India and the World

No Trump worry, US envoy says India-US ties will be on upswing

- by India Writes Network

Shed Trump anxiety; India-US relations will be on an upswing. This was the reassuring message from US envoy Richard Verma amid ripples of worries in some sections in India about what the incoming Trump presidency will bring for India.
Alluding to an all-round transformation of India-US relations in the last two years, Mr Verma, the first Indian-American to be appointed as the UA ambassador to India, underlined that the US will continue to support India’s rise and will be New Delhi’s closest partner in months to come. “India is a country on the rise. We will support India’s rise and continue to be your closest partner,” the US envoy told an audience of diplomats, businessmen and journalists at a luxury hotel in the Indian capital on December 6. He was speaking at an interaction organised by industry body CII and Indo-American Friendship Association.
Providing a snapshot of the dramatic upsurge in the India-US relations, Mr Verma projected that “this upward trajectory will continue.” Allaying apprehensions about any possible diminution of commitment by the Trump administration towards India, the envoy argued that the momentum in the India-US strategic partnership will continue as there is widespread bipartisan consensus across the political spectrum in Washington.

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UNESCO boost for India’s cultural diplomacy: Yoga declared as world treasure

- by Manish Chand

It’s a high moment for the global march of yoga and India’s cultural diplomacy. Building on the success of the UN’s designation of the International Yoga Day, the UNESCO has now declared yoga as “world treasure” and inscribed the ancient Indian practice in its Representative List as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In a quiet diplomatic triumph for India, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the 24-member Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage unanimously declared Yoga as a “Human Treasure” on December 1. The panel overturned the decision of an Evaluation Body of technical experts, which sought to defer the case to the next session of the Committee in 2017.
The Indian Delegation to Addis Ababa was led by India’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO Ruchira Kamboj. “Never ever happened before! After #Yoga inscription, entire conference does Yogic breathing,” tweeted Ms Kamboj. India’s Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma hailed the UNESCO’s inscription of yoga as “a huge achievement for India.”

The decision is set to give an added boost to the global popularity of yoga as yoga activities can be now promoted with the prestigious UNESCO branding and logo.
The UNESCO’s inscription of yoga also provides more resonance to India’s role as a bridge-builder in promoting a global dialogue on intercultural relations and sustainable development.

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Fidel Castro says final goodbye: Legacy open to debate

- by India Writes Network

Iconic revolutionary and Cuba’s former president Fidel Castro has died, leaving behind a mixed legacy that will continue to be debated for years to come.
“El Commandante” or “Fidel,” as he was fondly called by Cuban people, had become a living legend in his lifetime for defying American power and shunning temptations of market economy for decades. A lawyer who turned into the world’s most famous guerrilla leader dislodged the brutal US-backed Batista regime in 1959, and ruled his country for nearly five decades, becoming the longest-serving non-royal leader.
The 90-year-old revolutionary icon, famed for his rumpled olive fatigues, straggly bears and Havana cigars (which he had to give up due to failing health) survived many assassination attempts and years of tough US economic embargo, which he blamed for abetting poverty in his country. A trenchant critic of the capitalist system, Castro has famously said: “A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past.” He has left a nation which remains overwhelmingly poor, but is known for free medical services and free schooling.

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India & LAC: A Narrative of Opportunity

- by Manish Chand

It’s time for Latin America in India and India in Latin America. Away from the noise of screaming headlines and geopolitical games, there will be quiet celebrations to toast the blossoming India-Latin America & the Caribbean relations in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, famed for tequila, peppy mariachi music and Indian IT companies. For two days (November 28-29), ministers, businessmen, entrepreneurs, policy-makers and analysts of India and over 25 LAC countries will gather in the bustling economic hub of Mexico to flesh out a robust vision of upscaling this crucial partnership that is bound by convergent interests and mutual goodwill.
Defying downbeat trends in an uncertain global economic landscape, India, the world’s fastest growing economy, is betting big on Latin America, an emerging growth pole of the world, and vice-versa. Together, both sides, fired by a can-do optimism, are determined to shape a narrative of opportunity and bring it to fruition.
This emerging alchemy of economic and strategic interests between the two far-off but increasingly connected regions will be showcased and dissected at the first India-Latin America & Caribbean Conclave to be held in the LAC region.
Blending diplomacy with business and culture with connectivity, the India-LAC relations are set to move onto a higher stratosphere. In the region in which myths intersect with reality effortlessly, generating magical moments, some focused pragmatic steps combined with inspired diplomacy can widen the arc of the India-LAC partnership and help fructify new dreams and new possibilities inherent in this burgeoning relationship. It’s time to tango, and match steps, as they say out there.

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Toasting India-Thailand Sanskrit Bonding: Honouring Princess Sirindhorn

- by Shweta Aggarwal

It was a time for Indo-Thai cultural bonding. Sanskrit and sanskriti (culture) blended beautifully as Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was conferred the first World Sanskrit Award in the Indian capital on November 21.
“The Thai language is very different from Sanskrit. But culturally it’s very similar,” the Thai princess said after receiving the first Sanskrit award instituted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It’s a great honour to receive it from the Vice President of the country. The award included US$ 20,000, a citation and a lapel pin.
Sirindhorn, fondly called by Thais as “Phra Thep” (“princess angel”), has emerged as a top contender for the crown in Thailand after the recent death of the country’s beloved monarch. A well-regarded scholar of Sanskrit, the 60-year-old Thai Princess has served as Royal Patron for the World Sanskrit Conference.
In his speech, Vice-President Hamid Ansari evoked the beauty and depth of the Sanskrit language in which many of India’s iconic religious and philosophical texts were written.
Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar underscored the effortless spread of Sanskrit to foreign countries over the years, and cited it as an example of India’s soft power. “Sanskrit did not travel with arms and is the first true evidence of what we today call soft power,” he said.

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Deconstructing Trump victory: What numbers tell

- by India Writes Network

As Donald Trump won a “stunning” victory, poll numbers of the “political earthquake” have already begun to be deconstructed. How was Trump able to upset the apple cart, when overwhelmingly all poll data before the elections showed Clinton as the likely president-elect? As ‘not my president’ becomes the rallying cry for American citizens who are shocked to see a political amateur become their leader, it is clear something somewhere was dismissed, not taken sufficiently into account or not factored at all into the equations. What is now being closely questioned is whether Trump won or Clinton lost — and it seems very likely that the latter is what won Trump the US presidency.

Donald Trump’s electoral map looks unlike what Republican nominee maps have usually looked like. Clearly, the rage of the rustbelt went under-appreciated, even in the Trump camp, where internal polling did not see a victory for the business tycoon. The same can be said of what is clearly a deeper anguish and anxiety over race. And thus, while it was expected that white, working class individuals with no more than a high-school education would form the base support for Trump, exit polls indicate that all white people, regardless of class, gender and education levels, took what a panelist on MSNBC called “the last stand” against the browning of America.
In the end, disinterest and apathy, sexism and a genuine dislike for Hillary Clinton, due to her close identification of the Washington status quo, are all factors that ended up costing Clinton the elections and tilting the balance in Trump’s favour.

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Why India-Japan nuclear concord is a big deal

- by Manish Chand

Marking the transformative moment in India-Japan relations, Asia’s second and third largest economies signed a historic nuclear pact that signals a new dawn in their burgeoning relations, and makes Tokyo an indispensable partner in India’s development journey.
In Kantei, the stately glass-and-wood office of Japan’s prime minister, there was an atmosphere of quiet celebration as Tokyo made a leap of faith and exceptionalized India by signing its first nuclear deal with a country which hasn’t signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe smiled as India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and Japan’s ambassador to India signed the pact and shook hands warmly.
It was an India-plus exception and underscored New Delhi’s growing profile in Tokyo’s strategic calculus. For Mr Abe it wasn’t an easy decision given Japan’s entrenched nuclear non-proliferation orthodoxy and its singular experience of being attacked by nuclear negotiations, but in the end his strategic vision of the potential of the world’s fastest growing economy and an emerging security provider won.
The text of the nuclear agreement has not been made public so far, but Mr Jaishankar underlined “striking similarities” with the 123 agreement India signed with the US. It’s an improvised and updated version of the 123 agreement, albeit with Japan-specific features.
The deal’s importance goes much beyond nuclear commerce, and paves the stage for a marked acceleration of India-Japan relations in all areas, including trade and investment, green energy and connectivity. This was clear from the signing of 10 agreements and a soaring vision of India-Japan relations which will draw Asia’s two leading democracies in a tighter strategic embrace in the Indo-Pacific region. The deal also signalled a more proactive and expanded role by Japan in key schemes of national renewal, including Make in India, Digital India and Skill India.

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Modi trumpets ‘Incredible India of credible policies’ in Tokyo

- by Manish Chand

Kindling the India growth story anew on a wet and rainy day in the Japanese capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the centrality of India-Japan relations in Asia’s emergence and pitched for more enhanced investments from Asia’s second largest economy.

The conference hall at Keidanren, the seat of Japan’s all-powerful corporate body, was buzzing with energy and enthusiasm as Mr Modi addressed a galaxy of top Japanese leaders and highlighted a set of steps taken by his government which have made India the world’s most attractive investment destination.

“Today, India is on the path of several major transformations. We have taken decisive steps and built a governance system that will help India realize its potential. The results are already visible,” Mr Modi said.“Today, India is on the path of several major transformations. We have taken decisive steps and built a governance system that will help India realize its potential. The results are already visible,” Mr Modi said.

“Even against a weak international economic scenario, the news from India is of strong growth and abundant opportunities. It is of Incredible opportunities, and about India’s Credible Policies.”

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