Modi as Global Mediator: A Pigmy’s Dream to Catch Moon
Narendra Modi continues to nurse the ambition of lifting himself up from the self-appointed position of a global mediator to the authoritarian position of a global arbiter – Vishwa Guru
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest worldwide tour across the United States, Russia and Ukraine, has been given wide coverage by the Indian Foreign Ministry and Modi’s toady media – bolstering up the impression that he is becoming the global mediator to solve all international disputes.
Increasingly facing popular discontent in the domestic sphere because of his failures in solving economic and social problems, Modi is trying to divert popular attention to his so-called claims of achievements in his foreign policy.
But coming down to brass tracks, what has Modi achieved in his foreign policy so far, in living up to his claim as a Global Mediator?
Despite his tango with Biden and Putin, dancing from Washington to Kremlin every now and then, Modi has failed to solve the crisis in Ukraine.
Yet, he continues to nurse the ambition of lifting himself up from the self-appointed position of a global mediator to the authoritarian position of a global arbiter – Vishwa Guru.
What hopes!
His rhetoric in his speeches at the global arena remind me of an ancient Sanskrit saying:
“Bamanashya Chandrabhilash” (A pigmy’s ambition to capture the Moon).
Swayed by left-handed compliments by world leaders whom he hugs, Modi while addressing them indulges in braggadocio, promoting himself as their savior.
Modi’s foreign policy – Changing from Non-Alignment to Double-Alignment
During the Nehruvian era, and later under the UPA regime, India followed an independent policy of non-alignment that kept it away from involvement with conflicts between the then two rival super-powers, the Soviet Union and the United States.
India never joined any multi-regional group sponsored by either of these two super-powers. It did not become a member of the US-patronized SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization).
Instead, it played an active role in carving out an alternative strategy by bringing together South Asian states in the neutral platform of NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) in 1961.
Still later, India collaborated with other states in the region in forming SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) in 1985. Not aligned with either of the super-powers, India aimed at helping each other on economic and political issues.
In sharp contrast to this courageous stand of an independent position regarding relations with foreign powers, Modi has given up that traditional policy of non-alignment in favour of an opportunist policy of double-alignment– cringing before Washington and Moscow begging at the same time for favours from both. He descended to such a depth as to go to the US some time ago to campaign for Trump in the presidential elections there.
Modi depends on Russia for oil, and on the US for military armaments (which are easily available, unlike the delay in the delivery of such armaments by Russia due to bureaucratic hassles). Modi thus keeps Biden placated, and the US military-industrial complex has agreed to allow him to import Russian oil as long as he serves their interests, while in the cases of other such importing countries Washington has imposed sanctions.
As a part of this strategy of double-alignment, Modi is acting as a servile agent of both the rival camps. He has joined Quad (which is patronized by the US). At the same time, he has joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (which has been formed under the auspices of Russia, China and their allies). He is acting as a double agent for the rival super-powers – visiting alternately Washington and Kremlin, and reporting to Biden and Putin the behind-the-scenes news that he collects from each of the countries.
This is a far cry from our days of Non-Alignment, when we steered clear of membership of any such organization dominated by super-powers.
Modi’s ambivalent stand on Ukraine and Gaza
Till now Modi has failed to articulate a coherent policy on the two wars that are raging in Ukraine and Gaza. By hugging Putin in Moscow and Zelynski in Kiev, he gives the impression that he is the best arbiter in their conflict – without coming up with any concrete proposal. He cannot afford to offend Putin by openly condemning his aggression in Ukraine, as otherwise he will lose Moscow’s commercial and armaments deals.
Modi’s position on the war in Gaza is even worse. While urging for an end to the Palestine-Israel conflict, he keeps on sending armaments and weapons to Israel, and offering Indian labourers to Israel to replace the Palestinian workers who have left that country in the wake of the war. He is thus sustaining Tel Aviv’s war efforts.
In the course of such self-contradictory moves in his strategy of double-alignment, Modi is eventually reducing himself to a clown in global scene. At international summits, he receives left-handed compliments from global heads of states, which he gulps down, incapable of realizing that at the brass tracks, they do not take him seriously. Forget his presumptuous claim of being a decisive force in global politics, he is regarded not even as a marginal factor.
Modi’s attempts to boost his ambitious international image for the domestic audience
Unable to make any mark in the international scene, Modi has been trying to compensate for that failure by promoting himself through hosting a few global summits in New Delhi.
The two-day G-20 conference in September 2023 was one such attempt. It was an extravaganza of sorts – with streets decked up, buildings illuminated, microphones blaring songs.
The scale of its organization was reminiscent of the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 held under Hitler’s auspices. Hitler wanted to bedazzle the foreign spectators with his image as a sports-friendly peaceful ruler, hiding his ulterior motives that were to unfold in the years that followed.
Following a similar pattern of publicity, and in an attempt to catch worldwide attention, Modi tried to promote his image as a peaceful ruler at home, and a friendly ally abroad through the G-20 Summit.
But for all practical purposes, it ended in a whimper, with the usual press statement marked by bombastic rhetoric, which all the participants knew were for public consumption without any serious intent to carry out the promises announced from the summit.
However, although the much-publicized G-20 Summit in Delhi did not have any impact on global politics, it was exploited by Modi and his toady media in Indian domestic politics to bolster up his image as an international figure who attracted foreign leaders. It figured in Modi’s campaign on the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections – which swayed a large part of the educated elite in favour of this fictitious claim of his, and they voted for him.
Also Read: Why PM Modi’s concern about Bangladeshi Hindus has no takers?
But the question now is – Will the diversion of public attention from the domestic problems to Modi’s international image of a Vishwa Guru (manufactured by the Godi media) work in his favour?
How long will the Indians remain mesmerized by his so-called achievements abroad, while at home they find him as a failure – a Prime Minister who throughout his three terms had miserably failed to solve their problems in the midst of high inflation, growing unemployment, suicides by starving farmers?
[The writer, Sumanta Banerjee, is a political commentator and writer. She is the author of 'In The Wake of Naxalbari’ (1980 and 2008), 'The Parlour and the Streets: Elite and Popular Culture in 19th Century Calcutta' (1989) and ‘Memoirs of Roads: Calcutta from Colonial Urbanization to Global Modernization’. (2016). Views expressed in this article are personal and author's own.]
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