A hug and an invite: A shift in Indian foreign policy

An interesting, even ironic, aspect of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis, the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, in the Vatican, was that it was sought out by India. For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led establishment, which wants to build its support base in states like Kerala and Goa, and in the Northeast, where Christians form a sizeable part of the population, the optics were great and the meeting with and invitation to the Pontiff to visit India are politically expedient.

While the BJP lauded the meeting as one which firmly elevates Modi to the stature of global statesman, increasingly, religion appears to be an important factor in the conduct of not just domestic, but also foreign policy.

The irony in the message the Pontiff conveyed in his gift to the Indian Prime Minister seems to have been lost. Inscribed on the brass plaque the Pope gifted Modi was a verse from a chapter of Isaiah from the Old Testament, which speaks of the ‘Kingdom of Righteousness,” in which “no longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel highly respected, for fools speak folly……scoundrels… make up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.”

The meeting with the Pope, which saw a return to Modi’s brand of prepandemic diplomacy, called “hug-plomacy”, or enveloping world leaders in hugs to reflect familiarity, comes amidst the backdrop of heightened tensions between governments of BJP-ruled states and the country’s second largest religious minority community, over the issue of forced conversions. However, there is little doubt that the meeting between the Pope and Modi will resonate with India’s 18 million Catholics, particularly at a time when Goa state, with a considerable Roman Catholic population, is due for elections.

The adage ‘how to win friends and influence people’ appears to be an important feature of Indian foreign policy, with a twist - how to visit places and meet people who could influence domestic electoral politics. That is what happened when Modi visited Bangladesh this March, ahead of assembly polls in West Bengal, and visited places which held significance for Matuas, many of whom live in West Bengal. His Hindu credentials were also firmly on display with an important shrine visit. That was the first time a prime ministerial visit abroad was so obviously used to try and influence a provincial election.

Along with domestic electoral politics, Indian foreign policy appears to have become more religious in nature, moving to espouse the cause of some religious communities, predominantly the majority Hindus. A recent outbreak of violence during the major Hindu festival in Comilla in Bangladesh, which saw one person, a Bangladeshi Hindu, killed, had the Indian government expressing “concern” for the welfare of Hindus in that country. The government of Bangladesh immediately, “unequivocally” condemned the incident and arrested the perpetrators.

The incident will be probed as a crime and the perpetrators tried in a fast track trial, as an internal Bangladesh government document stated. It is curious why the fate of a Hindu or, indeed, of Sikhs in neighbouring countries should exercise the Indian government which, according to the Indian Constitution, is not supposed to profess any religious preferences. The man who died in Comilla was not Indian. When an Indian citizen, Danish Siddiqui, was killed in Afghanistan, expressions of concern were not forthc o m i n g a b o u t an Indian being killed.

The focus of condemnation was the Taliban a n d t e r r o r i s t s who committed the crime, not the victim, who was not Hindu. The Indian government has not moved with any alacrity to condemn numerous criminal incidents against members of minority communities within India and appears to openly espouse religious majoritarian politics, thus hurting its image not only in the neighbourhood, but globally, now prompting regular rebukes from Human Rights agencies and foreign legislatures.

It is unclear how condoning rabble-rousers leading delegations to protest against “genocide” in front of Bangladeshi diplomatic missions furthers India’s diplomatic goodwill or clout, while New Delhi chooses to look away when Indians from minority communities are attacked in the country for their culinary or sartorial choices.

India as a country is too important, and its economy too large and significant, to be ignored or even side-lined. However, the goodwill generated over decades by governments even-handedly adhering to the rule of law appears visibly eroded. Afghans no longer seek to come to India, while other neighbours are openly critical.

During Modi’s recent visit to the US, Vice-President Kamala Harris, of Indi