The New Indian Express ·
The limits of grandstanding in diplomacy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discourse on the war in Ukraine while on a visit to Bishkek last week probably had its desired effect of drawing international attention to India’s self-projection as an independent power centre in an increasingly multipolar world. There was a deliberateness in Modi’s attempt as he front-loaded his remarks that were caught on camera during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
The relevant extracts of what Modi stated are: “Every day that the [Ukraine] war continues, humanity takes a step backwards; yet every step towards peace gives humanity real hope. We must move from endless war to the end of war, to the cessation of hostilities. And we must move in precisely this direction. This is crucial for all of humanity. We must resolve all problems through peaceful means; the entire world demands this. And this is India’s message, among others: India is the country of Gandhi, the country of Buddha—that is our message.”
The contrast couldn’t have been sharper, insofar as Putin made no references whatsoever in his opening remarks to Ukraine and almost entirely focused on a positive resumption of the Russian-Indian bilateral relations, as is customary for such occasions; whereas Modi devoted almost half of his remarks to the war in Ukraine. Unless this was a pre-arranged pantomime between the two leaders, which is of course a preposterous thought, Putin would have been taken aback by the tone and substance of what Modi said.
