Author: Ashish Rai, Final year of B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering) from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology Bhopal.
The changing World Order
From not being a part of any world order after its independence in 1950's to driving its own delhi driven world order, from accepting the west's hegemony on every global issue to making West reach us for our sustenance and most of it all from arranging food & medical supplies for our people to exporting medical and vaccine supplies to 80+ nations all around the globe. We must say that our India that is 'Bharat' has come a long way its path to become the modern day 'Vishwa Guru'.
“Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe's problems are the world's problems but the world's problems are not Europe's problems.”
This bold statement was given by our External Affairs Minister during an interview while sitting in front of hundreds of delegates from EU. What does this statement signifies? It comprehensively delivers that now it's not the 20th Century when whatever the EU or the west collectively says the whole world will have to follow, it's an era of comprehensive democracy, it's an era of rising new world order, the countries of this century know how to put-fourt their voice, rise of new developing economies are taking place rapidly, the dark days of colonialism has ended. The new world of 21st century thinks of its own interests & favors the right way before taking decisions and stances. The countries like Vietnam or Afghanistan which were once under the direct leadership of USA led west, were made to pay a heavy price in the form of thousands of civilian killings & a devastated economy for their decision of allowing Western interference in their internal matters. The foreign policy of our nation after the 2000's has always focused on not letting any foreign country or delegate interfere in our internal matters, extreme interference of foreign entities in one country's internal matters always leads to a path of internal rebellion and destruction of its whole cultural heritage and civilization history. The western lobby consisting of big media houses, environmental activists and renowned personalities are well known to us, the sole purpose, aim & target of whom is to defame, degrade & eventually disintegrate India. Thus, this new Bharat learns from the past, exposes fake west made propaganda and is always prepared for the future.
The Rise of Bharat
Since the rise of the saffron party to power In 2014, a wave of Grassroot level driven developments are taking place day by day. From Changing the old tenancy laws to introducing citizenship amendment act and from removing article 370 to introducing modern technology driven drone policy and helping India reach the mighty mark of 107 unicorns, this modern day India has proved to the world that it is capable of bringing about the necessary advancement in every prospect of economy and that too without any foreign interferences (Our indigenous defense industry is now a well established name). The three farm laws that were later taken back by our PM, were also a major step towards sovereignty of farmers from middleman & introducing them to modern food based industries that require agri-products as raw materials, the remark on the farmers protest against the government of India by Canadian PM was strictly taken down by the spokesperson of our foreign ministry. Interference of foreign institutions in our internal matters is something that we don't appreciate anymore, we are capable of handling any circumstances be it of our internal security or border issue.
When the whole world was busy imposing lockdowns, arranging hospital beds and restricting the export of vaccines for their Nation wide use, it was our mother India that exported vaccines all around the globe to the countries in need be it in Africa or South America, it is remarkable that India itself has a huge population of 140 crore. The Brazilian Prez tweeting a picture displaying Hanuman Ji carrying a mountain full of vaccines to Brazil is sufficient enough to explain the dominance & importance that now India holds in this world. Even after the rise of taliban to Supreme power in Afghanistan, India exported 40 thousands metric tons of wheat because we are against the government of Afghanistan (i.e.Taliban), not its people. Even now also, India is firmly taking its own stance on the on-going Russia-Ukraine Crisis. Enormous amount of pressure is being mounted on us by the west to make India restrict its Energy Purchase from Russia but on the other hand Indian Government looks not even interested in giving attention to this issue being raised regularly by the west at various official meetings and international events. Not only this, but the foreign media delegates even get the most straightforward and strict replies from our foreign ministry officials on being asked about this issue. The India's firm stand on purchase of Russian oil & its strong replies to west questioning India over this is a remarkable story.
The present world order holding its space, is clearly pointing towards a Asia based world order. The USA is facing a tough competition in every aspect w.r.t China, the cold War between USA & China in the Asia-Pacific is well known to everyone, in the South of Asia sharing its border with the Mighty Indian Ocean lies the modern day India which no more seeks approval of USA or USSR, it works on the principle of 'Vasudev Katumbakam' & its policy favors its own people first. Currently, all eye's lie on India as being the prime member of 'QUAD', USA wants to corner China by taking India on its own side, being a prime member of 'BRICS', China & Russia aims to corner the west dominance over World Bank and finally India itself is now signing numerous Bilateral Trade agreements with countries around the globe to further strengthen its power as a world leader. The India's Stance over purchase of Russian Oil is just an example of how India exercises it's policy of 'Nation first' because If we are getting our energy demands full-filled by buying oil from Russia at discounted prices then we'll buy it irrespective of the sanctions that are imposed on Russia by any other Nation. Ironically, Europe itself buys more oil & gas than what India does from Russia and on the other hand it instructs India on restricting its purchase.
Diplomacy at its peak
From being a silent spectator during the cold War era till 1991 to holding the Central stage during numerous United Nations Conventions and from not being a part of modern developing economies to receiving regular invites for G7 summits. This is our new India, we know how to negotiate on our own terms, we know how to put forward policies that benefit us & most of it all we know how to suppress the European as well as USA'S domination in different world forums (India securing the special clause under the WTO for providing subsidies to its farmers is one of those examples).
As the Indian Foreign Minister remarked at Raisina Dialogue, “It is better to engage with the world on the basis of “who we are" rather than try and please the world. India is confident about its identity and priorities, the world will engage with India on its terms." With one-fifth of the world population, India has the right to have its own side & weigh its own interests. Today's self reliant India has a new & declamatory voice in this global firmament, carving its roots out from ancient Indian civilization & making a more deeper and broader impact onto this modern world. The world today awaits to listen India's statement & looks forward for its support on any worldwide issue. The statements & decisions made by our government nowadays are purely based on the notion of 'Nation First' and are in larger interests of public welfare. The way today our diplomats are maintaining the balance of power, be it in Asia-pacific or globalized world, is really impressive. The South block is now working with all its power being concentrated in its own hand independent of any foreign influence. Back to the days of Covid-19 crisis in 2020, when the so called emerging superpower China tried to use its military power in Galwan Valley, India responded with much more military pushback and showed this world that its not the Bharat of 1961. Currently, looking at the pace things are changing it is of no wrong to say that India is the only key to maintain balance of power between emerging as well as established Superpowers.
Pouring Ethics & Morality into Diplomacy
From sending medical supplies, to granting free vaccines, providing essential food grains, granting millions of dollars (As helping aid), exporting defense equipment, India has always been that friend who stands up while you are in need. Be it the tough times of Covid-19 pandemic or the Critical war conditions in both Afghanistan & Russia-Ukraine. Be it takling the refugee crisis from Myanmar & Bangladesh or helping its neighbor Sri Lanka (Recent Economic breakdown of Sri Lanka is well known), India has always pondered upon its mantra of 'Vasudheva Katumbakam'.
Being the largest democracy in the world, In recent years India has emerged as the torch bearer of democracy. India never hesitates in promoting democracy wherever potential exists, the assistance we provided to build the institutions of democracy in Afghanistan is well known to the world that too without having any profound or backstabbing affect on the Afghan tribe. India works on the principle of Global Problem solving, we always stand hand-in-hand to any other Nation in need. India is also emerging as the leader in the world's fight against climate change, our Honorable PM took the centre stage at COP'26 and forwarded the goal of net zero emissions by 2070, for a developing Country like India just 75 years into Independence, this is a real big target & this portrays a real bright picture of India against the world on how to cope with sustainable energy crisis. The establishment of large no. of solar power plants across the country, having capacity of thousands of megawatts & electrification of about 80% of railway lines across the country are some of the major stepping stones towards achieving the target of net zero emission.
India of 21st century is the leading power, it shapes the global norms and institutional architecture rather than getting shaped by them. India's policy of this day reflects teachings of the great Swami Vivekanad and Mahatma Gandhi, emphasizing on the principle of collective & inclusive development while inserting moral & ethical values. The current foreign policy of India is flexible enough to sustain any sort of sudden avalanches & respond in quick manner, the example of which we have seen during the initiation of Russia-Ukrain Crisis in the form of homecoming of Indian students from War zone.
What the future holds ?
From Demographic dividend to Natural Resources, from gigantic IT parks to world class infrastructure, from Research & development laboratories to hundreds of Unicorns, this India of 21st Century holds everything in its arms to shape the future of this planet & emerge as the modern day 'Vishwa Guru'. All we need is a collective Approach to tackle environmental issues that surround our planet, it was only our India that gave the visionary idea of One Sun-One world-One grid and showed this world its potential to take the lead. Also, India will now lead the prestigious G-20 organization from 1st of December 2022 to 30th of November 2023 and the noteworthy is the official tag line that India has launched 'One Earth, One family, One future'.
One important aspect is also to strengthen ourself from inside i.e. to fight from all odds & emerge as an United & more resilient state, because as the depth of internal issues increases in a country, less likely it becomes for the country to cope with them. You know what makes a nation great? No...it's not the Army, it's not the Missile's neither nuclear weapons nor great leaders!!! What makes it great is the endeavour among its masses to stand tall & united against all kind of adversities!!
In the end, it should be noted that we belong to the oldest civilization of this world & for centuries long we have ruled over this planet and presently we are a home to millions of young bright minds & trillions of young innovative ideas, we treat the whole world as one family and hence the day is not far when we will eventually lead this modern 21st century.
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