It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that when it comes to a country like the US, geopolitical discourse runs simultaneously on two parallel tracks. One is the “public face” of the world’s supposedly most powerful country; it’s the standard diplomatic avatar of the US that talks about “strategic partnership” with a rising power like India and ticks all the right boxes when it comes to diplomatic rhetoric. The other is the “hidden face” of the US, the private hushed-hushed element of its charged-up public sphere, that is regulated by the global deep-state. This parallel alter ego of the US state routinely engages in anti-India disinformation on a humongous scale; it takes out motivated indexes and reports chiding the world’s largest democracy for its supposedly eroding democratic values and attacks on minorities.
The interesting thing is these two faces seem to run parallel, but they have an underlying unity and work in tandem to maintain the global hegemony of the US. It is in the context of this larger narrative of the double-faced political discourse of the US that one needs to evaluate PM Modi’s ongoing US visit, starting September 21 and concluding on September 23.
On the first day of his visit, PM Modi participated in the QUAD leaders’ Summit and held bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden and several other world leaders including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Next, PM Modi will address a gathering of the Indian diaspora in New York around 10 pm Indian time on September 22. He will also interact with CEOs of leading US-based companies to foster greater collaborations between India and the US in Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, and biotechnology. On the last day of his visit, that is September 23, PM Modi will address the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
India’s rising global clout and assertive foreign policy based on multi-alignment have turned geopolitical table
The global hegemony of the US notwithstanding, India’s formidable rise as a global power within the past decade has turned the geopolitical tables. The “hidden face” of US diplomacy orchestrated by the deep state finds it increasingly difficult to pursue its agenda when it comes to India. Since the Modi government first got elected in 2014, there has been a paradigm shift in India’s foreign policy. The country has moved from “non-alignment” to multi-alignment and believes in forging issue-based partnerships with countries across the world. It’s a transition to the stature of “Vishwa-Bandhu” wherein Indian foreign policy is guided by the philosophy of maintaining equal proximity with all instead of equal difference. It shows in India’s bold diplomatic decisions as it continues to maintain a strategic balance between its commitment to a dialogue-based resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its historical bilateral ties with Russia, an important ally.
Despite repeated pressures from the Western ecosystem, India maintains an independent foreign policy stand vis-à-vis Russia and Ukraine. While it has made it categorically clear that the country stands for world peace and is against the use of violence under any circumstances, India hasn’t bowed down to the Western pressure of choosing sides between Russia and Ukraine. It hasn’t succumbed to the pressure from the West to downgrade ties with Russia. That’s precisely why India is the only country in that kind of position today where it can act as a mediator in procuring peace between Russia and Ukraine, provided the two sides are willing to take that initiative.
It is in this context of India’s assertive foreign policy stance that we need to look at PM Modi’s ongoing US visit. After making multiple attempts to blackmail and coerce India into taking an extreme stand in relation to Russia, the US has now realized that these tactics are not going to work with India. Thus, we have seen a major paradigm shift in the third tenure of the Modi government wherein anti-Russia sermons routinely issued by the US to India have almost stopped. The dialogue has now shifted to the kind of significant role India under the leadership of PM Modi can play in resolving the Russia-Ukraine crisis rather than how India should engage with Russia. Inda has drawn clear boundaries that it wouldn’t tolerate external interference in its internal matters and the West including the US, seems to have got the message.
Thus, in PM Modi’s bilateral meeting with Biden, the focus was on areas of mutual convergence rather than divergence. The talks centered on core areas like defence, technology, semiconductors, green energy, etc. The US President also conveyed to PM Modi US support for initiatives to reform global institutions like the UN, to reflect changing geopolitical realities, including permanent membership for India in a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
India’s position as a Leader of the Global South radically transforms India US dynamics
India has emerged as a leader of the Global South over the past decade. The country has so far hosted three Global South Summit in virtual mode. Moreover, India’s global diplomacy is now being increasingly characterised by repeated spotlight on the Global South. During India’s hosting of the G20 Summit in 2023, the grouping was successfully expanded to include the African Union as a permanent member. This was a pivotal turning point in global power balance as a rising world power had taken a bold initiative to step up the representation of Global South in a forum like G20.
India has also been proactively working with countries of the Global South like South Africa, Brazil, etc. to reform multilateral international institutions like the UN, seeking greater representation of countries from Africa, Latin America, etc. It would do us good to recall that India’s vaccine diplomacy during the COVID crisis also focused on helping out countries of the Global South and initiated a dialogue on creating resilient supply chain mechanisms, reducing India’s dependence on the US and China. India’s ongoing efforts to diversify the semiconductor supply chain ecosystem are a part of that emphasis.
Thus, India’s role as a leader of the Global South assumes centerstage in the context of PM Modi’s ongoing US visit. As the leader of the world’s largest democracy and a rising superpower on its way to becoming the world’s third-largest economy by 2030-31, India is uniquely positioned to become a bridge between the Western ecosystem and the Global South.
While in the US, PM Modi will also address the UNGA “Summit of the Future”. The topic of the summit is itself symbolic of the changing contours of the global order and subtly hints at the new global dynamics of the future where India and other countries of the Global South will assume center stage.
Since it talks about creating a better future, world peace, climate change, the digital divide, and concerns over data privacy are some of the core issues it will address. With its rising global clout and focus on sustainable development, green energy, and development of digital technologies, India is aptly positioned to raise the concerns of the Global South at this summit.
It is also noticeable that while PM Modi will address the “Summit of the Future” hosted by UNGA, he will skip the General Debate of the UN General Assembly, scheduled for September 28. A provisional list of speakers reportedly issued by the UN in July had said that PM Modi would address the UNGA session. However now, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to address the General Debate on September 28.
The last time PM Modi addressed the UNGA General Debate was in September 2021. The fact that the Indian PM has yet again chosen to skip the UNGA General Debate might be due to his packed schedule, but one is tempted to read between the lines and speculate that this might got to do something with India’s weariness with the UN. Despite India raising the issue of UN reform multiple times, there has been little or no progress in this direction. The UN pays lip service to the need for reform but there hasn’t been any concrete action taken by permanent members. Even when it comes to the US, one must make a clear distinction between its “public face’ and “hidden face”. It declares vociferously its support for India’s permanent membership at the UNSC but one can’t be sure about its real intent when it comes to actualizing that promise at the ground level.
Perhaps, India has figured out it would be wise to also focus on various other multilateral organizations rather than waiting perpetually for the UN to reform. Also, in terms of the Global South, India should perhaps consider creating a formal grouping of Global South countries, or at least holding an ambitious Summit of the Global South in offline mode. This could further turn the geopolitical tables in India’s favor and do well to increase the negotiating clout of the Global South at internal forums like the UN.
US “cautious” of the power of India’s Diaspora Diplomacy
Lastly, the diaspora connection is one of the most important factors defining PM Modi’s US visits ever since he first assumed power in 2014. There was a time when the narrative surrounding non-resident Indians (NRIs) was defined by the “brain drain” perspective”. The Modi government turned around this narrative and instead established a “brain gain” perspective vis-à-vis Indian diaspora. PM Modi’s formidable emotional connection with the Indian diaspora across the world, and his highlighting of the specific aspects of that diaspora in whichever part of the world he addressed them, contributed further to India’s emerging brand of diaspora diplomacy.
As PM Modi arrived in Delaware, US on 21st September, the air reverberated with chants of “Modi Modi” as exuberant community members prepared for the PM’s arrival. Many had started lining up 6 hours prior to his arrival just to get a glimpse of the Indian PM. One witnessed similar scenes in New York as the Indian PM was warmly welcomed by members of the diaspora community where he will later address the diaspora in the mega event.
Modi government’s diaspora diplomacy has altered the perception of the Indian diaspora on a global platform. For India, it’s a win-win situation as the country leverages the skills, expertise and, political clout of its powerful diaspora community to raise issues relevant to India on a global platform and explore new opportunities for not just people to people exchange but also make India popular from the point of view of “ease of doing business”. For the Indian diaspora, it’s a matter of pride as the Modi government has turned around India’s global image by 360 degrees. Most importantly a country like the US is well aware of the power of India’s diaspora diplomacy and they can no longer ignore India’s interests since that diaspora is also a significant vote bank for them.
Despite significant advancements in US India bilateral relations, the “hidden face” of US diplomacy, the strings of which are pulled by the global deep state will continue to make efforts to intimidate India through Religious Freedom Reports, Global Democracy rankings, et al. Let’s be clear on that. But what has changed is India’s response to these tactics. Now every time the US State Department issues a controversial statement or the findings of a motivated report, India’s Ministry of External Affairs is quick to report. Every baseless allegation is given a suitable public rebuttal. Thus, the US will down the line, get wary of these tactics since they no longer have the desired effect on the Indian establishment.
This time, we didn’t hear any usual cry regarding India’s “deteriorating record on freedom of religion” around PM Modi’s US visit. Usually, this is the standard ploy applied by the global deep state, to try and create some controversy around topics like “rights of minorities” “freedom of expression” and ‘freedom of religion” in India. But since India has become assertive and it no longer takes these baseless allegations seriously, the US too realizes that these tactics have become time-worn, and that it has no other option but to engage with India as an equal partner, based on mutual interests.
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