The "Delhi Dogma" fallacy of the right (India's foreign policy and its present approach)

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 The "Delhi Dogma" fallacy of the right (India's foreign policy and its present approach)

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• Master account: India's entire foreign policy was summarised by the MEA S Jaishankar in a lecture recently. He appealed to all to go beyond the "Delhi dogma" that has kept Indian foreign policy constrained till date.
• Critical analysis of the speech:

1. The Minister projected foreign policy of India almost with 2014 as its starting point.
2. Decisions of the past are being seen by him from "today's" luxurious surroundings, ignoring the perils of earlier days.
3. Several mistakes of the past are presented, without presenting the big idea of today's government.

• One example: It was said that taking the Kashmir issue to the UN was a mistake. Assumption made - India could have forcibly thrown out Pakistani forces from J&K princely state, when the Army was commanded by British officers. India may have lost it all - remained a possibility.
• Criticism of non-alignment: In 1950s and 60s, India was beset with multiple challenges and had a weak military.

1. Cold War would have harmed India had it aligned with one pole.
2. Non-alignment was the best, realistic policy for those years, not an idealistic romantic dream.
3. India benefited from both camps (US and USSR).
4. Pakistan sided with the US. What happened to it in the 1965 and 1971 wars?

• We changed it all: The MEA claims that Indian foreign policy is now taking more calculated risks, backing it with strong operational management. Global position of India has seen a quantum jump.

1. So before 2014, India had no global standing?
2. Post 2019 Kashmir, has India's global standing dramatically increased?

• The China factor: India's biggest strategic challenge is China, and MEA criticises Nehru's handling of China in 1962, but offers no hard solutions for today! Only thing seen is tactical management via informal summits, and slowing down the Quad. Does India have a "China policy" today?
• What of RCEP: The MEA rightly claims that 'economic autarky' and 'import substitution' are old dogmas, but then warns about adopting globalisation without cost-benefit analysis. So why was India unable to get a good deal from China, for RCEP?
• Concrete outcomes: The MEA could not offer a list of concrete outcomes of the present government either, but offered a good critique of all that came before 2014. So are "howdy Modi", "Chennai connet" and "JAI" (Japan American India) the only achievement?
• Dogmas: Indeed, dogmas can be bad, because they may find any new approach a 'deviation'. But what about strategic ambiguity, tactical posturing, reactive posturing?
• Hyphenation with Pakistan: The MEA rejects the claims that internationalisation of Kashmir or hyphenation with Pakistan happened. If large domestic support for military containment is an ideal solution, time will tell how it pans out.
• Summary : The External Affairs Minister presented a detailed review of India's foreign policy, which didn't elaborate concrete achievements, but ample criticism of the past.

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