India: The foreign policy for the next government

Among the many challenges that the new government will face, one will definitely be foreign policy. The world is going through testing times: The United States is due to pull its troops out of Afghanistan, Russia’s economic clout is receding, West Asia is in turmoil, and the world economy is still in the doldrums. India’s new foreign policy will have to factor in all these and much more before the government comes up with a viable blueprint.
But, more than the West, the next government’s policy trajectory towards the neighbourhood is what will be crucial. Under the UPA, India has made the right steps towards increasing trade and interactions with China. However, New Delhi should be more flexible towards Chinese investments and use its capabilities on our terms. Visits of mid-level officials between the two countries should be given a fillip. This will help in understanding the neighbour and is an investment for the future. It is the small steps, like meeting the demand for India’s soft power, which are important in the long run. Pakistan will remain a problem with no light at the end of that tunnel. With Raheel Sharif, Pakistan’s army chief, reiterating his PM on Kashmir being a ‘jugular vein’, and various terror groups openly threatening to attack India, New Delhi will have to alert and keep its expectations of peace at a realistic level. The arrest of an alleged ISI agent, by the Tamil Nadu Police on April 29, who has named an official of the Pakistan high commission in Colombo, is yet another clear indication that Islamabad is not letting go of its old ways. On the contrary, it is trying to exploit India’s vast coastline, especially the coastal parts of the South. Coastal security should be boosted and the next government must improve ties with Colombo. India and Sri Lanka need to discuss issues like the arrests of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and the democratic rights of the Lankan Tamils. New Delhi should also remove all fears and misunderstanding about the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power project. The next government should not take for granted its goodwill of the administration in Thimpu and should do more to bring stability in Kathmandu. India should also give a more economic thrust to its ties with Myanmar, Maldives and Vietnam.

For long there has been a perception that India’s foreign policy is risk-averse. If India needs to be taken seriously in the comity of nations, this has to change. The next government must come up with a foreign policy that demonstrates a degree of flexibility where required while safeguarding India’s interests.

Kudankulam N-Power Plant: Fearing a necessary evil

With less than three weeks for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) to start production, the protests from the people in and around the reactor is a clear sign that the government has failed to allay their fears of a catastrophe. With India’s energy needs growing by the day, there is no option but to tap into the available energy sources. This, however, should not be at the cost of great environmental damage and human life. Energy generation using nuclear power has always been contentious because of the great dangers it involves. Accidents at nuclear power plants, be it the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster or the Three Mile Island or Chernobyl or the Rawatbhata nuclear plant leak in 2012, have turned the public against this source of energy.

For India, to remain and progress on its economic trajectory, power generation is essential and with a dwindling supply of coal, coupled with the rising prices of oil imports, the government is forced to turn to other sources to meet the ever-growing energy needs. The reliance on alternative sources of cleaner energy have been a failure due to several reasons, like the lack of ideal conditions for tapping wind energy or the government’s failure to give solar power generation the required thrust through incentives and better technology. It is this energy vacuum that nuclear power fills. As noted by MS Swaminathan earlier this year, there was a greater need for better communication between the people and scientists, which to a very great extent will help in removing most of the fears surrounding nuclear power plants. Though prominent personalities in the field of atomic energy, like MR Srinivasan, former Atomic Energy Commission chairman, have been reiterating that KNPP is the ‘safest nuclear plant in the world’, the government has not been able to spread the message successfully.
The protests cannot be overlooked by any government because ensuring the peace and safety of the people is its duty. The allegations that corruption, linked to the Russian firm involved in the construction of KNPP, which is  has led to the procurement of substandard equipment is yet to be addressed to the satisfaction of the local communities that fear the safety of their lives. Through effective communication and by ensuring the highest of safety standards, the government and the people can have a win-win situation. The question is will the government wake up to such a need.