Sari Diplomacy in South Asia

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s ongoing Bangladesh visit is crucial to rejuvenate bilateral ties, as Sheikh Hasina, discriminated by the West, now looks at other Asian powers, particularly China, for support

 It was in the late 1990s that the term ‘sari diplomacy’ became rather fashionable after Ms Cherie Blair, as Britain’s First Lady, did more for India-UK relations with her red-and-green silk sari, which she wore to the British Indian Golden Jubilee Banquet, than official talks between her husband and the then Prime Minister of India, Inder Kumar Gujral, had achieved a few weeks earlier. In the years since then, Ms Blair has continued with the trend and is often seen sashaying in six yards of silk at various South Asian events.

Ms Samantha Cameron, wife of the current British Prime Minister, has also followed in her footsteps with much grace and aplomb. Across the pond, the Americans have usually found themselves on the other end of the (un)diplomatic spectrum — notoriously for having subjected one sari-clad Indian envoy to Washington, DC to a pat down at the airport.

Closer home, the men have also taken to some fabulous sari diplomacy (and given it a typically desi twist by bringing their mothers into the fold) as the recent exchange of gifts between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif show.

But as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tours Bangladesh on her first solo trip abroad, meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina among others, together they can prove that there’s little to match the charm, versatility and power of sari diplomacy, when it is done by women leaders from South Asia.

Ms Swaraj and Ms Hasina reportedly share a close rapport. The last time they had met was in January 2010 —Ms Swaraj had then just taken over from veteran BJP leader LK Advani as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and had hosted Prime Minister Hasina, who was on a state visit to New Delhi, in her official capacity. Sure, they talked about politics and education and women’s empowerment but as Ms Swaraj later said in a media interview, “Our baatcheet (as women) could not be complete without the talk of saris”.

No surprise then that the two leaders also exchanged saris at that meeting. While Ms Swaraj gifted Ms Hasina a cream coloured ‘South Indian’ sari with grey border — “I knew cream is her favourite colour”, she said — the Prime Minister gave her a bhalo green Jamdani, which according to then Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dipu Moni, she had handpicked herself.

As Ms Swaraj now travels around Bangladesh, ably aided by Ms Sujatha Singh, the Foreign Secretary, and Ms Sripriya Ranganathan, the Joint Secretary who heads the Bangladesh-Myanmar division at the Ministry of External Affairs, the sari diplomacy motif on the Minister’s entourage is quite unmistakable.

Indeed, earlier this year when Prime Minister Hasina faced harsh criticism from the West for holding a general election that had been boycotted by a cussed Opposition and marred by large scale violence, it was Ms Singh who led India’s efforts in favour of Bangladesh. Not only did she travel to Dhaka to negotiate with the political leadership there and break the deadlock, she also resisted pressures in Washington to toe the Western line and de-legitimise the election. In doing so, she helped reiterate New Delhi’s support for one of its most important and friendly neighbours.

Much of the Western world still doesn’t recognise the Sheikh Hasina regime’s electoral mandate — no, it prefers to support Ms Khaleda Zia’s irresponsible Opposition, allied to Islamist parties whose ability to wreak havoc on the streets far exceeds the percentage of votes they can secure in a free and fair election.

But such dichotomy is typical of the West’s foreign policy. Little else explains why military strongmen in West Asia who have conducted coups that, of course, shall never be labelled as such are rewarded with billions of dollars in aid while Ms Hasina gets the rap for an election that was not exactly up to international standards even as the West drones on about the values of democracy. 

Predictably, such discriminatory attitudes have now compelled the Sheikh Hasina regime to seek closer relations with Great Powers other than the West — primarily China and Japan. These countries do not share the West’s hollow concerns vis-à-vis Bangladesh and have no qualms about working with the incumbent regime.

In fact, the reason why Prime Minister Hasina could not join other South Asian leaders at Mr Modi’s inauguration ceremony in May was because she was on an official visit to Japan at that time. Then, earlier this month, she also travelled to China where she met with the top leadership in Beijing including President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Deputy Prime Minister Wang Yang and Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Yu Zhengsheng.

Now, Bangladesh has always had close commercial ties with China but this trip is believed to have been more than just about business with Prime Minister Hasina reportedly seeking political reassurances as well.

Overall, the trip was quite successful. Five agreements were signed at the Government-to-Government level: First, China promised to give 300 million renminbi every year to Bangladesh for economic and technical cooperation. Second, an agreement to set up 1,320 megawatt coal fired power plant in Bangladesh as a joint venture between China’s National Machinery Import and Export Corporation and Bangladesh’s North-West Power Generation Company Limited. Third, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed for the creation of a Chinese Economic and Investment Zone in Chittagong. Fourth, two Exchanges of Letters were issued on regarding greater cooperation in the field of disaster management and flood management. And fifth, another MoU was also inked with respect to the construction of a multi-lane tunnel under Karnaphuli River. Notably, there were also some agreements in the private sector.

Plans to construct a deep-water port at Sonadia in Cox Bazaar also came up but reportedly made little progress. China is willing to finance the project at a cost of $14 billion but also wants the right to design and operate which Dhaka is reluctant to offer. Most experts are of the opinion that this is a problem that will be resolved sooner than later, eventually allowing China a toe-hold in the Bay of Bengal.

None of this should cause alarm bells to ring in South Block, at least not right away, but they are an important reminder that New Delhi cannot just assume the position of a disinterested big brother in the region and ignore its neighbours at any cost.

(This article was published in the op-ed section of The Pioneer on June 26, 2014)

No Looking Back on Robust India-Israel Ties

The Modi-led Government is expected to further strengthen the deep relations that Jerusalem and New Delhi enjoy. The latter has been by India’s side on many critical occasions in recent years, even though New Delhi could not openly acknowledge the fact for various, misplaced, geo-political reasons

On March 26, 1949, KL Panjabi, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, wrote to H Cynozicz, the representative of the Jewish Agency in India: “As discussed personally, we [Government of India] are particularly in need of experts in the following matters: 1. Expert in Cooperative Farming 2. Expert in Intensive Cultivation  3. Two or three experts in drilling tubewells both with percussion rigs as well as as rotary rigs”. The letter curiously requested Cynozicz to take up the matter “with your people in Palestine”. It was a sign of the times — India was yet to recognise Israel and would not do so until late 1950. Full diplomatic ties were to be established only in 1992.

In the meantime, India offered vociferous support to Arab causes for just about nothing in return, while relations with Israel went on the downward spiral. So much so that New Delhi even refused humanitarian aid during 1967 famine. Yet, in a parallel world of sorts, successive Indian Governments not only maintained ties with Israel but also sought Israeli assistance — for instance, military aid came from Israel during the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh (which, ironically, still does not recognise the Jewish nation).

The situation turned around gradually after 1984 when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi met his Israeli counterpart at the UN General Assembly. Three years earlier, Mr Subramanian Swamy, then a member of the Janata Party, had undertaken the first publicised tour of Israel by an Indian leader, which contributed in no small measure towards the normalising of ties.

Once the ball was set rolling, India-Israel relations grew rapidly. Apart from Israel’s steadfast pro-India stance on Kashmir, its diplomatic support during the 1998 nuclear tests, followed by military assistance during the 1999 Kargil conflict, firmly established the Jewish state as a reliable friend. By the dawn of the new millennium, New Delhi had quietly but firmly corrected its course.

So, while it continues to make noises on the Arab/Palestinian causes, particularly in international forums — think  Mr Manmohan Singh’s UN address calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital or Ms Pratibha Patil’s obscure demand in Damascus that the Golan Heights be returned to Syria — behind the scenes, New Delhi and Jerusalem have forged a solid alliance.

Defence cooperation is, of course, one of the most important anchors of the India-Israel bilateral. Israel is one of India’s largest arms supplier, second only to Russia. The bilateral arms trade over the last decade is estimated at $10 billion. Several Israeli systems and software now power Indian defence systems. For example, Israel’s Phalcon airborne warning and control system serves as India’s eyes in the skies while the latest range of Mig-21 Bisons and Su-30 MKI aircraft also boast of high-end Israeli technology.

India and Israel have also signed a homeland security deal which establishes a framework for institutionalised cooperation in counter-terrorism, border protection and intelligence sharing. Homeland security is an area wherein both Israel and India face similar challenges but the former, because of its history and location, has far greater expertise and superior technology. For example, years before India faced 26/11, five PLO members travelling from Lebanon, came to Tel Aviv on a boat and spread mayhem across that city. They took over Savoy Hotel and held guests and staff hostage overnight until Israeli special forces flushed them out. The year was 1973.

Another area of cooperation that has gained tremendous strength in recent years is agriculture — marking the completion of a full circle since the 1940s. With the signing of an Action Plan in 2008 which now extends upto 2015, between India’s National Horticulture Mission and Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, Israel has been sharing its best-practices and helping build capacity in the Indian agriculture sector. Across India, 28 Centres of Excellence have been set up for rapid transfer of technology, such as drip irrigation and ‘fertigation’.

The Centre in Gharaunda, Karnal, for instance, produces hybrid plug seedlings of tomatoes, cherry-tomatoes, coloured capsicum and cucumbers which have dramatically increased crop yields while also reducing water use and cutting down on pesticides and fertilisers. Similarly, in the Dapoli centre in Maharashtra, mango trees have been rejuvenated to produce better quality and more quantity fruit. If scaled up, it can revolutionise the mango industry in the Konkan. Similar success stories have also emerged in  the fields water treatment and desalination. There are also plans of incorporating Israeli technology in the cleaning up of the Ganga. In fact, Gujarat, under Mr Narendra Modi, was one of the States to partner with Israel in the field of agriculture. Now, with Mr Modi at the helm, relations between the two countries are expected to scale greater heights.

Re-imagining diplomacy in the 21st century

Israel’s outgoing Ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz offers his assessment of the emerging bilateral

On his three-year tenure: It's impossible to put three years in India in a nutshell but you don't leave India the way you came here.

As one of your Foreign Secretaries  told me, diplomacy is about creating options for your Government. And the Israel-India relation is a good example of what diplomacy should look like in the 21st century — a combination of classic diplomacy and one that creates tangible things together that impact the daily lives of Indians and Israelis.

On the big takeaways from his tenure: The anchoring of the agricultural centres of excellence; Industrial R&D supplemented by academic research; and the public security agreement, which can be a strategic gamechanger.

On deliverables in the near future: In agriculture, we hope to finalise the second three-year working plan. I'm also hopeful about brining in Israeli water technology mainly with re-cycling in mind. Israel recycles 80 per cent of its sewage. India can too. We are natural water friends.

On the free trade agreement: Another round of negotiations is coming up in July. This will be the ninth round since 2010. The economic engine of the relationship is an indispensable one. We have moved from $180 million to five billion dollars in trade and can easily double or triple the number. But for that we need an FTA.

The FTA will also shift the focus to more high tech fields of interaction. This is what we are good at and this is what our economies demand.

On investment in infrastructure projects: Much of the investment, worth millions of dollars, is in the hands of private Israeli companies. Also, the Israeli Port Authority is building a port in Gujarat. Renewable energy projects in north India have shown great results too. The desalination project in Tamil Nadu is impressive. When the gate opens and you walk into the plant, it looks exactly like the one on the shores of the Mediterranean — except that everybody is Indian.

On the 2012 attack on the Embassy: You have very few cases of a foreign Government — Iran — sending its assassins to kill a hosted diplomat in the heart of the capital. Your people cracked the case and they have provided us with security that enables us to do our work.

On his love for Calcutta: Calcutta has a special place in my heart. It's exploding with energy and there's a lot of culture and tremendouly interesting people. I have always enjoyed my interactions with the Chief Minister and am grateful for her friendship and support. I am also a big fan of Bengali cuisine.  

(This article was published in the op-ed section of The Pioneer on June 12, 2014)