What the article is about:
- The article talks about the changes that needs to be done in India’s Foreign Policy to achieve New ambition of “Viksit Bharat” outlined by honourable PM.
Relevance:
- Paper1: Essay
- GS2: India and its neighbourhood
Analysis:
- The author discusses about the 75 years old framework of Indian foreign policy, and how India can change it.
What are the required changes:
- The changing nature of the Indian economy, evolution of external conditions, emergence of new regional challenges, and shifts in the global power hierarchy all demand new foreign policy strategies.
- There is need to overcome the residual legacies of partition that continue to undermine Delhi’s geopolitical position.
- Deterring the dangers from across the western frontier must remain a major priority until Pakistan is ready for a productive relationship with India.
- Delhi must continue to build on the recent good work in overcoming the bitter legacies of the partition in the east- including the settlement of the boundary dispute with Bangladesh.
- There is need to double down on strengthening regional and trans-regional institutions.
- India must look beyond the immediate neighbourhood to more effectively engage with Africa, Latin America and Oceania.
- There is need to cope with the growing power gap with china. Several policies have been outlined by Modi government to address the China challenge- securing our frontiers, retaining India’s manufacturing sector, improving domestic technological capabilities, and producing more weapons at home.
- There is need of building stronger partnerships with other major powers by overcoming old ideas of “non alignment” and “strategic autonomy”.
- India should join them in shaping a stable balance of power system in the world.
Conclusion:
- Becoming the third largest economy and a developed society can’t just be about geopolitics and balance of power. It is also about global leadership in managing the consequences of unfolding technological revolution, stabilising the economic order, and addressing the challenges of climate change and pandemics.
- On its way to 2047, Delhi will have to temper its soaring universalism with geopolitical sensitivity and combine the pursuit of multilateralism-at the UN, G20 and WTO- with coalition of like- minded nations.
