, we need to revive the kind of Bharatanatyam that Mr. Dixit used so effectively to navigate those turbulent times, even as he helped set the course for Indian foreign policy. three decades ago.

Rakesh Sood is a former diplomat and currently Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation

• Late Jyotindra Nath Dixit took over as Foreign Secretary on 1 December 1991

• Those were times of change. On December 25, 1991, General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, the flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was lowered in the Kremlin for the last time, and the next day, the USSR was formally dissolved.

• In January 1992, India and Israel established full diplomatic relations, announcing the opening of embassies and the exchange of ambassadors for the first time, opening the door to a relationship that has become one of India’s most important strategic partnerships in the past three decades. evolved into one.