India progressively on the sidelines?
Does India matter in the international arena?
Who care for our diplomats and bureaucrats?
Whenever we go abroad it used to be considered only courteous to call on the Indian diplomats at our embassies.
So too at the other international foras, like UN agencies. In Geneva it used to be ILO. In other capitals it’s other counterparts.
While recently we tried to call on at the UN agency, FAO.
But alas! The mindset had changed this time! Why?
It is the old thoughts and other experiences of Indians abroad, especially the Indian bureaucrats are it at the local embassy or at other UN bodies don’t take easily to each other easily!
Why this cold feeling?
May be we have been a nation of old style bureaucrats for far too long.
Yes, it is not a happy feeling and it may even be considered a bit rude and ungentlemanly to say so!
But be it as it is, it is still the fact that we, as a great democracy is ruled or presided over by an archetypal bureaucrat!
It only brings more coldness to our feeling of a sense of shared nationalism and patriotism.
Anyway recently at Rome we looked at the FAO website and were pleased to read the headlines: Let there be bread! What fine line. That too uttered by no less a great man than Lestor Pearson, the then Canadian Prime Minister!
Now, the immediate provocation is that when you go abroad a see the world and think back of India you are of course swelled with pride and a sense of patritism, dont you?
And then see what is our record in international foras?
This is the beginning of 2012 and at the end of last year it is almost a long time we, India, has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, India completed seventh two-year term we have completed.
The UN Security Council is perhaps the most powerful body in the world to secure peace, to promote goodwill, to prevent wars and also to promote international development goals like the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that completes its term by 2015.
What is India’s teck record?
Yes, India played its part. But not so visibly, as it used to be in the olden, rather the golden days of V.K.Krishna Menon and others and when Nehru was at the helm.
Progressively, we as an internationally relevant nation had progressively sought to take our seat on the sidelines!
The MDGs signed up by 190 nations in 200, committed the world nations to some of the most ambitious and man-made and much desired goals of eliminating poverty, ensuring children survival and also reducing gender discrimination and much else.
MDGs have achieved much that is laudable and celebrated.
600 people have been lifted, we are told, from poverty. Great achievement.
56 million more children go to school than otherwise be possible. Another great salute to those who made it possible.
14,000 children, everyday, escape the danger of death traps!
Oh, there can’t be any more greater nobility in man than saving the children born with so much hope and dream in their tender minds and hearts!
Now, what else to be done from now onwards?
The UN Secretary General, Ban Kin Moon, (why he is not speaking much? why we don’t hear his voice or see his face?) Has constituted a panel to draw up a new agenda.
Where is India in all these deliberations?
Only if you travel to Delhi, either from abroad or from some other parts of India you will realise how cold the climate is in New Delhi.
We don’t mean the real, physical climate. We mean to political climate. We also emanth equally chilly faces of our hard working, hardly rewarded labours of our bureaucrats who have multiplied, more so the retired bureaucrats.”They never retire!”
Under the current Prime Minister more retired bureaucrats are employed and given jobs than under any other previous Prime Minister!
Now, with such icy climate around u how do you expect India’s image can be enhanced abroad?
There was a time when Nehru was in power, great men, great minds used to be sent abroad as ambassadors. Men like K.M.Panikkar and others, artists and even literary and artistic men, from Santiniketan and elsewhere used to be sent abroad.
Even men like Minoo Masani and Shakuntala Masani and even Krishna P Kripalani were sent abroad, this is just one instance. M.C.Chagla was also sent as ambassador.
Can you select or name one person now who is not a retired bureaucrat?
There is a Commonwealth Association in London, you know? You know the big mansion that is allotted to it. The one Indian national who is living there enjoys enormous privileges.
What does the Commonwealth is doing? Anybody asked?
We are a nation of non-performers, as far as international affairs are concerned.
Our voice is not heard anymore as it used to be.
Krishna Menon, with all his disabilities, used to say often “India counts!”
Can we hear such assertions form our bureaucrats anymore?
So, with such emotions, we read with cold comfort that the UN is again to come out with a new set of MDGs.
Let it!
We would welcome the same.
There are many suggestions from several quarters. Let there be.
Here we like to add this much.
Let India take its fist great initiative that India should promote international peace, disarmament, control of nuclear proliferation, signing of the comprehensive set ban treaty and much more like convening the peace Congresses periodically. So that there would be a great new consciousness and also great new awareness about the current and next generation agenda like climate change control and also other environment protection movements.
Also, new innovations in health and biotechnology so that diseases are controlled and eliminated.
This is not an exhaustive coverage. Some different priorities.
Poverty can be eliminated only by big investments in infrastructure, as in China.
China could be our inspiration for undertaking gigantic projects. This is the only way to combat poverty, once for all!
Image source :http://www.un.org/News