“Savarkar, despite all the untenable misgivings and untenable misgivings in extremity, remains a celebrated thinker who stood at the wee hours of the post-war order. felt the imprint of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the author’s thought. Savarkar, a staunch realist, believed in a post-war world where nations would act only in pursuit of their own interests not based on idealism, morality or international solidarity. Imagine how prophetic he has been”, said Vice-President, Jagdeep Dhankhar at the launch of ‘ The New World: 21st Century Global Order in India’ written by Ram Madhav, President India Foundation at Indian Habitat Centre on June 23.
“He rejected pacifist or utopian internationalism and emphasized that India must safeguard its sovereignty through strength, not by relying on Western-dominated institutions like the League of Nations or later the United Nations, both ignoring due place to one-sixth of humanity”, Jagdeep Dhankhar said.
“I could not agree more with lamentations of the author Ram Madhav. He highlights a perpetual decline of global multilateralism and prescribes India to give up romanticism and focus on economic growth”, he added.
Hailing the Narendra Modi government and its diplomacy, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “Today, strengthening Bharat is the governing philosophy and resolve of this Government. It is steadfast, firm, non-negotiable, and notwithstanding the critics — it is spinally strong. The nation has never ever projected its stand so firmly. Let us not be misguided by the distraction — who said what. The government, and India and its people, stand firmly for the nation — nation first and our nationalism. Those who take a stand for momentary situations are not in the psych or groove of Bharat. Once we attain strength inwards, we can shape our strategic environment outwards”.
Underlining the roots of strategic thinking in the nation, he stated, “George Tanham, an American thinker, three decades ago, in a treatise effectively suggested that there is absence of a strategic thinking in India on account of its Hindu philosophical roots and there were takers of it. But with Ram Madhav’s volume, George Tanhan stands corrected. He couldn’t be more wrong. His analysis is far distanced from the ground reality over the centuries in this country. The principle ‘Rajadharma’ (or ethical statecraft) and ‘Dharmayudha’ (just war) in Mahabharata; Dhamma diplomacy in Ashokan edicts; and the Mandala Theory of Kautilya are all examples of theorising strategic environments — all feast to the intellect. These philosophies have ever been relevant, but in our contemporaneous challenging times, these are the need of the global order.”
He further underlined, “These are times when we are easily misunderstood. The travesty of it is that when you say these things, hypocritically psychopancy overtakes the traction to denude you of your position by exactly pointing a finger which normally should be pointed towards them. Even the Fabian socialists of the 50s cannot disagree with the direction of the country as we strive to attain. And what do we strive to attain? We are not creating Bharat, it was not born on August 15, 1947.
We only got rid of colonial power ‘सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः, सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः that is our philosophy. May all beings be happy, may all beings be free from illness.”
Pointing out the peace-loving nature of Bharat and it never engaged at any time in its history in expansionism., he stated, “this country has always stood for global peace and harmony and never engaged at any time in its history in expansionism. The contemporaneous global scenario today is alarmingly concerning and also equally worrisome, particularly for peace-loving nations like Bharat”.
Vice President Dhankhar said the road to the country’s rise requires careful treading. “The pathway to Bharat’s rise would require careful trading. There are forces that are determined to make our life difficult. There are forces within the country and outside. These sinister forces, pernicious to our interests, want to strike by dividing us on issues even like language. Which country in the world can take pride of the language richness as Bharat. In parliament, 22 such languages allow and afford opportunity anyone to express in them. It would require many such thinkers to come together and debate and discuss challenges and opportunities and aid policymakers in making right strategic choices”.
“Evolution of policies must take place now with a little more representative character. India’s think tanks, they are available in various formats, different political parties. It is required that there be convergence…the political temperature has to come down. There has to be greater dialogue amongst political parties. I firmly believe we have no enemies in the country. We have enemies outside… enemies within, a small fraction, are rooted to outside forces inimical to Bharat,” he said.
Present on the occasion, former Union Minister and Chairman, Governing Council, India Foundation, Suresh Prabhu, said, “The book offers sharp insights into India’s emerging leadership in a transforming global order. A timely and important contribution to strategic thinking.”
Elaborating on this, he said, “There is one interesting thing that Ram Madhav has mentioned in his book — that anarchy is the new order. It’s a very harrowing thought to have, but that’s the reality. In this new world, anarchy is becoming the new norm, the new normal. And in that, we are interestingly witnessing the demise and decline of two things, the demise of multilateralism, the accepted norms of global governance; and the decline of institutions which can run societies. They are also, if not dead, on their deathbed”.
“Checks and balances, which are so important for making a democratic world work, are also in demise like the institutions that are supposed to protect the rights of the people. One person can decide what they should or should not be doing. We are also seeing the decline of the United States as a world power as a very dominant world power. We are also seeing a decline of liberalism, and simultaneously, the emergence of conservatism”, he said.
Senior Congress leader and Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari while speaking at the book launch said, “there are unprecedented trade tensions across the world triggered by President Trump’s attempt to restructure the international architecture of commerce. The Russia-Ukraine war that began in February of 2022, the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah-Houthi-Iran conflict that broke out in October of 2023, and the rise of China over the past three decades that has attained potential overtones in large parts of the world beyond the immediate Chinese realms in North Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The added dynamic is the latest India-Pakistan standoff, the worst after the Kargil war 26 years ago, and now the US bombing of Iran. Modern strategic thought is essentially an European construct because of the experimentation with ideas and the impulses of colonialism.”
Lauding Ram Madhav for his work, Manish Tewari mentioned that, this work by Ram Madav where he has spelt out the continuity and the departures in our foreign policy as we look towards an uncertain world and an uncertain future is something which is a which is a must-read for any scholar of international affairs and it will help deepen the understanding of people who study international relations who have an interest in strategic affairs.
Author of the book, Ram Madhav on the book launch said, “the world is shifting away from the liberal international order formed post-World War II, and India must reorient its strategy to keep pace. “We are moving away from the international liberal order that was created some 75 years ago. We are entering into a new kind of world,” he said.
He added that international diplomacy must now be grounded in national interest. “In politics and diplomacy, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, there are only permanent interests.”
He also emphasised India’s message to global institutions, saying, “India has told the UN leadership that you are not delivering…you are failing. If you fail, we have to look for other ways…other countries will have to come forward.”
Underscoring India’s diplomatic positioning amid the recent global conflicts, Ram Madhav said, “India is not taking sides, India is working for peace.”
The book by Ram Madhav ‘The New World: 21st Century Global Order in India’ has two parts, Part 1: Anarchy as Order having 11 chapters, including United States: Into the Slow Afternoon, China: The Roaring Dragon, Future Shock: The AI Era and Part 2: Reimagining India has three chapters. The book has an Epilogue: Building Brand Bharat
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