Sreeram Sundar Chaulia - Modi Doctrine: the Foreign Policy of Indias Prime Minister

MODI DOCTRINE

Modi Doctrine

The Foreign Policy of Indias Prime Minister

Sreeram Chaulia

First published in India 2016

2016 by Dr. Sreeram Sundar Chaulia

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To Team India, which has to
play a long innings in the global arena

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indias foreign policy has grown more dynamic and proactive. During his two years in office, there are many landmark achievements and developments which have transformed Indias global positioning. His outreach efforts in every corner of the globe have laid a strong foundation for furthering Indias economic, strategic and cultural interests. The clarity of his vision, the resoluteness of his determination, the amicableness of his style and the speed of his actions on the global stage have been exceptional in both content and form. A new lease of life has been enthused in Indias foreign policy.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Modi effect is also being felt in multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the G20, the Climate Change regime, and the global trade system, where India is today seen as an important actor with a potential to be a major power and a problem-solver. On all the big crises facing the international community, such as terrorism, armed conflicts, environmental degradation and economic shocks, Mr. Modi has been visible in trying to unite fellow world leaders and forge a common front. By expanding Indias friendships and partnerships with key countries in different regions of the world, he has offered new hope of peace, stability and economic prosperity.

India is a vast nation with a young, talented population that has high aspirations and dreams. Mr. Modi considers himself the repository of these hopes and has adopted the central agenda of economic development and empowerment of his people. He is purposefully pursuing a foreign policy that serves Indias domestic transformation. According to a report by the New York-based Moodys Investors Service in April 2016, net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India hit an all-time high under Mr. Modis able stewardship, reflecting Indias relatively strong growth prospects and government efforts to liberalise foreign investment regulation.

This milestone has been attained largely due to the new energy shown by Mr. Modi in his foreign policy and his stress on improved governance within India. His personal touch and amazing ability to persuade and convince foreign investors and government leaders to come and Make in India are the main reasons why India is continuing to have high GDP growth even as many other emerging economies are struggling. The contrast in economic prospects between India and other members of the BRICS grouping shows that any nation can rise to the top provided it has the right political leadership and direction.

Mr. Modi is viewed as a man who is singlehandedly improving Indias image and profile through a combination of commercial diplomacy, diaspora connectivity and strategic relationship-building with regional powers. The humungous commitments of FDI that have emanated from sovereign wealth funds based in the Gulf is a vote of confidence in Mr. Modis abilities to convert the potential of India into a reality. The fact that Gulf nations are now cooperating closely with India to counter radicalization and terrorism shows a new degree of confidence that the region has in Mr Modi as an indispensable partner.

One of the specialties which sets apart Mr. Modis foreign policy is his incredible popularity among the millions of Indians across the world. Be it the IT professionals in Silicon Valley, the Indian students in Australia, the migrant workers in Dubai or the large Indian community in London across the Indian diaspora he has unleashed a new sense of pride in being Indian. These migrant Indians are the human bonds that intimately tie India to the world. Mr. Modi has been a wonderful champion of his diaspora. His policies towards enhancing their welfare and tapping into their talent have been both imaginative and long overdue. In a short time, he has built a new constituency for India, in every corner of the world, wherever an Indian is settled.

As a global investor with a base in the Middle East and Singapore, I feel proud of the way Mr. Modi has galvanised the diaspora to give back to India and to reconnect with our homeland with a sense of mission and purpose. His trademark domestic and foreign policy initiatives are profoundly impacting on NRIs and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI). No previous Indian leader has done so much for the diaspora and I feel that Mr. Modi is a trailblazer whose efforts in mobilising NRIs and OCIs will go down in history as a milestone.

In the sphere of international security, Mr. Modi has also shown a willingness to move beyond traditional Indian reluctance and engage in defence diplomacy and cooperation with partner nations. The contribution of India in evacuating stranded citizens of several countries from Yemen in close coordination with the Government of Saudi Arabia has been one of Mr. Modis accomplishments. The capacity of India to engage in rescue diplomacy is a big asset for the world. As the head of the nationalistic think tank, India Foundation, which advocates for a robust foreign policy to take India to its designated place in the world, I am vindicated by Mr. Modis overseas successes.

It is therefore a delight to be writing the Foreword to this book, which captures all the major facets of Mr. Modis foreign policy. This is the first full-length book outlining Indias international relations in the Modi era. The author, Dr. Sreeram Chaulia, is a talented young scholar who has come to prominence as an astute observer and commentator on Indias role in the world. His numerous academic and popular writings and television appearances have educated audiences on finer aspects of foreign policy and statecraft. This book is a testament to his intellectual prowess on a worthy topic that is of massive contemporary relevance. A great civilisation of Asia like India needs positive messaging and action at the helm. Dr. Chaulias book goes into detail to make the case that Mr. Modi is the need of the hour and the man of the moment that India requires and the world expects.