Seventh Raisina Dialogue: India on centre stage

The seventh Raisina dialogue (RD), a flagship event jointly hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), concluded on 27th April 2022. In its 7th year of existence, the Raisina dialogue has been able to carve out its independent identity in the world’s geopolitics, and the strategic and intellectual calendar is a glowing tribute to India’s rising importance on the world stage.

This year’s RD, which has been held in physical form after a hiatus of two years and a virtual meet last year, saw the participation of more than two dozen states, hundreds of individuals, and think tanks in major world capitals spread over more than sixty sessions in three days.

This year’s RD was held under the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and once again rising cases of ever-changing mutants of Coronavirus. So all eyes were glued on the Indian stand, and also, there was an intense pressure to steer the way forward. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen and had the participation of foreign ministers of more than two dozen countries and defence chiefs of Quad countries.

Corona pandemic has restricted choices for individuals, organisations and states and thrown us to new forms of threats and challenges and thus making our world very uncertain. When choices and options get restricted and limited, the scope of dialogues increases multifold. Ultimately, in democracies, most complicated matters may get resolved only by debates, discussions and dialogues.

Therefore, the theme of this year’s Raisina dialogue was “Terra Nova-Impassioned, Impatient and Imperilled” and it had six brainstorming topics ranging from Rethinking democracy-trade, tech and ideology to End of Multiculturalism – A networked global order, on future of Quad-Water caucuses-Turbulent tide in Indo Pacifics.

Over the last seven years, Raisina Dialogue has emerged as an important event in the world strategic calendar due to various factors like a stable and caring leader who has been able to lead the nation of gigantic proportions successfully in trying times of Corona and rapidly recovered its economic trajectory with IMF forecasting more than 8 per cent growths and making it the cynosure of other world capitals. Thus, it also had a session on India’s 75 year-long journey after Independence and way ahead. Speaking at this session, India’s External Affairs Minister, erudite S Jaishankar, stressed our role on the world stage confidently on the basis of our strategic priorities, not to please anyone. It demonstrates the resolve of rising India, not to be cowed down by any power and knowing its importance in the ever-changing, fluid reshaping of the global order. It is rising India under Modi’s dynamic leadership, which can withstand the pressure of the entire European block on Ukraine – Russian crisis and spell out its vision that the “World must first work to stop fighting and getting the talking and finding ways of moving forward” than criticise Russian actions blindly. It was a tightrope walk, but India could do so.

(The author is the Director of the Delhi Institute for Administrative Services DIAS and a keen observer of strategic affairs)