As an Indian who has lived in Germany for around four years and one who has taken intense interest in the working of the consulate, I would beg to differ with the statement that “only artificial changes have happened in the working of our foreign policy initiatives” (“Brick and mortar of foreign policy”, June 12). It was the common refrain of Indians there that the foreign service officials were working — and continue to do so — for the success of government missions and especially the ‘Make in India’ scheme. Countless initiatives to popularise the “Make in India” scheme among the business community were taken. Also, the bond with Indian cultural organisations spread across Europe was strengthened when regular programmes were held to bring all organisations under one umbrella. To this day, consulates spread across world are taking the initiative to ensure the success of International Yoga Day. While this will carve a niche for India, it will also help develop India’s soft power through people-to-people contacts. I believe we are on right track on matters of foreign policy.
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Antariksh Bhardwaj,
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh
India aspires to be a superpower by 2020, but has one of the smallest (and definitely overburdened) foreign services in the world. The inadequacy of its reactive foreign policy is evident from the fact that the last, genuine and innovative grand strategy (and not in bilateral relations) of India was devised by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru — namely the Non Alignment Movement.
India’s population, size, geostrategic location and economy, all demand a more innovative, independent and vocal articulation of its foreign grand strategies. It shouldn’t be one of the ‘swing civilizations’, as Samuel Huntington would say; rather, it should show credibility in its words and follow-up actions.
Swati Singh,
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh