19 September 2024
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is one of the major foreign policies of Indian diplomacy, alongside the Act East Policy (2014), Neighborhood First Policy (2008), and No First Use Policy (1998). It promotes a global perspective, fosters global harmony, caters to social welfare, and prioritizes the greater good over individual interests, highlighting its importance in today’s polarized world.
What makes a country good in deeds depends neither on the financial help given to neighbors nor on the promises made during diplomatic engagements. Instead, we can say that if a country develops its own strengths in terms of human capital, skill development, political harmony, economic stability, quality education, universal health, and favorable foreign trade terms, it can also contribute to the welfare of neighboring countries. “The one who brings stability within self could see the peace in others’ eyes.”
As of now, India has taken the necessary steps in the foreign policy domain to maintain friendly relations with Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Seychelles, and even Pakistan and China through back-channel diplomacy. Even though India has faced allegations of promoting a Big Brother policy, it has been challenged by China’s String of Pearls doctrine. However, we can observe political instability, debt traps, military coups, terrorism, money laundering, balance of payments crises, and cyberattack issues in neighboring countries. Pakistan is the main hub for terrorism and money laundering and is facing a balance of payments crisis. On international platforms, efforts have been made to place Pakistan on the blacklist by the FATF. In Bangladesh, political instability has been evident, as seen in the recent quota reform movement called the July Revolution. In Myanmar, a military coup was launched in 2021. India has faced challenges from China along the Indo-China borders in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are victims of China’s debt trap and have political conflicts with India due to the interests of their political parties.
“It seems like a dark cloud revolving around our home, and we need to protect ourselves from the expected thunderstorms in the coming future.” The question is: how? How can we deal with it? What are we supposed to do to resolve all conflicts around us at once? Or we can ask: is there any loophole in our actions that we need to address first?
If we give it some thought, the solutions to these kinds of problems are relatively simple but harder to adopt or follow. Firstly, we should promote a rational understanding of the issues and respond accordingly—not based on political propaganda or social media information, but rather with quality human conscience uplifted by practical knowledge and transparent information availability. Secondly, we should invest in inner strength through introspection. But the question is: how? Is it only about focusing on GDP growth, capital formation, research and development, and reducing unemployment rates? Or should we focus on human development, sustainable development, and alleviating poverty and hunger? There is no doubt that all these parameters are important for measuring a country’s growth. What extra mile can we go to achieve the ideal threshold for gaining strength?
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