DROPPING DIPLOMACY

                                                  

The Christmas Day of 2015 has suddenly become historical for South Asian region due to sharp diplomatic intuition of Narendra Modi. This day was fortunate for some other political developments besides  being the Christmas festival. It was on this day that both Atal Behai Vajpayi and Nawaz Sharif were born. Moreover, Mehrunnisa, grand daughter-in-law (from daughter side) of Sharif is having her marriage eve mehndi celebration in the household of the Pak Prime Minister. Till the morning of Dec.25, 2015 when Modi was taking off from Moscow on a flight to Kabul, neither in India nor in Pakistan nor anywhere else anyone had an inkling that on his way back to Delhi, he would undertake another 40-minute sojourn and drop in at Lahore as a mark of unique diplomatic initiative.

It is learnt that this morning, when Modi wished Nawaz a very happy birth day, the latter informed him about the family social function and wished him to join the occasion of double celebrations at his residence. The Indian PM, known for his forte for experiments and confidence, then and there accepted the offer and accordingly made it to Pakistan for the first time as the Indian premier without any established preparations and protocol. Of course the Defence Secretary and the the National Security advisor among some others were already in his entourage.

After taking breakfast at Kabul, he came for lunch in Pakistan and if anybody thought that the iceberg of last nearly seven decades will melt away in the pleasantry thaw of two hours, he would make a fool of himself. Our shastras say, ‘phalen prichiyte’ meaning that one knows only after seeing the fruit or result. But in international diplomacy confidence building measure (CBM) is a prerequisite to bridge any strained bilateral relations. From that angle, it was a token meeting which definitely brought both the countries closer, paving the way for the silver lining so deeply cherished by the public at large on either side of the LOC. 

There is yet another side of this unprecedented diplomacy. Of late, Russia, our old friend, after we went closer to the USA, felt crestfallen and cultivated a better relation with China and Pakistan. Russia also gave S-400, the so far most effective anti-missile RADAR cover to China. The moment Modi assumed power, he directed his efforts to revive the dissipating relation with Russia. On his last Dec. 23&24 visit to Russia, marked as a masterpiece diplomatic stroke, he could not only befriend President Putin but made him agree to contribute to ‘make in India’ campaign. The main thrustline of the visit being defence, he could successfully bargain for S-400 and several other arms, aeroplanes and helicopters. With the satisfaction of this success in the back of his mind, he had no hesitation to oblige Pak premier. Modi knows, if the continuing Indo-pak stand off ended on a peaceful note, he would go down in history not onlyas a harbinger but also a messiah of peace.

This unique diplomatic dropping, executed by Modi, may help him to smilingly say, ‘From Lahore with love’.