The tactful yet subtle diplomacy exhibited by Modi’s government highfalutin its ambience is rather a tedious chore when it comes to congeal a stable global position. But it would be wrong to say that such a smart yet dawdling move went in waste when the ramifications are the articulation of his actions. For India to elevate its position in the list of countries politically and economically sound, benevolent relations are a prerequisite. India, from the time unknown had been a ‘melting pot’ where a lot of factors negotiates, contradicts and a collective extrapolation comes out. It is like a fabric, interwoven and connected in such a way that there is not just single dimension to look at, but a series of open ended threads and multiple point of origin.
The vicinity should radiate healthy and productive aura for the center to yield efficient result and in order to achieve it, its important to install positive seeds at the periphery and nurture them time and again. Modi government aims to bury these propitious seeds with an optimism that once they sprout, a brawny union is possible grouting the archaic breaches hindering the growth. Government’s neighborhood first policy is one of the momentous initiative by Modi government which emphasizes on developing amiable relations with the neighboring countries. As much as it is politically and economically significant, it also carries a psychological importance ranging from cultural advancement to sentimental attachment such as religion.
The neighboring countries sharing the border with India are Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Seven of the mentioned countries share an undisputed borderline with India excluding Afghanistan whose borderline falls in Gilgit Baltistan region owned by Pakistan. These countries are touching the contours of India, directly or indirectly and thus India, being in close contact is like a semi permeable membrane through which not just the economic and political entities are shared but a historically concrete culture and religion too. So it becomes the chief and mandatory concern for the government to build salubrious and upbeat relations with its neighbors. These, in the interim of Modi government are being achieved through the persistent bilateral visits and the excessive amount of time and money and so it becomes quite consequential. Bilateral visits are substantial part to foster and consolidate the relations between two countries. The purpose of these visits carries a certain gravity as it happens without the intervention of a third party.
Commencing with the constructive outcomes of the neighborhood policy and how they will be beneficial for India in the long run, these ramifications are equally important to narrow down in a blueprint whether the policy actually worked or is it just a sterile strategy. Modi government’s neighborhood policy seems promising and yielding when it is constraint to few countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Therefore the neighborhood policy can be demarcated into two fragments. The former fragment encompassing the relations with neighboring countries fecund while the latter one as impotent or unremunerative. Initiating with the noteworthy denouements by unfolding the former fragment, taking into consideration the relation between Afghanistan-India, Bangladesh- India and Bhutan- India.
India – Afghanistan: India – Afghanistan relations have been blossoming since the honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi paid a bilateral visit to Afghanistan and Kabul, primarily on December 24, 2015 to provide an aid with the chaotic events and atrocities by Taliban. As a part of a bilateral strategic partnership, India donated Mi-25 attack Russian choppers studded with heavy technology. India also donated three military choppers to counter the attacks of Taliban. In the past few years, India had been a strong and significant training partner with Kabul transferring cadets for basic training program and transporting non-lethal equipments such as military trucks, transport choppers, communication paraphernalia and medical support. PM Modi also paid a visit to Kabul to open the new Afghan Parliament symbolizing the strengthening ties between two nations. The Prime Minister second visit proved to be even more formative when he along with Afghanistan Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani inaugurated Salma Dam with the capacity of 42MW power generation on June 4, 2016, a $290 million project. It is officially called Afghan – India friendship dam built on Hari river in Chisthi Sharif district, fulfilling various purpose such as irrigation and power generation. This fortifies India political and economic ties with Afghanistan.
India – Bangladesh: The South Asian neighbors sharing a common history, India and Bangladesh are united with the threads of religion and culture. India shares convivial relations with Bangladesh as the two have common linguistic and culture amidst the slugfest due to scanty land disputes and the famous Farakka Barrage issue. The two nations ended the contentious feeling against one another after signing an epoch-making Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) rectifying the bad blood between them. This historic agreement was unanimously passed on May 7, 2015 in Indian Parliament as the 100 Amendment in the presence of few Bangladeshi diplomats ending the 68 years old feud. This agreement was passed with a purpose to provide ease to the Bangladeshi and Indian dwellers in the enclave. The agreement is a landmark symbolizing the friendly relations between two countries. Another notable advancement in the relation was made when PM Modi visited Bangladesh in June 2015, signing 22 agreements introducing Regional Power Trading System in which Indian Reliance Power and Adani Power will contribute by installing power plants.
Bhutan – India: The Prime Minister of India selected Bhutan as his first destination amongst his foreign belt is of relative significance. The bilateral relations of India with Bhutan can be linked to the cultural and traditional history it shares. PM Modi bilateral visit to Bhutan was important for the economic advancement of both the countries. With India aiming for the digital era, PM Modi in his effort to propagate digital technology in close proximity to India for the ease of communication. India will provide help to Bhutan to set up digital libraries for students and provide the ease in access to millions of books and periodicals. The two nations are also planning on free trade covenant to further solidfy their friendship and augmenting their bilateral trading ties. To succor Bhutan with the power supply, Modi inaugurated the one of the joint project Kholongchu Hydro-elctric aiming to produce 600 MW of power. Apart from providing scholarships and assistance in studies, the two nations emphasized on achieving 10,000 MW in hydropower. Calling this as a ‘natural choice’ for visit, PM Modi congealed the relations with Bhutan.
Before touching the unremunerative fragment in reference to the relations with the neighboring countries, it is important to gaze upon the neighboring nations which share a paramount amount of traditional and cultural values amidst the disputes. These nations, though have hostile relations have been on the radar of Modi government to woo them as soon as possible. Prime Minister Narendra Modi bilateral visits to few places have not been as potent and yielding as compare to others as they fail to produce any concrete result, they still leave some space of optimism for upcoming events. These neighboring countries can be of limitless potential and should not be thwarted or sidelined by India. Rich in resources these nations carry a lot more potential than other foreign countries as they are in close propinquity to India which means ease in trade and economic exchange would be feasible. The nations for instance, Myanmar and Sri Lanka gives a flare of hope to be one of the strong trading and economic partner of India, as the two have cultural and traditional relics rooted in history.
India – Myanmar: The ‘Act-East Policy’ launched by PM Modi in ASEAN strikes the flames of hope for the people who were being grind in the ignorance draped by both the nations. With an aim to throw light on the shadow lines dividing the nations due to feeble disputes such as drug trafficking, suppression of democracy and military junta, Modi government initiative might prove to be of great potential. Being a colossal trading partner of Burma, economical ties with Myanmar sounds brawny. Currently working to expand the land, air and sea routes in its bilateral trade partnership, India is moving closer to be the largest trading partner by storm. With the back up support of predecessors such as India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who perpetrated amiable relations with Myanmar PM Modi can use these past events as the fuel to channelize his energy making the bilateral relations positive and productive. With the cultural affinity and antique history of Buddhism, Myanmar is of utmost importance to share healthy ties with.
India – Sri Lanka: Bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and India were gregarious until the Sri Lanka civil war and the rude intervention of India directly into the conflict made the relations bitter and further the fishing dispute added to the bad blood between the nations. India has try to make amends with Sri Lanka by signing a nuclear energy deal with a blind optimism that in the near future relations with the nation will be docile.
Modi’s initiative to make up with the neighboring nations can also be contemplated from a different angle. With China giving a cut throat competition to India by advancing its bilateral relations with the nations having a past feud or wrangle. This might result in the convoluted outcomes such as Anti- Indian elements ingraining in them the feeling to corrode the nation. To counter such a problem, Modi government prime initiative is to rectify the issues, possibly with the neighboring nations such as Pakistan and Nepal. This unfolds another fragment, the unremunerated one.
India – Pakistan: The world is acquainted with the long complex history these two nations share comprising of endless disputes to bloodshed. The relations keeps touching a new low with a new dispute. An archaic history since the time of independence of India, Pakistan since then is its straight up enemy and so have been garnering attention by China. India, being a potential threat to dominate China has created appalling feeling among the nation. To extend its empire China is relentlessly working to improve its relations with Pakistan as it would thwart India to construct a smooth bilateral relation which would facilitate economic and political ties as well as bilateral trades. This is one of the shortcoming that India has to work upon in order to add lubrication in its relation with the India’s born enemy. PM Modi surprise visit to Pakistan to wish Pakistan Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday is a plausible initiative as it keeps a strong possibility to cure the wrangles not by formal and bilateral visits but an informal or more friendly visit. A dispute that has grown with time and space can only be subverted by the friendly visits.
India – Nepal: An abrupt crisis of affability in the relation between India and Nepal was visible with the promulgation of anti-Indian feeling breeding in the natives and government of Nepal. The Madhesi crisis took the relation between Nepal and India on rocks. As Nepal adopted its new constitution in September 2015, the classes at the periphery, the Madhesi and the people of Indian origin felt as they were being sidelined by the government. Such events exacerbate the conditions and hence the serene relations between two nations. These two nations have always been close to each other but the recent slugfests have worsen the condition even when India helped Nepal through one of its deadly earthquake. The bilateral relation between these two nation were smooth until the sudden break out causing alarums and excursions.
Modi government is working its fingers to the bone in order to allure and woo neighboring countries by paying bilateral visits and the informal visits. India being the member of Association of Southasian Nations (ASEAN), South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) and Heart of Asia provides India an incredulous facility to get acquainted with the problems as well as the strengths of neighboring nations. In this way, India can build beneficial relations and even tranquilize the bad blood with it. Growing dispute with China over the Nuclear Supply Group, how it stood against India for getting its membership, its clear that China’s intentions are quite cryptic whether its aiming to build peaceful relations or the other way around.
Its onerous as well as inappropriate to decide so early whether the Government Neighborhood Policy is working or not. At this embryonic stage, the policy cannot be deemed as a dazzling yet flunked strategy when Modi government has been putting strenuous efforts not to lose ground, hoping against hopes to keep on adding fuel to this policy. It is caught between a rock and a hard place to not let the newly born fragile structure stumble. There might not be a lot of concrete ramifications of the policy, but that doesn’t mean that it might not be working in the long run. It would be a coruscating display of how Indian government try to melt the and diffuse different cultural and traditional entities in its ‘melting pot’. This is one of the humongous challenge that Modi government has to overcome in order to build docile relations, both bilateral and informal. Tracing back the achievement, so far Modi government has been fecund and fruitful in most of its agreements regarding foreign policy, so its beneficial to keep this fragile flame of hope burning and watch India acquiring a top notch in future.
No comments:
Post a Comment