Experts Explain: How India’s main political parties view the world
Will President Joe Biden’s decision to pause the supply of bombs to Israel change the course of the war in Gaza? Does the Ukrainian decision to allow convicts to serve in its armed forces signal a new desperation in the conflict with Russia?
How are India’s political parties gearing up to the challenges of a complex, fractured, but deeply globalised world? Do they have well-defined positions on these issues? As the world becomes increasingly divided along Manichean “cold war” lines, hedging may no longer be an option.
Through most of its history since 1947, India has had a “consensus” and “continuity” on foreign policy. But this common understanding is breaking down. The issue of the Katchatheevu island with Sri Lanka, terrorism from Pakistan, and New Delhi’s position on the crisis in Gaza have caused divides among political parties during the Lok Sabha election campaign. Even on fundamental issues of “strategic autonomy”, “Non-Alignment”, and India’s image abroad, the manifestos of the national parties reflect partisan divisions.
The Weltanschauung
On world view, the divide is clear. The BJP’s manifesto celebrates India’s “civilizational values, thought, wisdom and traditional knowledge”, and seeks to craft policies to further India’s “national interests with the spirit of Vishwa Bandhu and a Bharat First Attitude”. For the BJP, the last decade has witnessed the transformation of India from one of the “fragile five” to one of the top five economies of the world.
The BJP sees India as a trusted global partner, a first responder to global crises, and the voice of the Global South with a deeply connected and empowered diaspora. The world, according to its manifesto, sees India as the mother of democracy. In the future, the BJP government would assert India’s soft power through Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centres around the world, and pioneer International Alliances like the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the One Future Alliance, the Global Biofuels Alliance, and the Big Cat Alliance.
It will also provide the platform of India’s digital infrastructure for the global good.
For the Congress, the BJP has deeply eroded India’s image abroad, and there is a need to “uphold continuity in India’s foreign policy” and to remain rooted in policy “shaped by the freedom movement and developed through the wisdom of visionary leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru”.
The Congress believes its task, if elected, will be to repair India’s international standing which has been hit by the “government’s intolerance of dissent and suppression of human rights”. The Congress also “pledges” to restore India’s global reputation as a voice of peace and moderation, and to follow a policy of “peaceful co-existence, strategic autonomy in thought and action, and increased bilateral engagement”.
The CPI(M) predictably not only stands for a non-aligned foreign policy, but believes that the BJP government “has totally surrendered to US strategic, political and security designs and to strengthen US imperialism’s designs for global hegemony”.
On the neighbourhood
Unfortunately, most political parties have few imaginative policies on the neighbourhood; here the regional parties have emphasised their own domestic agenda.
In a rather thin section, the BJP manifesto argues that it will follow the “Neighbourhood First Policy”, and repeats homilies of the past: “being a trusted and responsible partner in the subcontinent” and “promoting regional cooperation and ensuring stability and prosperity”. It talks about leveraging “the Northeast as a strategic gateway for Bharat’s Act East Policy ensuring connectivity, education, health, economic development and security”.
The Congress speaks in terms of bilateral issues and paying “greater attention to the immediate neighbourhood”. It promises to “re-establish the primacy of our special relationships with Nepal and Bhutan”, “repair relations with Maldives”, “enhance economic and cultural relations between India and Bangladesh”, and “restore the political and commercial relations” with Sri Lanka and resolve “political issues especially with the Tamils”.
On Pakistan, Congress argues that any engagement shall be conditional on Islamabad’s “willingness and ability to end cross border terrorism”.
The CPI(M), in a brief section, seeks to strengthen relations by specifically addressing the issues around “shared resources”. It suggests resuming talks with Pakistan for “the resolution of all outstanding issues” including terrorism, and promote people-to-people relations. Crucially, it seeks to engage with Sri Lanka to negotiate devolution of powers and provide greater autonomy to Tamils in the country.
The CPI reiterates the principle of promoting “good neighbourly relations”, and promises to survey and protect the Indo-Myanmar border.
The DMK’s manifesto shows the overlap between neighbourhood relations and domestic politics. It condemns the “attacks and detention of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Military”, and criticises the government for failing to protect them.
Sri Lankan Tamils are central in the manifesto — the DMK promises that if voted to power, the new Union government shall grant citizenship to the long-camped Tamil refugees, and secure the return of those who wish to go. The much-politicised Kachchatheevu also finds a mention — the DMK pledges “to reclaim Kachchatheevu to ensure India’s security and to protect the welfare of the fishermen”.
The “Didir Shopoth” (Didi’s Pledge) of the Trinamool Congress confronts the BJP on China: “Chinese troops continue to boldly occupy thousands of kilometres of the Indian territory”. It claims that the BJP-led government has failed to deter Chinese construction along the border even after the clash in Galwan in May 2020. The TMC also raises concerns regarding the security of the Siliguri corridor due to the Chinese build-up, and “the Indian mainland’s connectivity to the northeast”.
On Global South
Engagement with the Global South is a long-standing normative principle of Indian foreign policy. Not surprisingly, all parties seek to reiterate the value of Global South solidarity.
The BJP asserts that because of its policies, Bharat has become “the voice of the Global South”, and stresses the Prime Minister’s “5S approach”: Samman (Respect), Samvad (Dialogue), Sahyog (Cooperation), Shanti (Peace), and Samriddhi (Prosperity). It pledges to leverage advances in technology cooperation to improve ties with other developing countries.
With initiatives like setting up a Global Space Academy under the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, and launching a space forum, the BJP aims to extend substantial support to Global South countries in harnessing space technologies for development, thereby positioning Bharat as a “leading space power”.
The Congress, despite plugging the Nehruvian vision in its manifesto, only mentions the Global South for cooperation “to strengthen India’s role in multilateral institutions”.
The communist parties remain consistent and predictable in this domain. The CPM advocates an “independent and non-aligned foreign policy”, and emphasises strengthening cooperation among developing countries to fortify “multi-polarity” in the world order, a position that weaves well into the party’s larger anti-US position. The CPI also emphasises a policy of non-alignment, combined with proactive engagement in “South-South cooperation”.
On the diaspora
India has the world’s largest diaspora, and is the largest recipient of remittances. There is growing recognition of the important role that the diaspora can play in India’s foreign policy calculus. However, only the BJP and Congress have provided the diaspora space in their manifestos, that too marginally.
The BJP has been historically active in engaging the diaspora. Among its achievements it counts the “evacuation and safe return of 1.5+ crore citizens in distress situations”. It promises to strengthen the connection with the diaspora, and involve them “in Bharat’s progress and providing unwavering support during their times of need, thereby enriching our mutual cultural and economic ties”.
In 2004, the Manmohan Singh government had established the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, which the NDA government in 2016 brought under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Congress seeks to re-establish the position of a Minister of State for overseas Indians and provide the diaspora “with a one-stop window to address their concerns”.
The upshot
Despite India’s growing role in the international system and the evolving global order, the manifestos of its major political parties suggest a predominantly inward-looking perspective with a somewhat superficial and thin emphasis on foreign policy and international affairs. Across the partisan divide, there is clearly a preference for articulating broad principles and frameworks to guide foreign policy, rather than delineating firm, committed positions on specific international issues.
Amitabh Mattoo is Dean and Professor, School of International Studies, JNU. Chetan Rana is Associate Editor 9DASHLINE, and a doctoral candidate at SIS, JNU
For an analysis of manifestos of five major parties, click here.
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