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6 April 2005
Here's to stronger bilateral ties
In the past couple of weeks, India has been playing host to or being hosted by a number of countries. It entertained heads of state from Maldives and Uzbekistan while the Prime Minister visited Mauritius recently. Such mutual visits are about the only time Mauritius, Maldives or Uzbekistan would find glowing mention in the newspapers and the rest of Indian media. In the days of the Doordarshan monopoly, such visits compulsorily received five-star coverage with both Hindi and English newscasters reading out eloquent paeans to the brotherhood of the peoples of India and the visiting Tin-Pot Little African Country -- say Swaziland, tens of dozens of flashing cameras all arranged for perhaps by the Ministry of External Affairs clicking away as representatives from each country would sign a Memorandum of Understanding that would commit both to increased co-operation to fight terrorism, promote cultural ties and strengthen relations. The visiting dignitary would then make a statement about how his country and India have fostered ties of friendship and solidarity through the ages and how much he is appreciative of India's rich and varied heritage and democratic traditions of which he would know little having risen to power himself in a bloody coup. His itinerary would include placing wreaths at Raj Ghat and at the memorials of all deceased Congress politicians and a visit to the Leader of the Opposition.Several years thence, nothing of the diplomatic protocol has ebbed though perhaps the viewership might have. It is hard to blame the multitude of Indians, regardless of their solidarity and brotherhood with the Swazis or the Kyrgyzs or the Papua New Guineans when the Guard of Honour inspection conflicts with their weekly soap opera or the latest reality-show fad. The government however seems to express great faith in its commitment to fostering friendly relations so much so that it suspended the three-day state mourning for the Pope to host the Uzbek president. Not to eschew a golden opportunity to land punches, Jaswant Singh wryly remarked "One had heard of intervals in the game of hockey, football or even cricket, but no one has ever heard of an interval in national mourning."
Needless to say however that the Indian government is not entirely bereft of a vested interest in hosting these, shall we say priority-challenged countries. India is accumulating pledges of support from as many countries as possible for its candidature for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Requiring a two-thirds majority from members of the General Assembly in addition to support (or at most an abstention) from the five existing permanent members, India's campaign would welcome these diplomatic ententes.
