Author | S. Jaishankar |
---|---|
Language | English |
Subject | Geopolitics |
Published | 2024 |
Publisher | Rupa & Co. |
Publication place | India |
Media type | |
Pages | 237 |
ISBN | 978-9357026406 |
Preceded by | The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World |
Why Bharat Matters is a 2024 non-fictional book written by Indian politician and author S. Jaishankar , and published by Rupa Publications. Jaishankar was the incumbent Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India in the Second Modi ministry at the time of publishing. [1]
In this work, Jaishankar discusses India's foreign policy and emphasises the importance of Bharat, i.e. India, with its ever-growing role on the global stage as a potential superpower. [2]
Why Bharat Matters is Jaishankar's second book, followed by his previous book The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World, in which he provided his analysis of India's geopolitical strategy since independence, along with India's historical statecraft and the impact of colonisation. [3]
In Why Bharat Matters, Jaishankar delves deeper into India's foreign policy landscape, emphasising the country's cultural values and global ambitions. He explores the significance of India's historical heritage, particularly drawing insights from the epic Ramayana. It discusses India's evolving role in the global arena, emphasising the importance of transparent digital realms, resilient supply chains, and strategic economic decisions.
The book also addresses key initiatives implemented by Indian government such as 'SAGAR' and 'Neighbourhood First', showcasing India's surfacing as a positive force on the global stage. Through a blend of tradition, heritage, and modernity, Jaishankar portrays India as a confident and committed nation poised to play an important role in international affairs. [2] [4]
Columnist and scholar Harshil Mehta, in his review for Firstpost , called the book important for encouraging debates over civilisational heritage of India and presenting views of the Modi government on international affairs. [5]
In a review for The Indian Express , the editor C Raja Mohan praised the book for sparking much-needed debate about Jawaharlal Nehru's foreign policy. He further added that the book will help readers break away from the perspective that everything Indian foreign leadership did in the past was the correct choice for that moment. [6] The New Indian Express hailed the book calling it a well-timed collection of historical essays that explores India’s foreign policy initiatives, that underscore major pivotal moments. [7]
Writing for The Asian Age , editor Indranil Banerjie stated, the book is invaluable, but not reader-friendly, calling it a textbook on government foreign policy instead of a juicy thesis on Bharat. [8]
Narendra Damodardas Modi is an Indian politician serving as the current Prime Minister of India since 26 May 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest-serving prime minister outside the Indian National Congress.
Chilamkuri Raja Mohan is an Indian academic, journalist and foreign policy analyst. He is the Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Previously, he was the founding Director of Carnegie India. He has also been a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and prior to that, a professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Professor of Centre for South, Central, Southeast Asian and Southwest Pacific Studies, School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He was the Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar in the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. during 2009-10.
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vikram Misri is the 35th and the current Foreign Secretary.
The bilateral relations between the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan and the Republic of India have been traditionally close and both countries share a "special relationship", making Bhutan a protected state, but not a protectorate, of India. India remains influential over Bhutan's foreign policy, defence and commerce. Bhutan is the largest beneficiary of India's foreign aid.
Canada and India have had longstanding bilateral relations. India has become one of the top source countries for immigration to Canada with Indian diaspora increasing to over one million as of 2022. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data, of the more than 800,000 international students in Canada in 2022, 40 percent were from India, constituting the largest international student group in Canada. Bilateral trade between India and Canada has seen significant growth in recent years, reaching $8.16 billion in 2023. Both Canada and India are member nations of the Commonwealth association, and also part of G20, a group of world's largest economies.
Bharat Karnad is an emeritus professor in National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi and a national security expert. He is the author of India's Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Weapons and Indian Security: The Realist Foundations of Strategy and author-editor of Future Imperilled: India's Security in the 1990s and Beyond.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is an Indian diplomat and politician, who is the thirtieth Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India since 31 May 2019. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 5 July 2019. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018. He is the second diplomat to be appointed India's External Affairs minister, after Natwar Singh.
The foreign policy of the Modi government, also referred to as the Modi doctrine is associated with the policy initiatives made towards other states by the current government of India after Narendra Modi assumed the office of prime minister on May 26, 2014.
The most significant initiative made by the Narendra Modi government is the focus on neighbouring countries and major Asian powers coupled with emphasizing on the two decades old Look East policy. Asia being the major focus area of his foreign policy, Modi and his foreign minister chose several Asian countries for their initial bilateral visits. He has made state visits to Bhutan and Nepal and Japan within the first 100 days of his government and also hosted Asian leaders like former Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng of Vietnam, apart from inviting SAARC leaders in his inauguration ceremony. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has also made official visits to several Asian capitals like Dhaka, Bangladesh, Kathmandu, Nepal, Naypidaw, Myanmar, Singapore, Hanoi, Vietnam, Manama, Bahrain, Kabul, Afghanistan, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Malé, Maldives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Seoul, South Korea and Beijing China.
India–Qatar relations refers to the bilateral ties between India and Qatar. India maintains an embassy in Doha, while Qatar maintains an embassy in New Delhi and a consulate in Mumbai.
Vijay Keshav Gokhale IFS, born 24 January 1959, is a retired Indian diplomat and the 32nd Foreign Secretary of India. Gokhale previously served as the Ambassador of India to China.
The History of Indian foreign policy refers to the foreign relations of modern India post-independence, that is the Dominion of India (from 1947 to 1950) and the Republic of India (from 1950 onwards).
V.P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India is a non-fiction book by V. P. Menon's great-granddaughter Narayani Basu, published by Simon & Schuster India in 2020. The book is a biography of V. P. Menon, an Indian civil servant who assisted Sardar Patel in the political integration of India, and was one of the founders of Swatantra Party which advocated free market policies.
SAGAR, used as a backronym or reverse acronym which stands for Security and Growth for All in the Region, is a label used by the Prime Minister and Government of India for India's vision and geopolitical framework of maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. Sagar means 'ocean' or 'sea' in multiple Indian languages. Since the first usage of the phrase in 2015 at Port Louis by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the term has been adapted to include more elements such as linkages with the Indo-Pacific region.
Atmanirbhar Bharat, which translates to 'self-reliant India', is a phrase the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and his government used and popularised in relation to the country's economic development plans. The phrase is an umbrella concept for the Modi government's plans for India to play a larger role in the world economy, and for it to become more efficient, competitive and resilient.
Parliament House, in New Delhi is the seat of the Parliament of India. It houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, which are lower and upper houses respectively in India's bicameral parliament.
Vishvaguru or Vishwaguru is a Sanskrit phrase and idea which translates to world or global teacher, world guru, tutors of the world, world leader, or teacher to the world or universe.
The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World is a 2020 book by Indian politician and author S. Jaishankar who serves as the Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India. This is his first book where he discusses India's geopolitical strategy since independence along with India's historical statecraft, the impact of colonization, and the country's journey towards rediscovering its unique identity in the global arena.
De-hyphenation is a form of foreign policy where a country keeps diplomatic ties with two or more countries with conflicting interests, without letting the conflicts prioritize one country over another. The policy allows countries to hold independent relations with countries otherwise distrustful or hostile towards each other while treating each country as a single entity rather than as a part of a conflict with the other countries.