Foreign Policy is a matter most of us don’t pay much attention to, but will lament that our Government is not doing much to take care of the interests of our citizens. This is a queer thought process. Lack of understanding of the basics and putting the blame on the obvious object when something goes wrong. Foreign policy is the self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. It
provides the framework, values, and principles that govern the conduct
of foreign relations of a country with the rest of the world. Foreign policy is more than what our ambassadors are engaged in.
National interest is primarily the interests of the citizens. Foreign policy
aims at the ability to protect territorial integrity, to
successfully persuade others to agree to one’s point of view in matters
of (Indian) national interest, preserving peace,
and promoting justice globally.
India has neglected Chanakya, probably on the secular ground or on the Nehruvian zeal to ape the west, since he was convinced that anything ancient in our nation was worthless. Arthashastra is relevant to all times. We have to be proud of him and should have adopted his methodologies and ideas. Chanakya assessed that at least one neighbour of a country will be a ‘natural enemy.’ It is abundantly clear that Pakistan and China, going by their track record, have treated India as their ‘natural enemy.’ India has to take note of this fact. It will be foolish to continue to believe in the Nehruvian way that it is possible to charm Pakistan and change its behavior.
The world is changing without a stop. The US is declining, though it will remain numero uno on economic and political fronts for a while in the future. The European Union is in doldrums. China is rising and but we still have concerns on the economic impact and the political consequence of it. The alliance between China and Pakistan will remain firm as long as China is seen as a formidable power. It will be in India’s interest that the US has a large military presence in East Asia so that China is kept in check and prevented from causing trouble at the border. A permanent seat on the Security Council is India’s right, wrongfully given to China due to Nehruvian political largesse.
