Jaswant Singh - In Service of Emergent India: A Call to Honor

(A free translation)

All your radiance, only that, no more, Raghurai

Not mine, no, not mine.

(Descendant of Raghu)

non nobis Domine non nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam

Not unto us O LORD, not unto us but unto thy name, give glory for thy mercy and for thy truths sake

[Psalm 115:1]

In Him I have put my trust and to Him I turn penitently

Sura Hud Verse 88 (11.88)

Contents

Illustrations follow page 264

This book deserves international attention because of what it tells usabout the authors country, his time in its leadership, and the man himself.Jaswant Singh is a remarkable figure in the annals of diplomacysomeoneof exceptional intellect, integrity, erudition, breadth of experience, andforce of personality.

It is not just a clich but an important fact of our era that India is theworlds largest democracy. It is on its way to becoming the worlds largestcountry as well, since its population, already over 1.1 billion, will, in thecoming decades, surpass that of its neighbor China.

Moreover, as the title of this book asserts, India is indeed emergent.Not very long ago, it was a big country with big problems and a big chipon its shoulder. Its statist economy was largely closed to the world, andit prided itself on its prominent place in the Nonaligned Movement, ananachronism after the end of the Cold War. Indias relationship with theUnited States was frequently described as one of estrangement.

That changed in the 1990s, first with the opening of the economy(thanks largely to the reformist policies of the then finance minister, nowprime minister Manmohan Singh) and then with the adoption of a moreassertive foreign and defense policy. A defining moment came in May of1998, when Indiato the surprise and acute displeasure of the UnitedStates and much of the rest of the worldconducted a nuclear weaponstest in the desert of Rajasthan, blasting its way into a club from whichit had previously been excluded. That club consisted of the five countriesthat also happened to be permanent members of the United NationsSecurity Council. India was putting the world on notice that it intendedto be not just a regional power but a global power as well.

Jaswant Singh was, at that time, an influential figure in the BJP, theprincipal party in the National Democratic Alliance, which governedIndia for six years, from 1998 to 2004. It was during that period thatI came to know him. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee assigned us the task of engaging in a dialogue that was intended to manage our governments disagreement over Indias decisionto test while improving the overall relationship. These goals were obviouslyin some tension with each other.

When we began, Mr. Singh was Mr. Vajpayees deputy on the powerfulPlanning Commission and his principal spokesman on foreign policy(the prime minister himself retained the title and portfolio of minister ofexternal affairs). Over a period of two and a half yearsduring which Iwas deputy secretary of state and Mr. Singh held (sometimes simultaneously)the portfolios of minister of foreign affairs, finance, and defensewe met fourteen times at ten locations in seven countries on three continents.Those encounters added up to the most intense and prolonged setof exchanges ever between American and Indian officials at a level higherthan ambassadors. We were, in effect, sherpas who prepared the way forthe breakthrough summit that President Clinton had with Prime MinisterVajpayee in New Delhi in March 2000.

We were less successful in advancing the cause of nuclear nonproliferation.We might have made more progress had it not been for domestic setbacksand pressures in both our countriesan argument I have made inmy own account of the dialogue.

Insofar as our dialogue made a contribution to the U.S.-Indian relationship,it was largely because of Jaswant Singhs ability to advocate and defendhis governments position while instilling in me and other American officialsa high degree of trust and respect. That brings me to another word inthe subtitle of this book: honor. Even though our dealings were markedby profound and often irreconcilable differences, I found his conduct to be,without exception, honorable. When he told me what he thought he couldaccomplish or deliver, I believed him. When he explained why somethinghe had thought possible turned out not to be, I believed him. Having beena student of diplomacy throughout my career and a practitioner for eightyears, I found him, in this regard, to be a rarity.

I also found him to be someone of unusual intellectual breadth anddepth. Disagreeing with him was (as he liked to put it) not a disagreeableexperience. It was, moreover, often an edifying one for me. I came tounderstand much that I had not known about Indian history and the lingeringeffect of British rule; the complexity of Indian society, culture, andreligion; the ins and outs of Indian politics; and, crucially, Indians adamancyabout their sovereignty.