Delhi Declaration is a Testimony to India’s Global Counter-Terrorism Efforts

India recently hosted the UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting. The two-day meeting which concluded in New Delhi on October 29^th is the first meeting of the UNSC, in any format held in India. Being the worst victim of cross-border terrorism, India has always been at the forefront of leading the counter-terrorism movement.

UNSC resolution 1373 unanimously approved the establishment of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (UNCTC) on 28^th September 2001 in the wake of 9/11. India chaired the committee for the first time in 2011 and over a decade later, became the Chair of CTC in January 2022. Debunked as a non-issue, terrorism as a threat to national and global security hit the West only after 9/11 attacks. India chose Mumbai as the venue for the inauguration of the meeting to draw the World’s attention to the dastardly attacks that killed 166 people which included 26 foreigners belonging to 23 countries.

The global fight against terrorism assumed its present proportions after Al-Qaeda’s attack on the New York twin towers. But the fight lost its significance after the US tactically inked an agreement with the terrorist group Taliban and lent it political legitimacy. Indeed, the two-decade-long protracted war ended in a dubious surrender and return of a terrorist regime to the region which has been precariously bearing the brunt of the terrorism.

The UNCTC meeting has come at a time when China for the fifth time in four months stalled the proscription of five Pakistani terrorists who engineered terror attacks against India. The well-intentioned sanctions regime against terrorists is being successively rendered ineffective by UNSC member states for political reasons. The glaring lack of consensus has plagued the global fight against terrorism, a scourge on mankind.

In addition, nations thus far have failed to arrive at the definition of terrorism. By labeling them as ‘good vs bad terrorist’ or ‘my vs your terrorist’ ¹and by providing a smokescreen to them under the charade of human rights, nations have seriously impeded the international fight against terrorism.  

The human rights angle has viciously diluted global combat against terrorism. By drawing parallels to the racial/ethnically motivated extremism as a form of terrorism (REMVE), the European countries and the US, where this kind of violent acts are a core domestic issue, have undermined the serious fight against terrorism¹. Unlike terrorism, the violence pertaining to racial extremism is restricted to certain pockets and not global. Even the 2022 Global Terrorism Index points out that politically motivated attacks are on the rise while terrorism declined².

In their penchant to take on the rising right-wing nationalism and to be politically right, motivated attacks are now simply white-washed as “provocation acts”. Prioritizing domestic issues, barring a few attempts to neutralize high-profile terrorist leaders, the US is narrowing its focus on terrorism even as UN reports warn of burgeoning terror attacks in Asia and Africa.

Subsequently, driven by domestic motivations, Member States began to include “violent nationalism”, “right-wing extremism”, “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism”, and “xenophobia” under the ambit of the global counter-terrorism strategy (GCTS)³. Obviating the cardinal belief of terrorism has no religion, the 28^th para of the 7^th review of GCTS passed by UNGA stated, “recognises with deep concern the overall rise in instances of discrimination, intolerance and violence, regardless of the actors, directed against members of religious and other communities in various parts of the world, including cases motivated by Islamophobia, antisemitism, Christianophobia and prejudice against persons of any other religion or belief”⁴.

With the inclusion of “Abrahamophobia” in the GCTS, the UN has effectively diluted the global fight against terrorism and justified terror. This implicit bigotry in terms of characterizing the motivation for terror has stifled the collective combat against terrorism.

India which was elected to the UNSC for the two-year term for the eighth time in 2021 focussed on three issues- terrorism, maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, and Protection of the UN Peace Keeping Forces. During the month-long presidency in August 2021, India held two open debates including one on terrorism titled, “Threats to International Peace and security caused by terrorist acts” where India proposed an 8-point plan action plan or cardinal rules for countering terrorism in the wake of the return of the Afghan Taliban to power.

Subsequently, to enhance the role of CTC and strengthen the multilateral responses to combat terror, India voted in favour of the renewal of the mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) till the end of 2025 in December 2021. CTED assists CTC by conducting visits on CTC’s behalf to assess Member States’ shortfalls and counterterrorism efforts and cater to technical assistance needs.

India has always consistently supported global counter-terrorism efforts. Taking over as the Chair of Counter-terrorism this year, India’s permanent representative to the UN, Tirumurti flagged the new challenges posed by the misuse of emerging technologies for terrorism and urged nations to strengthen the global counterterrorism strategy (GCTS). 2022 Global Terrorism Index also noted, “As technology has advanced so has its use by terrorist groups. This includes missiles and drones, which extend the reach of their attacks and reduce their casualties. Affordable smartphones, social media and encryption are other technologies that also extend their networks, making the spread of propaganda and recruitment easier”.

Certainly, the lack of political consensus prevailed as a major drag, with Member States unable to assess what constitutes radicalization. Determined to fight the menace, India painstakingly held months of negotiations and put in place the Delhi declaration. The declaration is essentially a summary of India’s proposal and framework to address terrorism. Unequivocally, reiterating “zero tolerance” towards “all forms and manifestations of terrorism”, India managed to extract a non-binding commitment from Member States to end terrorism.

At the Mumbai leg of the UNSC-CTC meeting, not naming Pakistan, India played a clip of Sajid Mir who engineered the 26/11 blasts vindicating its position. Earlier, China used a technical hold to stall his designation under the UNSC 1267 committee. With the Afghan Taliban in power and Pakistan exiting the FATF grey list, India’s highlighted the precarious state of affairs in the subcontinent.

Turning commitment into action, India brought out some guidelines to extricate terrorism which is rapidly extending its reach and capabilities through the use of new technologies. Voicing concerns at the special session, EAM Jaishankar said, “Internet and social media have turned into potent instruments in the toolkit of terrorist and militant groups for spreading propaganda, radicalisation and conspiracy theories aimed at destablising societies”⁵.

Notwithstanding the setbacks and lack of support, India rolled out a framework and essential guidelines to protect civilised societies from the menace of terrorism. The meticulously worked out “Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes” reaffirms, “terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security” and adds, “that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever, and by whomsoever committed”.

The Declaration exhorted Member States that ignored the perils of terrorism pandering to domestic constituencies, “to ensure zero tolerance towards terrorism, consistent with their obligations under international laws, including human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugees law”. It noted with concern the use of the internet, social media platforms, other communication and communication technologies, financial technologies, and crowdfunding platforms, to recruit, indoctrinate and radicalise people.

Cognizant of the close links between drug and arms trafficking the declaration acknowledged the misuse of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), drones, and quadcopters that increased the accessibility of both drugs and weapons at a very low cost. Fostering innovation, the declaration urges States to prevent their use by non-state actors for terror acts and develop counter-terrorist narratives and innovative technologies while respecting international law.

Recognising the work of FATF’s work on virtual assets and virtual assets service providers (VASP), in monitoring payment services, and discharge of anti-money laundering measures, the declaration called upon the watchdog to improve the global implementation of counter-terrorist financial measures. Concomitantly, the declaration even called on States to enhance the traceability and transparency of financial transactions and encouraged financial intelligence services to develop effective partnerships with financial service providers, social media agencies, to trace the sources and methods of financing terrorism⁶.

Underscoring the importance of curbing terror financing and the role played by watchdog FATF, Indian intelligence agencies briefed that in 2018, when Pakistan was grey listed, there was a 75% decline in terrorist bases on Pakistani territory. India experienced “a window of relative peace”. With the removal of Pakistan from the grey list after four years, terror bases already increased by 50%⁷ and India is expecting “scalable attacks on hard targets”.

The declaration urged the Member States to fulfill the obligations enshrined under international counterterrorism conventions and took a dig at countries that have made “terrorism a state-sponsored enterprise”. It appealed to states to identify safe havens and deny terrorist access to them and bring to “justice anyone who supports, facilitates, participates or attempts to participate in financing, planning, preparation or commission of terror acts including in providing safe havens in accordance with domestic and international laws”.

To aid capacity building, India contributed half a million USD to UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism. The UN has unanimously adopted the landmark Delhi Declaration in countering terrorism. Open societies in particular are bearing the brunt of terrorism with non-state actors using the ethos of open societies to attack their freedom, tolerance and progress. A clickbait liquidation of top terrorist leaders can never decimate terrorism which thrives on a noxious ideology.

Terrorist attacks on Iran’s Shiraz shrine, Somalia car bombing during the summit and a failed suicidal bombing in Coimbatore, India, a fortnight ago suggest that concerted international coordination is a must to dismantle safe havens of terror, training grounds, and financial, ideological as well as political support structures.

Countering terrorism is a major foreign policy decision of India. Slated for a month-long UNSC presidency in December, India is all set to rally for collective international support to combat terror.

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Rishi Sunak is the Man for the Season. Premature to Rejoice About his Elevation

The anointment of Rishi Sunak as the Prime Minister of the UK has generated a palpable euphoria in India. Though this is not the first time that people of Indian Origin or Indian roots have occupied the highest constitutional positions in foreign lands, fierce political mudslinging over the status of minorities in India once again dominated the social media and mainstream media. Sunak’s credentials as a practicing Hindu and his unapologetic display of symbolism have exacerbated these vengeful debates that attempted to portray India as a majoritarian.

Unfortunately, clouded by woeful amnesia even as critics continue to launch political tirades the decade-long leadership of Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul Kalam as the President, and Sonia Gandhi as the head of the National Advisory Council of India are thankfully etched in chronicles of history to hold a mirror to perpetrators of bigoted narratives. The elevation of Rishi Sunak with his ancestral origins in one of the vassal states of the former Colonial Empire to lead it is certainly a momentous occasion. This remarkable feat coinciding with the Hindu festival of lights on the 75^th year of India’s independence has made it doubly significant.

Indeed, the nomination of Indian-origin Sunak as the leader of the Conservative Party months after India pushed the UK to become the fifth-largest economy is a real heart burn for some hardcore traditionalists. Against this opposition, the elevation of Sunak is certainly a huge leap forward in terms of breaking the shackles of class and race in modern society.

While Sunak’s rise to power was celebrated as the virtuosity of liberal democracy, he had to survive the skulduggery and backstabbing of the Tory leaders. He narrowly lost to Elizabeth Truss in the fifth round of the earlier party elections for the coveted post. Despite the critiques churning out tomes on “Fishy Rishi” and “Rishi Rich,” his elevation is certainly a recognition of talent in a race and class-obsessed society. The implosion of Trussonomics underscored the maladies afflicting the recession hit the UK economy. Bereft of alternatives, the business ecosystem rallied for Sunak.

Banking on his talent, competence, and extensive experience in markets, conservative MPs reposed faith in him. Hopeful of the economy getting back on track, the markets responded positively to his appointment. The markets have calmed down after the disastrous non-funded tax cuts of Truss. There are now some signs of economic stability.

Sunak’s commitment to pulling the economy out of inflation firmly bolstered his candidature as the best candidate for the job. His fiscal relief packages as Chancellor of the Exchequer during Covid despite their flaws were well received. Especially the “Eat Out to Help Out” was an instant hit and the hospitality sector profusely thanked him for rescuing them during the Covid. Fiscal conservatism, the defining rubric of his approach is now deemed a dire necessity to rescue the recession-hit economy.

Perceived as a non-ideologue with a laudable stint as a Chancellor, the conservative MPs picked him for the top job. Consequently, his origins became “incidental” and the leftist penchant to pick on him as “richer than the royals” had to bite the dust.

With five prime ministers in six years and a third prime minister in the past three months, the UK is reeling under political instability. The fractious infightings of the Conservative Party with a record high majority since 1987 were out in the open. Aside from political rifts, Sunak must brace for major challenges- surging inflation, protests, health crisis, and war in Europe. The task at hand for Rishi Sunak is clearly cut out.

Enlisting his priorities, in his inaugural address, the new Prime Minister said, “I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda”.  Promising to earn the trust not with his words but with actions, in a veiled dig at hardcore Boris Johnson’s loyalists, he said, “I know he (Boris) would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual, it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us”¹.

At the helm of affairs managing a weakened economy amid geopolitically turbulent times, the enormity of challenges before Sunak is daunting. The burden of expectations is sky-high. With people’s eroding confidence in Conservative Party, Sunak must plod a difficult terrain of being compassionate towards the poor and not make tough decisions that can affect their living standards.  Labour party is quickly gaining ground. To strike a balance, Sunak is betting on the continuity of the policy of his predecessor.

Brexit has weakened the UK- economically and strategically. It is no longer part of Europe. Dependent on the US for support at the multilateral forums, the UK has deeply entrenched itself in the Western camp. Indeed, while the UK does not suffer from any direct threats from Russia, it has strongly backed Ukraine to be part of Western security systems. In fact, the UK is now the second largest military donor of Ukraine after the US. In keeping with its commitment, immediately after his inauguration, Sunak d up Ukrainian President Zelensky and pledged support.

After the US reluctance for an FTA, to bolster the economic fortunes, Boris Johnson placed his bets on India-UK FTA and pragmatically set Diwali deadline. The Party gate scandal crashed all his plans. Further, ‘Indian migrants overstay’ remark by Home Secretary Suella Braverman further dampened the prospects of an FTA. Stating that the open border migration policy with India is against the objectives of Brexit, Braverman kicked up a storm. Shortly after her controversial statements, Braverman resigned for committing a “technical infringement” which subsequently led to the fall of the Truss government.

Prospects of India-UK FTA brightened after Sunak formed the government. But by bringing back Braverman as the Home Secretary, Sunak who voted for Brexit, propped up anti-migrant stance. Migration has been a contentious issue and a major roadblock for India-UK economic cooperation since 2016.  PM Theresa May’s had to return empty-handed despite her charm offensive due to her restrictive migration policies.

For India, FTA makes real sense only if includes the movement of skilled workers to make up for the shortage of skills in the UK. Given, Braverman’s opposition to FTA with India over migration, the chances of FTA are now anybody’s guess. India welcomed Braverman’s induction born to a Goan father and a Tamilian mother into the Truss cabinet due to her Indian connection. She even attributed the Leicestershire attacks on Hindus to migration.

Similarly, Indians and people of Indian origin around the world rejoiced over the elevation of Rishi Sunak as the youngest Prime Minister of UK in the last 200 years for his Indian connections. This joy and celebration now seem to be premature and short-lived. While the chances of FTA are rather slim, India can certainly take forward the initiatives of defense and security cooperation.

Clearly beholden to the power brokers and influential conservative party leaders, Sunak will be forced to follow the party policies to the T. With so much hullabaloo about his Indian linkages he will be forced to prove that he is a more loyal Brit. Given the set of turbulent conditions, Sunak will be expected to uphold the interests of Britain more than ever and be tough towards India if need be.

Sunak is heading the country which needs a structural revamp- politically, socially, and economically. The UK is going through one of the weakest phases with even Scotland seeking either independence or greater autonomy. Any misstep or a tough decision can bolster Scottish Nationalist Party’s quest for independence.

Bequeathed a crown of thorns, Sunak was nominated by the Conservation Party to lead the country through the economic mess. By elevating Sunak, despite his race, Britain will symbolically use this card to flaunt its liberal values. Sunak is the man for this season with insurmountable tasks to accomplish.

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Modi’s Fronting of Temple Reclamation and Redevelopment Spurs a New Cultural Churn

Donning a hand-made ‘Chola Dora’ gifted by women from Himachal’s Chamba for Kedareshwar darshan besides keeping up the promise of wearing it in a cold region, Prime Minister Modi forged a ‘special connect’ with the pahadis of Uttarakhand during his two-day visit to the region. Etched with fine embroidery work of swastika and mor pankh on the back, the symbols had a special message to signify. Of late, Western intellectuals have deceitfully abused swastika as the Hakenfrauz, the hooked cross of Nazi Germany. Hindus in America fought tooth and nail against the criminalization of the most auspicious swastika. By proudly flaunting a swastika, Modi has paralyzed the orchestrated campaign of its portrayal as a hate symbol.

The global ‘Hinduphobia’ is rearing its ugly fangs offering cover to targeted attacks against Hindus using the faux distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva. Several states in the US -California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, and Massachusetts declared October as “Hindu Heritage Month” recognising the great contributions of Hinduism. New York schools have announced a holiday for Diwali.  Concomitantly, the blatant anti-Hindu Teaneck Democrats Resolution pandering to Muslims warns of the burgeoning rise of ‘Hinduphobia’.

Amid these threats, the Indian government’s inadequate holding up has caused some valid disappointment.  Indeed, even Hindus in India, the supposed numerical majority share similar frustration with the current dispensation cliched as “Hindu Nationalist government”. This displeasure is exacerbated by the government’s inability in bringing out concrete legislation that safeguards their rights, temples and institutions. Instead of constitutional remedies, Prime Minister Modi is going all guns blazing by pushing the idea of a ‘New India’. Rooting this idea by internationalising Yoga as an Indian Knowledge System, Modi has laid the ground in the first term. Swiftly changing gears, in the second term, the Modi government began making an accelerated push for cultural revivalism.

Modi kickstarted cultural rejuvenation by laying the foundation stone of Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Vistarikaran and Soudaryakaran Yojana on March 19^th, 2019 and stated “this project will become a model for similar projects elsewhere, and would give a new global identity to Kashi”¹. Inaugurating the renovated temple corridor over two years later, Modi highlighted, “the new complex of Vishwanath Dham is not just a grand building. It is a symbol of the Sanatana culture of India. It is a symbol of our spiritual soul. This is a symbol of India’s antiquity, traditions, energy and dynamism. At the Vishwanath Dham complex, we can see a glimpse of how antiquity and novelty are coming alive together, how the inspirations of the ancient are giving directions to the future”².

The underlying spirit and yearning desire for bringing about cultural revivalism were pregnant in Modi’s address. In fact, he reiterated a similar thought at the propitious Bhoomi Pujan of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya in August 2020. Expressing delight over the Ram Janma Bhoomi becoming free “from centuries old-chain of destruction and resurrection”, he said, the temple “will symbolise our eternal hope. It will epitomise our national feeling. The temple will be the emblem of the collective willpower of millions of people. This shrine would inspire hope, devotion, and determination in the minds of future generations”³.

In fact, while each of these events certainly made a mark in terms of the optics and yielding political currency, the consistent attempts, and a conviction to restore past glory to these places of immense spiritual and religious significance were undeniable. Unveiling the statue of Adi Shankara Statue at Kedarnath in 2021, Modi who always took a special interest in building back Kedarnath, post devastating 2013 floods, remarked, “people who used to come here used to say that will this, our Kedar Dham, stand up again? But my inner voice was saying that it will stand with more pride than ever before”⁴.

By installing the statue of Adi Shankaracharya who steered the renaissance of Sanatana Dharma, Modi not only resurrected the tradition but attempted to restore the glory of the Jyotirling. His spiritual voyage to Kedarnath Dham and overnight stay in the meditation cave has solidified his legacy as an “unapologetic Hindu”.

While political analysts would dismiss these as optics and Modi baiters brand it as symbolism, inexorably, through a slew of reclamation and renovation projects of temples, Modi is slowly pushing the idea of an India that is keen on asserting its identity in toto while aspiring to reach the pinnacles of economic development and modernity. Replete with leaders who were averse to flaunting their Sanatana identity, by wearing religion on his sleeves, Modi stood out for embracing religiosity in its entirety.

In June, Modi unfurled a flag on the refurbished Kali Mata temple in Gujarat’s Pavagada. The temple fell into disrepair as the dargah stood atop of the temple for the past 500 years. By amicably shifting the dargah to a different place, the temple was restored to full glory. Hoisting the flag Modi said, “you can imagine that the flag was not hoisted on the summit of Maa Kali till after five centuries and even after 75 years of Independence. Today the flag is once again hoisted on the summit of the Pavagadh temple after centuries. It is also a symbol of the fact that centuries change, eras change, but the peak of faith remains eternal”⁵.

Modi government’s genuine interest, enthusiasm, and conviction towards the revival and refurbishment of temple corridors are in stark contrast to the episodic temple run of seasonal politicians. Undoubtedly, while PM Modi must have accrued ample political mileage with his temple visits, there is an iota of truth when he said, temples suffered neglect, “due to the selfishness of the previous governments”.

Modi’s fronting of temples has another important facet to it. Inaugurating the first phase of the Mahakal Lok Complex, of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirling, Ujjain, Modi rightly recalled the importance of the ancient town of Avantika (present-day Ujjain) saying, “Ujjain has led India’s wealth and prosperity, knowledge, and dignity, civilization and literature of thousands of years”. Traditionally, Ujjain is among the most sacred seven cities or Sapta Puri – Avantika, Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kanchi, Kashi, and Dwarka of India. Astronomically, Ujjain is the centre of India and the abode of Mahakaleshwar, the personification of time. He added, “the cultural splendour of a nation becomes vast only when the flag of its success flutters on the world map. And, to reach the pinnacle of success, it is also necessary that the nation touches its cultural heights and should stand proudly with its identity”.

In more than seven decades of India’s independence, political dispensations never took pride in openly celebrating, revering, and honoring the legacy of India and seldom prided in its glory. Ensnared by a narrative that belittled anything indigenous, the country had disowned its legacy at its own peril. Indian civilisation thrived for thousands of years due to the continuity of its tradition, values, culture, and above all spiritual confidence. India’s identity is its civilisational values. A pride in this identity can be restored through a cultural resurrection.

Exhorting India to “liberate from the mentality of slavery”, Modi added, “I believe that this development of our Jyotirlings is the development of India’s spiritual light, the development of India’s knowledge and philosophy. This cultural philosophy of India is again reaching the summit and getting ready to guide the world”⁶.

From the ramparts of Red Fort, Modi pronounced “panch prans” in the “Amrit Kaal of Independence”. Liberation from the colonial mindset is among them. Modi’s vision for cultural resurrection and revamp of civilizational ethos is part of this larger vision. Amalgamating the larger project of redevelopment of temples as a sure shot to accelerate religious tourism, the Modi government is adeptly creating a churn in the Indian society, that is levitating them to reclaim their identity.

Under the Parvatamala yojana, the Modi government has consolidated the temple revival plans with infrastructure development as in the case of Chardham connectivity projects. Unequivocally enunciating that, “pride in our heritage and all possible effort for development are the two major pillars for the developed India of the 21^st Century”, Modi on his recent visit to Badrinath and Kedarnath, to lay the foundation stone for the Kedarnath and Hemkund ropeway construction said, “the dilapidated condition of these shrines was a clear sign of the slavery mentality”⁷.

Modi’s energetic participation in deepotsav at Ayodhya, commemorating Deepavali is in sharp contrast to previous leaderships that shunned all kinds of religious and cultural symbolisms. The plethora of reclamation and redevelopment efforts are assuming enormous significance in terms of awakening the Sanatani cultural spirit crushed by centuries of invasions, slavery, and despotism. Analysts label this new shift in the course as “cultural nationalism”, in fact, this cultural resurrection has been a cornerstone of Modi’s diplomacy and outreach.

Invoking cultural, religious and historical connections and strengthening religious identity, Modi made temple darshans an integral part of his itinerary during State visits. His sojourns to Nepal, Sri Lanka on the eve of Buddha Jayanti celebrations, huge public addresses commemorating Diwali eve, and the unmissable interactions with the religious heads of various faiths during foreign visits, largely herald Modi’s sagacious wisdom of investing in India’s cultural heritage to resurrect its pride and identity. In the process, he aspires to inculcate a new spirit of respect towards Indian civilisation, infuse confidence and usher the nation towards self-reliance.

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China is at the threshold of ushering into an era of Xi Jinping’s “cult leadership”

A major political event is about to unfold over the weekend. Interestingly, while the outcomes are more or less known to everybody, the way it is unraveling is spurring a lot of interest. A prelude of rare protests in China is setting the ground for the 20^th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) scheduled for 16^th October, Sunday. While there wasn’t any smidgeon of doubt about President Xi Jinping’s coronation for the third term rare protests quickly snuffed out of life had set a new tone for the historic event.

Banners reading, “No Covid test, we want to eat. No restrictions, we want freedom. No lies, we want dignity. No Cultural Revolution, we want reform. No leaders, we want votes. By not being slaves, we can be citizens”, appeared on a bridge in Beijing’s Haidian district. Video footage with slogans calling on residents to “go on strike at school and work, remove the dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping”¹, indicated the mood of the people.

The disappointment and discontent is palpable as nearly 200 million people or nearly every province in the country is under some form of restriction as part of China’s zero-tolerance approach towards Covid. For people who awaited some relief ahead of the Congress, the “draconian lockdown” has furthered whittled their hopes. The world has continued to learn with the virus but CCP’s portrayal of “Zero Covid” in controlling illness and deaths as success has plunged the country into unending episodic lockdowns.

With the party making chest-thumping assertions of national strength and drawing mileage from these ideological statements based on Covid zero, it is unlikely that CCP is ever going to shun this policy despite an alarming rise in unemployment, food shortages, high inflation and a massive slump in real estate. Uncertain and unrelenting lockdowns of cities even in case of a single infection are forcing companies to relocate to other countries. Even a weakening economy and its concomitant ripple effect on other developing countries which largely import commodities from China have failed to bring about any change in CCP’s “Zero Covid” policy.

Prior to these protests, the Indian Media was agog with reports of a PLA uprising upstaging President Xi in the last week of September. While any serious Chinese Observer conversant with the power hierarchy in China would have seriously dismissed this frivolous rumor-mongering, the animated discussions that dominated the Indian media only hinted at the brewing animus towards Xi in India. The news as it turned out has been the handiwork of journalists belonging to the Falun Gong sect was an attempt at churning conspiracy theories.

Though the decisions are taken ahead of the National Congress of CCP which is held every five years, the meetings are important as they formally announce the leader of the PRC.  The pyramidal CCP structure has ninety million members of the party are represented by nearly 3000 National Party Congress members who in turn chose 370 members of the Central Committee. This Central Committee is an integral part of the Central Military Commission (CMC) currently headed by Xi Jinping and oversees the functioning of the armed forces.

The next tier in the hierarchy is the 25-member Politburo or the political bureau comprising provincial leaders, military leaders and central party officials. From among these the elite group of seven Polit Buro Standing Committee (PBSC) is drawn that makes the crucial decisions. The head of the Standing Committee is the party general secretary. China terms this system of choosing leaders a “People democracy” which is further strangulated by Xi who micromanages the selection of individuals.

At every congress, a certain portion of these members retires owing to age limits (68 years) and other opaque reasons. In China, the party is supreme over the country and the PLA owes its allegiance to the party and acts at the behest and command of the party.

For the past 25 years, a new general secretary is appointed at every Congress. After the death of the founding leader and Chairman of the CCP in 1976, to end the norm of leadership for life and concentration of power in a single individual Deng Xiaoping who succeeded Mao instituted a two-term limit on the role of the President laying the foundation for a “collective leadership”. He opened the scope for reforms and institutionalisation. Subsequently, the successors- Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao subscribed to this orderly transition of power wherein political consensus thrived and helped in grooming the future leadership. Indeed, Xi Jinping’s ascent to power has been facilitated by this “peaceful transfer of power”.

In this quest for power, Xi subverted this generational leadership system through a constitutional amendment in 2018, that abolished the term limits for President. Subsequently, with Xi holding all three posts- General Secretary of CCP, President of PRC and Chairman of CMC, the decision-making has become over-centralised and unitary. Amassing power, Xi began to consolidate power through domestic surveillance, repressive nationalism, and corruption purges.

The nascent concept of G2, wherein China’s pursuit of seeking parity with the US reached its pinnacle under Xi’s regime marked the high point of his leadership. Xi’s decade long regime witnessed the rise of China as an economic superpower and his global connectivity, economic and development initiatives substantially enhanced Beijing’s economic and diplomatic clout. China evolved as the global export market hub. Xi Jinping successfully promoted the “China brand” and helmed a “Sino-Centric” global order also termed the Peking Order².

But this suffered a major setback with the Wuhan virus pandemic which exposed the shortcomings of the global order that Xi wanted to promote globally and thrust on the World. While China displayed a penchant for a leadership role in global affairs its lack of responsibility and accountability which led to the global spread of the Wuhan virus symbolized its absence of empathy.

Further, the flipside of the much-touted BRI, Xi’s brainchild exposed the imperialistic ambitions of China. Wolf-warrior diplomacy, and supply chain disruptions, seeded Chinese skepticism. Pertinently, the trust deficit abraded the blossoming Sino-transatlantic relations with European countries considering China as a “strategic challenge/threat”. Though China is not deemed a rival on the scale of Russia. But independent Indo-Pacific policies of various European countries demonstrate a systemic change toward China.

The pandemic outbreak and growing dependency on China prompted developed countries to decouple from China. Notwithstanding the pandemic disruptions China’s ambitious expansionism- annexation bids of Taiwan, and territorial incursions into India have further eroded the World’s trust in China’s rise.

Over the years, China accumulated economic clout for being the global manufacturing powerhouse. The comity of nations that depended on Chinese supplies suffered due to inconsistencies during the pandemic. Consequently, the Chinese leadership is considered more of a “disruptor” as opposed to a “developer”.

In the face of these insecurities and institutional criticisms, giving a major fillip to the “national rejuvenation” objective, Xi banked on his successes in quelling dissent in Tibet, and Xinjiang, and bolstered their acceptance through his visits. Through the implementation of National Security Law in Hongkong, Xi demonstrated the efficacy of “One country two systems” and earned a mandate to intensify his campaign for the annexation of Taiwan.

Though there is also an optimistic approval of Xi’s global ambitions among the domestic constituents in terms of building an alternative global order and multilateral institutions/ organisations, Xi’s legacy is now a mix of hits and misses. Amid domestic concoction of disenchantment that continued to grow with the ruthless crackdown on private enterprises and favouring SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) under the garb of “common prosperity” has now peaked owing to the burgeoning health surveillance that is impeding their daily lives.

Brought into power to clean rampant corruption, and dissent that undermined party legitimacy and factionalism in 2012, Xi cleaned the system and ended factionalism. In the process, he expanded the permanent national supervisory commission and used it as a twin measure of a sustained anti-graft campaign to enforce discipline and purge his political rivals.  Indeed, the indictment of Fu Zhenghua in September on charges of bribe just weeks before the 20^th Congress is yet another sanctified act of Xi’s political purge. Popular as “swatting the flies” and “taking out the tigers” as of April 2022, the discipline inspectors dealt with nearly 4.4 million involving 4.7 million people³. The scale of the campaign is unprecedented.

Given Xi’s role in cracking down on the Tiananmen Square protests, the princeling was precisely chosen for the top job by the party in 2012 to rid of corruption. Besides, delivering the job, and tightening his grip over the party, Xi through mass education campaigns and ideological indoctrination has ensured that the party DNA is firmly ingrained in the cadres. By disciplining the cadres, and careful selection of loyalists for key leadership positions, Xi has essentially made the party amenable to him. Wiping out all traces of opposition, Xi has steadily exerted its control over the party.

While Xi has managed his party successfully, the geopolitical tangles, economic slowdown, the brewing Sino-US animosities and Biden’s latest sanctions on China’s semiconductor industry are going to be a major challenge. China’s “no limits friendship” with Russia has added a new dimension to the West’s view of Beijing. The global outlook of China in the past decade has worsened. Aside from the complicated geopolitical changes, India’s adamant refusal to “business as usual” due to border disputes and America’s altered Taiwan policy in response to Beijing’s military showdown are going to pose additional tribulations for Xi.

Ahead of the Congress, the seventh plenum attended by 370 members of the Central Committee briefed on the party charter are believed to have consented to the continuation of the President at the helm of the affairs.

Clearly, there aren’t going to be any major surprises at the 20^th CCP Congress. China’s premier Li Keqiang is all set to retire in March 2023 and his replacement is all set to be announced at the Congress. With Xi set to remain in power for the next five years, he is expected to name a successor but as of now, Xi hasn’t groomed any successor. Hence it is likely that his successor would be announced at the 20^th Congress implying his continuation for a decade.

With Xi’s consolidation of power which is now a matter of formal announcement, China’s authoritarian regime will turn into a totalitarian, dictatorship. This will effectively put him on par with founding chairman Mao Zedong ushering China into a “cult leadership”.

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Hatred for Hindus is Real. Targeted Attacks on Hindus in Leicester is a Proof of it.

The ongoing targeted attacks on Hindus have inexorably brought to light that Hindus, Hinduism and Hindutva are under attack globally. The “Dismantling Global Hindutva” conference held around the same time last year was just a trailblazer offering an insight into a teaser of the larger vicious campaign at work to tarnish and attack Hindus across the globe. The string of attacks on Hindus across different continents demonstrates that Hinduphobia is a global reality.

There has been a marked uptick in the rise of hate crimes against Hindus in the so-called pluralist societies in the recent past. Some of these are whitewashed under the larger banner of attacks on South Asians in general. But a close analysis of reports suggests that a vast majority of these victims are Hindus. Racist slurs like “dirty Hindu”, “disgusting dog” and a hate crime against four women in Texas recently present a true picture.

While similar violations of civil rights and the hurling of racist slurs against any other community would have created a stir, the ecosystem dons stoic silence when the persons at the receiving end are Hindus. Interestingly, this kind of ‘selectively’ has been exclusively reserved for Hindus, one of the few surviving indigenous populations.

A spurt of attacks on the temples in the US that intensified during the Black Lives Matter protests in the US and truckers protests in Canada have remained unabated. Last fortnight, BAPS Swami Narayana Mandir in Toronto was defaced.

A US-based scientific research organisation, Network Contagion Research Institute, which studies misinformation, deception manipulation, and hate across social media channels observed, that there has been a 1000 percent rise in anti-Hindu attacks and attacks on the members of the community. It added that “Hinduphobia is one of the most complicated hatreds… is now a dangerous hybridisation of hate against the community”¹. While the Liberal World and the pseudo seculars continue to deny the reality, from Canada to Chattogram, Hindus are facing an existential threat.

With the return of the Taliban regime, the last surviving generations of Sikhs were driven away from Afghanistan. The places of worship of the Indic religions were desecrated, vandalized and completely destroyed. But persecutions of Hindus or Sikhs hardly evoked any response. There wasn’t even a squeak of protest from the so-called saviours of human rights and paragons of religious freedom. Be it in India or anywhere else, the narrative is favourably disposed towards the Majoritarian religions.

Intriguingly, the liberal western World which formulates the global policies through its institutional dominance has a different yardstick for ancestral religious faiths. In India, they invoke a presumptuous majority-minority notion with a contrived premise that minorities are incapable of targeted violence towards the dominant majority. This indeed has been the basis for the UPA’s Communal Violence Bill.

If India and indigenous religions are to be judged by this majority-minority framework in other parts of the globe, Hindus being a global minority should be safeguarded from the discrimination of the majoritarian religions. But on the obverse, systemic Hinduphobia is on a rise. Rampant Hindu shaming and gaslighting have become the most sought-after academic exercise of Harvardian Leftist intellectuals.

To justify targeted attacks on Hindu Diaspora, the most successful micro minority, the leftists are redeploying the decades-old theories of their comrades attributing it to economic envy and income disparities. These ludicrous theories fail to address why Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh living in poverty are systematically persecuted. Clearly, the Hindus are targeted for their identity.

It would be churlish to believe that the success of Hindu society is generating resentment. The resentment is not of recent origin. For centuries, barbaric invaders raided Bharat, looted their treasures and most importantly completely destroyed founts of civilisational heritage, the temples. But a tribe of Marxist historians completely whitewashed all this wanton destruction and the nefarious plans for the extermination of indigenous civilisation post-independence.

In contemporary times, the invincible cabal of Marxist historians, pseudo seculars and Islamists, that dominate the media, academic organisations and policy-formulating institutions continue to rue that a threat to Hindus is a figment of imagination to lull the indigenous population into complacency. 

The organised attacks on Hindus in Leicester enliven the fears of a lurking genocidal threat to a micro minority in a pluralist country like the UK. As per the Twitter handle, INSIGHTUK2, the banter that began on the eve of the India-Pakistan match, turned religious owing to a deliberate communal twist given to it by a religious leader. This fake news has accentuated the tensions during the Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations. Soon, the religious leaders of both denominations appealed for peace. But some gangs continued to mark the houses of Hindus which soon proliferated into full-blown targeted attacks. Houses, cars and properties belonging to Hindus were vandalized. Children and women were held, hostage.

A misinformation campaign and its multi-fold amplification by the echo chambers have sparked communal tensions that were waiting to happen. A cricket match and a peaceful march of Hindus carried out to express solidarity for victims were just an excuse. The hooligans with Pakistani affiliation intolerant of an assertive Hindu community intimidated them by mobilising huge crowds. Muslims from nearby places occupied roads in Leicester, performed namaz and chanted “Allahu Akbar” slogans.

On September 17^th, the mobs swelled in numbers and in the full view of the police, they desecrated the Saffron flag and vandalised a temple. Even as Hindus bore the brunt of the Jihadi mob, a narrative was carefully crafted to portray Hindus as instigators despite the Police investigations giving a clean chit to Hindus. Indeed, the media echo chambers and the cabal defended the Muslim vandalization as a reaction to a peaceful march. They attribute the attacks to the mobilisation of Hindutva forces. By casting aspersions on Hindutva, the spin doctors have laid bare their sinister agenda.

Roiled by Hindu assertion, a partisan, politically driven movement was launched to redefine “Hindutva”. While maintaining Hinduism as a pacifist and accommodating religion, the provocateurs painted “global Hindutva” as radical, extremist and bigoted. Back in India, the epithet “Hindutva” is used with references to RSS and BJP acclaimed pro-Hindu right-wing organisations. Hindutva is Hindu tatva is no different from Hinduism and unlike the monopolist and fundamental Christian and Muslim ideologies, Hindutva is not extremist. But by drawing false equivalence, the cabal has attempted to paint Hindus as fascists akin to racists and supremacists. This alleged distortion and subtle demonisation of Hinduism has paved the way for creating a thrust for fuelling Hinduphobia eventually justifying hate crimes against Hindus.

By effectively delegitimising Hindus through the draconian portrayal of Hindutva, the cabal has effectively legitimised the targeted attacks on Hindus. Hindus underestimated the implications of “agenda-driven” which is similar to anti-Semitism. Indeed, the Islamists who mobbed the Hindus sheltered in Durga Bhawan of Birmingham deemed the Hindu protests as “Hindutva mobilisation”. Lending credence to these accusations, leftist media channels launched a tirade against Hindus even though observers on the ground reported no trace of Hindu nationalism.

In one of the viral videos, an Islamist threatened, “this is a message from Birmingham to the BJP and RSS Hindutva supporters. You are not welcome in Birmingham”². This protest of Islamists came in the wake of Sadhvi Ritambara’s event at the temple which was cancelled due to her ill health. Another Muslim fundamentalist Mohammed Hijab, who led targeted attacks on Jews previously warned, “If they (Hindus) believe in reincarnation, what a humiliation of them to be reincarnated into some pathetic, weak, cowardly people like that. Hindutva (Hindus), you are trying to act like gangster… Don’t ever come out like that again (referring to the protests by Hindus in Leicester). Do you understand? Are they going to come out again?”³.

It is truly rankling why Pakistan Muslims should threaten Hindus to behave in a certain way approved by them and how are they entitled to dictate to Hindus what to do. This intimidation has an eerie resemblance to the eviction of Kashmiri pandits from the valley. Making a shocking revelation Charlotte Littlewood, a research fellow in an interview with GB News revealed that “threatening messages from Islamists suggest they want to clean Hindus Leicester just like they did from Kashmir”⁴. Threatened Hindu families are now leaving Leicester.

Hindus make up 15% population of Leicester as against 18% of Muslims. Unfortunately, Hindus lack consolidated political support to defend and safeguard their interests making them vulnerable to threats. 

On the other hand, over the years a narrative was evolved where calling out the crimes of Muslims is automatically deemed as “Islamophobia”. This deeply entrenched discourse has shaped long-term policies in various countries. For the fear of being branded as “Islamophobe” or “conservative”, parties consciously pandered to the Muslims to win electoral contests. The burgeoning demography of Muslims across the globe has made it an electoral compulsion for some political parties to rally behind them. At the cost of being politically right, they have wilfully brushed the crimes of this particular community under the carpet.

With the ecosystem understandably, hand in glove with the Muslims, their surging demography will force political parties to tow their line. While the eventual decimation of the pluralistic society is imminent, a genocidal threat looms large for the Hindus who are despised by the Muslims.

Even as terrible violence is unleashed on Hindus in Leicester, there is no trace of denouncement by Indian political outfits. On the contrary, there is a race to absolve the Islamists of violence against Hindus. In a true allegiance to the global ummah, some Muslim political analysts and leaders offered a cover for the rampage by Muslim fundamentalists in Leicester.

Hinduphobia is real and global. Time Hindus shed complacency!!

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PM Modi Advances India's Interests at Samarkand SCO Summit

As always, the prelude to the SCO meeting is dominated by popular debate about the relevance of SCO for India. Founded by Russia and China, labeled as an anti-Western front and coalition of authoritarian regimes, a section of strategic analysts rued India’s association with the SCO. Shrinking Moscow’s economic and political heft, the ascendancy of China, the deepening China-Pakistan nexus and Beijing’s plans of turning it into a China club have further sharpened this debate. India’s growing proximity to the West has further made this an oddity.

At a time when the world is grappling to recover from the Covid onslaught, the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian military confrontation has further derailed the path of recovery intensifying food and fuel security challenges. Against these widespread disappointments, India’s need-based intervention during the Covid gave it ample room for setting its economy right. Russia’s economy is reeling under the burden of wasted war and China’s zero covid policy has hemorrhaged its economy and frequent supply chain disruptions are forcing investors to exit. India’s resilient economy and independent foreign policy are now looked upon by the world.

Countries in the extended neighbourhood especially the Central Asian Republics (CARs) burdened by Chinese debts and domestic backlash against China are seeking to break free from the stranglehold of Russia and China and are placing bets on India. India’s resistance to Chinese aggression has further positioned India as a responsible power and bulwark of sorts against The Dragon.

As suggested by Harsh Pant, “India must make the most of its geopolitical sweet spot”, New Delhi is leaving no stone unturned to seize its right place across different multilateral platforms to advance its growth story¹. To prevent the Sino-Russo axis from becoming a fool-proof alliance and to manage ties with China from the inside rather than outside, India is actively engaged with SCO.

During his 24-hour-long engagement at SCO, PM Modi, refusing to be ensnared by China’s popular gambit, avoided any kind of brush with President Xi and even skipped the informal SCO heads of state dinner. Days before the SCO, China dangled carrots of minor disengagement at the PP15 anticipating India’s request for a dialogue with their leader at SCO. With Beijing firmly rejecting de-escalation at a major face-off in Depsang plains, Modi royally ignored China’s frivolous tactics and refused to play into Chinese hands. Similarly, Modi snubbed Pakistan for its blatant duplicity of continued cross-border provocation despite a ceasefire agreement. But held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Uzbekistan President Shevkat Mirziyoyev, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Erdogan.

Underscoring the centrality of Central Asian countries for SCO, Modi touched upon priority areas of bilateral cooperation, trade, economic cooperation and connectivity including the considered use of Chabahar Port and INSTC to unlock trade potential with the host Uzbekistan. This meeting is in a continuum of the first India-Central Asia summit in January, where both sides set a roadmap for connectivity².

But Modi’s opening remarks of “Today’s era is not of war..” ³ with Putin grabbed all the attention. Mischievously interpreted as a rebuke by Western analysts, Putin immediately acknowledged that he was aware of India’s position of diplomacy and dialogue and proposed visa-free tourist travel.

One of the main objectives of the establishment of SCO was to maintain stability and security of the vast Eurasian region and counteract the emerging challenges, promote trade and cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Among the core visions of SCO is to fight the three evils- extremism, terrorism, and separatism. But over a period of time, in line with China’s economic trajectory and BRI launch, the SCO shifted its attention to enhancing economic cooperation and promoting trade through improved connectivity.

The predecessor of SCO, “Shanghai Five” comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan was formed in 1996 to deepen military trust along the border region. With the joining of Uzbekistan, this turned into SCO, (Shanghai Organisation Cooperation), a multilateral organisation in 2001. China and Russia vied to exercise their control as the organisation sought to expand, Russia backed Indian membership, while Beijing brought Pakistan into the group. Consequently, both New Delhi and Islamabad were granted observer status in 2005 and in 2017 and both of them became full-fledged members of SCO.

The 22nd SCO summit held at Uzbekistan’s cultural capital Samarkand was attended by all the eight full-fledged members- comprising four Central Asian Republics, China, Russia, India and Pakistan held on September 15-16 for the first in-person summit after three years. In addition, the Presidents of three Observer States- Iran, Belarus, Mongolia, guest countries- Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and International Organisations- Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS), Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and UN also participated in the SCO. SCO held two sessions- restricted for full-fledged members and an extended session attended by all the invitees and the SCO Member States.

Covering a geographical expanse of 60% of Eurasia, representing 40 % of the world population and 30% of global GDP, SCO is the largest regional organization. In a massive boost to the expansion drive of SCO, Iran is going to be inducted as the ninth member officially in 2023. Full-fledged membership for Belarus and Mongolia is under process. SCO has now officially granted dialogue partner status to eight countries- Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, Myanmar, Nepal, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. With an appetite for expansion, the SCO has spread to South Asia and is set to encompass the West Asian region under its ambit promoting multipolarity.

While the reputation of the SCO Member States is subject to varied interpretations, in terms of economic and nuclear heft, this is one of the most influential groupings comprising four nuclear powers. But the presence of India in SCO has lent the group some credibility and transparency, whose principles align with India’s commitment to multipolarity. Through its multitudinous partnerships with countries belonging to varied blocs, India is now effectively serving as a bridge between various power centres.

Coinciding the SCO meeting, there was a spurt in border clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and a major escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan has underlined the tenuous peace and stability in the region. Armenia didn’t attend SCO due to a military confrontation with Azerbaijan. Representatives of the Tajik and Kyrgyzstan exchanged demarches over border clashes along the sidelines of the meeting. Tasked with maintaining Eurasian stability, SCO’s spirit has been put to a major test now. Putin has appealed for peace and pitched in to mediate the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

In the light of the Ukraine Crisis, SCO Member States reiterated their “commitment to a representative, just, democratic multipolar world order based on universally recognised principles of international law, multilateralism, equal, common, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security, multicultural and civilisational diversity, mutual benefit and equal cooperation with a central coordinating role for the UN”⁴.

Unlike the Western countries, the SCO countries effectively lack a common binding factor. To make for the lack of a pronounced congruence, the declaration effectively highlighted the concerns of most of the member countries. Unanimous exhortation of - “unilateral application of economic sanctions other than by the UNSC is inconsistent with the principles of international law and adversely affects third countries and international economic relations” reflect the same. Reiteration of, “the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of States under the pretext of countering terrorism and extremism, as well as the inadmissibility of the use of terrorist, extremist and radical groups for selfish ends”, underscored Pakistan’s policy towards Afghanistan.

Unequivocally condemning, terrorism, countries called for a speedy settlement of the Afghanistan situation and the establishment of an inclusive government for strengthening the security and stability of the region. Uncertainty in Afghanistan has dire consequences for the region and India as well. With regional security an integral aspect of its existence, SCO is the most effective forum to address the Afghanistan issue. 

The Samarkand Declaration called for an outer space free of weapons, enforcement of nuclear disarmament, no global stockpiling of missiles and strict adherence to biological and chemical weapons treaty.

Evolving as a major group, SCO is now slowly building alternate organizations and mechanisms which include the SCO Economic Forum and SCO Economic Think Tanks, SCO Member States Techno Parks Pool, SCO Business Council, SCO Interbank Association, SCO Development Bank and the SCO Development Fund. In the process, SCO has adopted a roadmap for increasing the share of National Currencies in Mutual Settlements and called for its expansion as well.

Member States have resolved to cooperate in counter-terrorism, digital economy and digital technologies, international information security, energy cooperation, telemedicine, international road and rail administration, disaster management assistance, tracking down illicit drug trafficking, environment protection and sports. SCO has also charted out a roadmap for cooperation to control preventive and infectious diseases and epidemic threats and climate change. In all, 28 intergovernmental agreements were approved including those on plant quarantine, tourism and industrial cooperation⁵.

Fostering multi-faceted cooperation, the SCO Member States welcomed the “Samarkand Solidarity Initiative for Common Security and Prosperity” forwarded by the Uzbekistan President ensuring peace and stability and sustainable development.

At SCO, PM Modi underscored the need for developing reliable, resilient and diversified supply chains for the region, the need for better connectivity, and the importance of giving each other “full right to transit”. Denying transit access, Pakistan has blocked India’s connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia. He offered to share India’s experience of using technology for ‘people-centric development’ by establishing a Special Working Group on Start-ups and Innovation and a Special Working Group on Traditional Medicine with India as permanent chair⁶.

To address the challenging food security situation, Modi recommended the cultivation and consumption of Millets and proposed to conduct Millet Food Festival in the wake of the UN declaring 2023 as the ‘International Year of Millets’.

As the chair of the SCO Council of Heads of government in 2020, India organised the first ever digital Buddhist shared heritage exhibition, SCO Young Scientists Conclave, SCO Startups Forum, SCO MSME Forum, and translation of 10 books of regional literature into official languages of SCO- Chinese and Russian. India assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) in 2021.

With India set to assume the SCO chair for the year 2023, the task for New Delhi is cut out. Varanasi is nominated as the first ever SCO Tourism and cultural capital as per regulation adopted at the Dushanbe SCO Summit 2021 to promote tourism, cultural and humanitarian exchanges between India and SCO members. It underlines India’s ancient civilisational links with member states of SCO, especially CARs⁷.

Despite the global power play and the insidious Sino-Pak nexus always at work, there is a deep appreciation of what India brings to the table especially- values, ethos, leadership and economic advantages. Shedding the ideational trappings, India is leaping forward to forge new partnerships with various countries to emerge as a power of global relevance. India aspires to turn SCO into another stepping stone for its potential rise.

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Decoding India's Multialignment

The Western strategic community still ensconced in the Cold war era, perceives the World in terms of the power “axis”. This deeply entrenched presumption had led to a dichotomy in their approach to foreign policy as well. Per them, there are two possibilities-“either you are with us or against us”. By far, this led to the expectation of undivided loyalty and reliance on alliances-based relationships. While this has been the integral feature of a bipolar world in the post world war II era, these ideas are no longer finding resonance with the developing countries.

The world has moved on refusing the classical way of earning support by claiming “entitlement”. The developing world, through trials and tribulations, has learned the hard way to wade through the geopolitical rivalries developing their own political institutions, organisations and through diligent bargaining seizing opportunities to secure their interests.

Since the Ukraine crisis and India’s refusal to tow the Western line, New Delhi has been at the receiving end for its neutral stance. In addition to the torment of being taunted for its stance at various strategic forums, now India’s abstentions on various resolutions and voting patterns post-Ukraine crisis are widely discussed.

Refusing to be drawn into any rhetoric, India has resolutely affirmed its positions- be it unequivocally condemning the civilian killings at Bucha or its concern for the safety of the nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, India has been quite vocal about the humanitarian crisis brewing in Ukraine and has rushed relief and medicines. At the same time, India refused to back moves to isolate Russia and expel it from the Human rights commission.

In light of these developments, India’s recent UN vote against Russia in favour of Zelensky’s virtual address to the UNSC was deemed an aberration. On the contrary, since Russia’s so-called “special operation” in Ukraine, India has consistently advocated and exhorted countries for “diplomacy and dialogue”. While India’s balanced approach has been misconstrued, India unflinching asserted its independent foreign policy decisions.

Unlike in 2018, when India stalled its oil imports from Iran in keeping with US sanctions, burdened with the task of post-pandemic economic recovery, India, an oil import-driven economy refused to succumb to the West’s sanction regime on Russia. With avenues for oil import from Iran and Venezuela, already shut, India routed its fuel supplies from Russia in keeping with the circumstances and interests.

Pursuing its interests, India deftly balanced its ties with the West welcoming an upgradation of Quad, strengthening I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE, US), the rollout of IPEF (India-Pacific Economic Forum) along with its sustained engagement with BRICS (Brazil India Russia China South Africa). Delivering a virtual address at the 7^th Eastern Economic Forum, Modi expressed interest to strengthen partnership with Russia on Arctic subjects¹.

Reflective of its wide-ranging relationships with multiple partners, India participated in Russian-led Vostok Army exercises recently along with China; but withdrew from Naval exercises in keeping with the sensibilities of Japan. Similarly, the Indian Air force contingent joined Australia-led Pitch Black along with 17 other Air forces, commenced JIMEX 22 with the Japanese Navy and concluded “Ex Vajra Prahar 2022” with US Special forces last month. Indeed, India’s special drill with the US Army, “Yudh Abhyas” close to LAC might coincide with India-led SCO-RATS (Regional-Anti Terrorist Structure) counterterror exercises next month. Heralding an independent foreign policy, India is balancing different blocs.

Unlike the great power conflicts of the Cold war period, when the third bloc of newly independent nations kept themselves away from both the powers, the developing countries, which were the third bloc countries of yesteryears, shedding diplomatic reticence are engaging with both groups. While the great powers are yet to come to terms with this change, which is evidenced by US’ disappointment over India’s participation in the Vostok exercises, India is actively exercising its strategic autonomy. Indeed, stumbling out this discomfiture perhaps has been the US decision of approving $450 million assistance to Pakistan for the F-16 sustainment program to meet counter-terrorism threats.

Defending India’s practice of strategic autonomy, at Bratislava, Slovakia Jaishankar has firmly reiterated, “I don’t accept that India has to join either the US axis or China axis. We are one-fifth of the World’s population, fifth or sixth largest economy in the world… we are entitled to weigh our own side”².

To achieve comprehensive security, which includes- energy, food, maritime and territorial security amid changing geopolitical realities refused to be lulled by idealism, Prime Minister Modi is steering India towards multi-alignment and his participation at SCO is just another dimension of India’s pragmatic foreign policy.

While India is the cornerstone of the West’s Indo-Pacific policy and the QUAD, New Delhi’s association with the SCO has lent credence to a group labelled as-Coalition of authoritarian regimes. To develop linkages with Central Asia, manage China and responsibly engage with countries that are beyond the western realm India is effectively diversifying its ties under the ambit of SCO.

In short, India is emerging as a “multilateral balancer”. With New Delhi set to assume the presidency of both SCO and G20, its real diplomatic acumen will be to a real test considering Western leaders’ plans to boycott Putin at the upcoming G20 summit.

The US would desire that India would subscribe to its sanctions regime and align its interests with American aspirations. India has certainly made its distinct choices and its assertions more or less are in line with doctrine predicated by S. Jaishankar in his book- The India Way, which says-“there will be convergence with many but congruence with none”. Consequently, a misguided interpretation of India’s aspirations leading to inconsiderate actions by the West besides damaging the pernicious stability can lend more strategic space to China in the sub-continent.

The world no longer believes in great power centres, instead, new strategic centres of power are steering the world towards plurilateralism anticipating result-oriented cooperation. Less structured groups with agenda-based cooperation are on the rise. With multipolarity an eventual reality, India is guided by the paradigm of- “reaching out in as many directions as possible and maximise its gains. This is not about greater ambition; it is also about not living in yesterday”.

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