Decoding: Modi Sarkars Diplomacy

-Arpit Goel
2014 is no doubt, one of the most significant year for the books of Indian history. After the
benchmark victory of BJP at Lok Sabha elections and instituting Mr. Narendra Modi as the 15th
prime minister of India, has proved the theory of one man army to the rest of the world. The end
of 2014 as a year and the middle of Narendra Modis first year as Prime minister is an
opportunity to compare his substance governance and foreign policies. His administration has
promised no compromises and therefore his initiatives have a mixed range of social and
economic factors. But in the midst of all such things one starts to question the real face of BJP?
And why is Modi stressing our foreign policies at such an early stage? And ponder that whether
India will roll its good time or not?
Modis vision has included new vision for India and has elements like Make in India, which will
increase the share of manufacturing sector to 25%, creating employment and job profile in country.
For this 25 sectors have been selected, to bring about greater speed and greater depth to foreign
policy matters, thus attracting more foreign direct investments and FII to the country. In pursuing
the goal of industrialization, Modi has shed some of the ideological elements of third-worldism
and non-alignment, which were the signature of the previous government. His reigns decisive
foreign affairs decision has changed the international perception of citizens, this change can be
seen through the relations between India and US and Pakistan. Though the ardent outcome
between the china and Japan is still ambiguous, its the style between Modi government and
previous government which needs to be discussed:
JAPAN
Japan has made that clear that it wants to expand its business ties with India under Modi led
government. Japan has been pursuing India under UPA led government, under which it signed a
bilateral Free Trade agreement not only to enjoy economic gains but also to check Chinas
influence in the country. Although India-Japan relations have strengthened consistently since
1952, it was India Look East Policy which brought about a change in our functioning. Indian
foreign policy also changes minimally from government to government, the Look East policy
that began in 1991 for example was vigorously followed by the NDA in its first stint in power
(1998 2004) and then by the UPA in the subsequent decade.
Surprisingly Modis relations with Japan have always been on a good side-from when he was the
CM of Gujarat and it was Modis visit in 2014 which cemented this relation further. Sticking to
his 'Make in India' slogan, Modi gave an open invitation to Japanese companies to consider India
as a 'competitive low-cost manufacturing hub. At response by Mr. Shinzo Abe to his counterpart
Mr. Modi that Japan aims to double its direct investment in India in five years from $2 billion
and will help in pledging financial support for building infrastructure in India.

US
Although India-U.S. have signed the nuclear agreement way back in 2005, under the reign of
UPA govt., it remained passive about implementing the deal. The Modi government has so far
not be able to implement any nuclear agreements between the countries but as signaled the
importance of good relations between both the countries. Exactly a year ago, the arrest of Indian
diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York had threatened to derail the ties along with the antiIndia campaign launched by the influential US corporate sector. The relationship - for which
successive governments in the two countries had worked hard for over a decade - had come to a
standstill in the first half of the year, but it was Modis intensified interactions which made
Obama to accept the republic day invitation.
The main importance lies in the fact that India needs U.S. investment and access to its
technology. Also good relations with the U.S. also usually translate into good relations with its
allies such as Australia, Japan and west European countries, which in turn bring strategic support
and increased investments from all these countries. The fact of Washington influence in
Islamabad is established and the increased support will reduce the pressure from China.
Russia
Indian foreign policy in the Modi era seems to largely be free of the shackles of Nehruvian nonalignment thinking. While Modi dynamically engaged Indias South Asian neighbors, China,
Japan, the United States, and even ASEAN, we only caught a slight glimpse of Indias approach
toward Russia in the Modi era toward the end of the year. Although Indo-Russia relations have
always been on a good side beginning from 1970 when the two countries converged for cold war.
Although its not the first meeting of Narendra Modi with Putin, they have earlier met at BRICS
summit and G-20, Formers Indias trip was a decision to amalgamate the dispute and relations
between both the countries. Both the countries have signed several international treaties, with
Russia assisting India in setting up further nuclear reactors in country. Other than hydropower
and defense deals, Putin has also promised that Russia-Pakistan deals will not hamper any
relations with India.
Pakistan
Modi took the first initiative toward Pakistan by inviting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his
much awaited swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, and later by calling off high-level talks when
Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basits meeting with separatists clearly disregarded a
manipulation from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. In contrast, the previous government
under congress control always sought to maintain a dialogue with Islamabad-often under
pressure from Washington, Modi has implemented a policy of strong military retributionrather

than mere condemnation and exhortationto provocative acts on the border, and he virtually
isolated a domestically diminished Pakistan at the recent SAARC Summit.
Thank You