A PRESCRIPTION FOR INDIA’S Nature,PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE S.E. ASIA REGION
Diplomacy is an integral part of the subject of international relations, that a modern nation state needs dearly. We are well aware of the whole apparatus that is deployed for the purpose, in the form of envoys, emissaries, embassies & consulates etc., which is a very formal and official way of going about it. We are also aware of a fact that there is something called informal diplomacy, which is also known as Track-II Diplomacy, that a nation makes use of, from time to time, in order to further its national interests in the international relations arena, especially when caught in a crisis situation or even as a part of a whole design that is supposed to cater to its vision w.r.t. its international relations in the long term. Here the diplomats of a desiring country engage with certain desirable lot of members of the academia or think tanks or socially active & known personalities in the target country, so as to open various channels of communication with the powers that be, in the said target country. When one widens the scope of the said Track-II diplomacy in order to expand its sphere of influence by engaging a larger slice of the target country’s population, it enters the world of what is called Public Diplomacy. Here the attempt is to try and influence the general public in the target country, with a view to enhancing the probability of influencing the foreign policies of its government. It is an unconventional yet a productive tool in the armoury of a desiring nation.
Any public diplomacy initiated by a nation, banks essentially not on the hard economic and / or military power it possesses, but a soft power it perceives itself to be wielding w.r.t. the target countries, to enough extent, so as to boost its attempts at aligning their interests with its own. It is a non-state, largely civilisational in nature tool, aimed at predisposing target countries’ population favourably towards the desiring nation in general and its foreign policies in particular.
Joseph Nye in his book “Soft Power: The Means to Success in world Politics” has articulated it well, as follows:
"A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries – admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness – want to follow it. In this sense, it is also important to set the agenda and attract others in world politics, and not only to force them to change by threatening military force or economic sanctions. This soft power – getting others to want the outcomes that you want – co-opts people rather than coerces them”
All this discussion is about the point of the recognition of India being a regional power in Asia, that it has been receiving of late, through the past & existing world powers and especially the hostile ones from our biggest Asian neighbor viz. China, which has been on a very determined, aggressive and quick-paced path to becoming a near future world power
Let us look at an example each of the past and present world powers. Both of them, UK & US respectively, have firmly gravitated toward India vis-à-vis China for various reasons. Although the looming threat they perceive about China making dents in their own clout in the world could be a prominent reason for the same, the soft power attraction points w.r.t. India in terms of the comparative affinity they feel towards it are - India is a democracy (like themselves), it has its civilisational roots in universal tolerance, its largely non-aggressive stance towards its neighbourhood, transparent polity & urban social life experienced through the usage of common (English) language, noticeable presence of Indian origin senior executives in the private multinational corporations (all western) throughout the world etc
India too is well aware of the said soft power and is actively working towards enlarging its sphere. We have noticed a good global example of its achievement, in the form of 21st June having been declared the ‘Yoga Day’ by the United Nations, two years ago. As regards the Asian regional arena, India adopted “Look East policy” in the early nineties and pursued it rigourously thereafter. The Wikipedia summarises the said policy as follows:
India's Look East policy is an effort to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia in order to bolster its standing as a regional power and a counterweight to the strategic influence of the People's Republic of China.
So it is not a secret that the said policy has been the outcome of the need felt by India, to counterbalance China’s juggernaut style march, in Asia. Let us now look at the “Act East Policy” that was adopted by India since last couple of years. An extract of the information provided by the Minister of State for the external Affairs Gen. Dr. V. K. Singh (Retd.) in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 23/12/2015, is reproduced below, for a ready reference
The Objective of ''Act East Policy” is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationship with countries in the AsiaPacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels thereby providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region including Arunanchal Pradesh with other countries in our neighbourhood. The North East of India has been a priority in our Act East Policy (AEP). AEP provides an interface between North East India including the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the ASEAN region. Various plans at bilateral and regional levels include steady efforts to develop and strengthen connectivity of Northeast with the ASEAN region through trade, culture, people-to-people contacts and physical infrastructure (road, airport, telecommunication, power,etc.)
The ASEAN-India Plan of Action for the period 2016-20 has been adopted in August 2015 which identifies concrete initiatives and areas of cooperation along the three pillars of politicalsecurity, economic and socio-cultural. India continues with stepped up efforts to forge closer partnership with concerned regional and Multilateral organisation such as ASEAN, ARF, EAS, BIMSTEC, ACD, MGC and IORA. On the Civilizational front, Buddhist and Hindu links could be energized to develop new contacts and connectivity between people. On Connectivity, special efforts are being made to develop a coherent strategy, particularly for linking ASEAN with our North East. Measures, including building transport infrastructure, encouraging airlines to enhance connectivity in the region, contacts between academic and cultural institutions are underway
The above piece of information seems to stress upon two points, among other things viz. interface of India’s North East region with the ASEAN region, mainly on the connectivity & related economic activity front and energizing the Buddhist / Hindu links, on the civilizational front.
I’d like to focus on the 2nd part in this article here. I have happened to travel to three of the ten ASEAN countries so far viz. Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia on official as well as personal trips. Apart from the impressions one would generally gather from certain write-ups including travelogues, where one would get a few glimpses by way of mere passing remarks but devoid of details, I happened to observe with a kind of a penetrating eye as well as interact with the local population with a certain amount of guided curiosity. There I happened to gather a certain amount of real time “data”, that provided a good amount of clarity about the enormous amount of civilisational connectivity or rather inseparability between India and the South East Asia.
I share below my such encounters, as briefly as possible:
- In year 2007 in Thailand, a rice trader & a local of Bangkok, enquired to confirm whether we Indians loved Ramayan as the Thais did. When I replied in affirmative, he shared that the Thais believed that the Ramayan took place in Thailand and not in India. I simply nodded in agreement, without any desire to debate, as I was overwhelmed by the Thais’ feeling of attachment towards it.
- In year 2013 in Thailand, I came across an elderly lady whose name she said was Savitri. I showed some curiosity, upon which she said it was a Sanskrit name
- In year 2016 in Indonesia, I felt generally welcome more than any other foreigner wherever I went, which I realised was due to my being an Indian. Some Indonesians simply couldn’t resist striking up a casual conversation, when they came to know about my nationality. They happily accord Indians the status of the forefathers of the Malay (or Melayu) family spread across SE Asia, to which they belong. Although most of them now are Muslims & some of them Christians, all of them follow certain rituals marked for certain important occasions in one’s life cycle, which distinctly is a Hindu phenomenon
- Today’s modern Bahasa (official language of Indonesia & Malaysia) mostly comprises of Sanskritised Malay words, with a very few Arabic words sprinkled in between, so much for the Islamic connection
- I interviewed two Indian origin gentlemen in Indonesia, one Punjabi sports goods dealer in Bandung and a Sindhi clothing shop owner in Jakarta. Both of them gave me an impression that they enjoyed some privileged status there than what they could have enjoyed back in India
- An elderly Indonesian & a local of Bandung viz. Sudharma (a Muslim, with a Hindu name) made it a point to tell me that that they were a religiously tolerant nation. He seemed quite keen to do so, possibly because he secretly acknowledged it to be largely absent throughout many other nations within the Islamic world.
- One of Jakarta’s classiest & costliest restaurants is ‘Cafe Batavia’, located in the Dutch colonial quarter of the town. I experienced the most touching moment there when I ordered a rice dish which, according to the printed menu, contained shrimps & chicken. After taking the order to the kitchen, the waiter returned to me and informed that although the menu didn’t describe it, the preparation did involve addition of some grated beef, for “enhancing the taste”. He explained, after seeing me visibly surprised at his approach, that he had guessed me to be an Indian and thought that beef wouldn’t be acceptable to me and so he came to check with me about that. I thanked him profusely for his sensitivity & the sense of concern he had for me and advised him suitably
- One of Jakarta’s classiest & costliest restaurants is ‘Cafe Batavia’, located in the Dutch colonial quarter of the town. I experienced the most touching moment there when I ordered a rice dish which, according to the printed menu, contained shrimps & chicken. After taking the order to the kitchen, the waiter returned to me and informed that although the menu didn’t describe it, the preparation did involve addition of some grated beef, for “enhancing the taste”. He explained, after seeing me visibly surprised at his approach, that he had guessed me to be an Indian and thought that beef wouldn’t be acceptable to me and so he came to check with me about that. I thanked him profusely for his sensitivity & the sense of concern he had for me and advised him suitably
- In one of the pavilion of Indonesian province of Sulawesi, while I was observing the replica of its traditional community hall (and court of trial, when needed), the Muslim caretaker pointed at one of the engravings on the structure and told me that it was phallus, an important symbol (of fertility) for the then largely tribal populated province, following ‘animist’ traditions. I didn’t disturb his flow by telling him about ‘Shiva Linga’, which nevertheless made an appearance in my mind. Would have the then weakening Hindu connection been the cause of the ‘animists’ being dethroned from their position of prominence and driven to the mountains & the forests, where they are surviving today, in that as well as other provinces of Indonesia?
The above insights take us closer to the SE Asia region emotionally. But notwithstanding the same, we also need to look at the further possibilities of penetration, made available by absence of staunch Islam e.g. in Indonesia. I share below the first hand impressions gathered about the Indonesian model of Islam
- I never came across a woman on the streets or other public spaces, clad in burqa, covering her face and/or the whole body, as is found in India, though over 50% of the womenfolk, both in Bandung as well as Jakarta, wore hijab.
- Spotting a man with the skull cap on, was a rarity. Interestingly, even inside a mosque hardly one third of the men wore their skull caps while offering namaz or otherwise and nobody seemed to bother
- I toured a mosque (Masjid Cipaganti) in Bandung, which is a listed heritage structure. I noticed some college students & others smoking, sitting just outside the prayer hall
- The other prominent mosque was ‘Masjid Raya Bandung’, close to ‘Asia Africa Street’. It appeared more as a picnic spot than a holy place. The inside was largely vacant and the open space outside it, was packed with families busy eating & drinking.
- Interestingly, there wasn’t a single board in Arabic in any public place anywhere, except in a mosque, that too symbolically. The Bahasa ruled everywhere, unchallenged.
- I checked at some restaurants whether the meats in their kitchen were ‘halal’ and if their customers (who largely were locals & Muslims) cared to check about that. The answer was that some of the meats were ‘halal’ on a given day, while some others were not and they informed their customers about that, if the latter cared to check
All the above gives us a picture of a liberal Islam, which we do not find even in a supposedly secular country like India, let alone a nation where Islam is the State religion. The credit may however go to the many centuries of their Hindu past, having created that deeprooted temperament for such tolerance and also being way too distant geographically, from the ‘mainstream’ Islam of the West Asian origin. Does that mean that the concept of panIslamism is completely absent in Indonesia? I guess not, as I happened to notice an incident where the Governor (Mayor) of Jakarta viz. Purnama (a Christian) was being framed for blasphemy of Islam, allegedly committed while campaigning for re-election. The said incident, leading to a public outcry, took place in Dec.’16. There was a court trial thereafter, which delivered the verdict of imprisonment of Purnama, for two years, in May’17. In the meantime, he lost the election, giving rise to a suspicion of a political coup having been pulled off through religion, successfully. Had it been Pakistan, he would have been executed
In short, the ground is fertile in the SE Asia region for India, to make huge inroads through skillful public diplomacy, leveraging its soft power capital fully. However, the effort needs to be large-scale and quick-footed, taking into account the changing scenario, as noticed in the above-narrated Purnama episode.
A lot has already been written about China being an emerging world superpower, India being a regional power in the making, rivalry between the two and such things. Most of it touched upon the economics and / or the military, both being the areas where China holds a much superior position than India’s. What is not much written is about the civilisational aspect of the said rivalry, where India stands a huge chance to surpass China.
Hegemony is the word that is often used to describe what China is doing and wants to continue doing in Asia w.r.t. its dealings with its neighbors. It for that matter has never even made an attempt to hide its such hegemonic intentions, from the world. It has many ‘contentious’ issues to deal with, within its immediate and not so immediate neighborhood
Given this confrontationist attitude cultivated for decades, without demonstrating anything for the world to hope for any amends therein, it has pumped in fear within its neighborhood, beyond measure. On the other hand, it does not enjoy a very creditable past, on the strength of which it could pose as a real (read kind) big brother in this part of the world. It rather possesses a past when hoards of its own preferred to flee the homeland, thanks to persistent conditions of internal hostilities and persecution. Such oppressed ethnic Chinese communities then fled in different directions in different phases and landed in various territories of today’s Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia & Indonesia, making them their permanent home. So China’s image in the entire South-East Asia has been far from being healthy.
Contrast this with that of India, which is perceived a father figure culturally throughout this part of Asia. You’ve read already about what I experienced and perceived in that context, as narrated above. The world also knows about how Thailand revers its monarchy, who they call ‘Ram’, despite being a Buddhist country officially. We also have read the media reports a couple of years back, as to how it fought with its another Buddhist neighbor viz. Cambodia, over the ownership of a Shiva temple viz. Preah Vihear (original Sanskrit being, Priya Vihar) dwelling on their borders. Cambodia too is proud about the largest Hindu temple complex of the world standing on its land called Angkor Wat, which is its crowd-puller & major foreign exchange earner. The said cultural heritage of the region doesn’t stop at the temples and the Sanscritised names of its inhabitants. They even write their languages in the scripts derived from ancient Indian scripts. And most importantly, they love India, not fear. The reason for this notable love and absence of fear is due to the historical fact that all this Indian civilisational influence didn’t come there as an imposition of the practices of the invaders, but it settled and evolved so peacefully and naturally, that they never felt it to be alien and rather embraced it happily
Now it’s time for some reality check. Although the SE Asia loves India, there is a room for doubt about their respecting India, in the measure as the latter may be deserving. It’s commonplace knowledge that the mighty are respected in this world, which China is and India is not so much, mainly due to the Gunboat Diplomacy (use of conspicuous displays of military strength as a means of intimidation in order to influence others) practiced by China. Again the measure of might depends on two major parameters viz. the economic muscle and the military muscle. While India is working towards building both these muscles, it is not likely to achieve such a place of respect so soon. However, it shouldn’t be feeling so much anxious about it (provided it continues to work relentlessly on those fronts), as far as it’s able to cash in on its civilisational capital earned over centuries, throughout the region
Obviously such thinking must have gone into the makings of ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ policies of the Govt. of India. However, various resources (particularly the right kind of human resources, in the form of think tanks, cultural missions, joint study groups etc., in addition to the career diplomats) need to be mobilised on a substantial scale, to fight and win the soft & long drawn civilisational or specifically the public diplomacy war, leveraging its soft power.
One may like it or not, in this world which has almost become unipolar today, tomorrow’s claimant for that coveted position of the ‘pole’ is doubtlessly going to be China and if India by that time has strengthened its regional position through the civilisational game discussed above, it will in all probability, have arrived as a formidable rival to such a Chinese claim.
References:
1.Times of Ind(ONES)ia Part-1 and 2, 9-12-16,12- 12-16,18-12-16
2.The China versus India story
3.Clash of Civilisation
