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Under PM Modi, India is shaping global narrative: Former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on India's ascent to global stage and US- India relations
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Harsh Vardhan Shringla. / New India Abroad
The world's perception of India is evolving, particularly in the US, according to Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a former Indian foreign secretary. This is because India is taking the initiative to shape the global narrative, rather than merely reacting to actions taken by other Western nations.
“We have tried to shape the global narrative today. Earlier, we were responding to initiatives taken by others. Today we are shaping the narrative under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” Shringla said in an interview with New India Abroad.
Using India's presidency of the G20 as an example, Shringla—who was the chief coordinator of the 2023 summit in India—discussed how the country's leadership managed to achieve consensus among participating nations on multiple issues despite geopolitical tensions.
Sharing Indian-made vaccines and medicines and inviting other countries to join their digital public infrastructure programs that aid disadvantaged populations are examples of how India is leading the way in human-centric globalization, he said. Yoga, the International Year of Millets, and Mission LIFE (lifestyle for the environment) are just a few of the government-launched programs that Shringla listed as having an impact on a global scale.
“India is the prime example of a country that has grown based on its homegrown policies, based on its own solutions to challenges and if there is any country that can provide solutions to global challenges, it's India,” Shringla said.
“So, I think today in every way that you can look at it, we have instilled a sense of a country that is contributing to the world, a country that has come of age and as the Prime Minister says that today it is Bharat’s (India’s) time. It is a foreign policy that is Bharat first and that has made the difference,” he asserted.
US-India relations matured in past 10 years
Optimism for India-US relations was voiced by Shringla, a former Indian ambassador to the US. He noted that the relationship has grown and that both nations have achieved so much in the past decade. Recognizing the indictment that implicates an Indian government official and a few critical American media reports about India, Shringla stated that although tensions between democracies are inevitable, the bigger picture must be considered in order to maintain progress.
"I think there is a certain amount of clarity in the minds of those who take policy decisions in the US that the larger relationship is too important to be affected by any issues that could arise in the normal course of such an extensive bilateral discourse." He went on to say that many American officials do not see those issues as "roadblocks" in their relationship with India.
Next five years critical for India
“We are now on the critical takeoff stage, and the next five years will be critical in shaping the next thousand years in the way India develops,” Shringla said in the context of the ongoing elections in India, where Prime Minister Modi seeks a third term.
“They (India's youth) will provide a mandate to the leadership that will bring them the best opportunities and take us to a situation we have never even dreamt of being a developed country in every sense of the world, whether it's women led development, economic development, socioeconomic development, or environmental development.” he added.
The country will move closer to its objective of becoming a developed nation by 2047 and the global economy will benefit from a resounding victory in the elections, claims Shringla.
“If we are one sixth of humanity and we are doing well, then everybody else will also do well. It'll contribute to an upsurge in the global economy. So everybody is conscious of that. And the US, as a very close partner country, I think believes that India's growth will also be to the advantage of the United States,” he said.
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