SUMMARY of the Article “The Uphill Climb to Woo Neighbours,” by Jawed Naqvi, Dawn, September 24th, 2024
The article examines India’s foreign relations in the context of its growing strategic involvement with its neighbors, particularly Sri Lanka. It begins by recounting a symbolic act by the Indian high commissioner in Sri Lanka, who installed a water vending machine at a tourist site to showcase India’s goodwill. However, this small gesture is contrasted with the larger, more significant geopolitical issues brewing between India, its neighbors, and Western allies. The focus then shifts to India’s entanglement in the US-led strategy to counter China’s influence, particularly through initiatives like the anti-China Quad group. The article explores how this strategy might backfire for India, especially as Sri Lanka elects Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Beijing-friendly Marxist leader, as its president. Despite India’s efforts to court Dissanayake, including a state visit and diplomatic outreach, the new leader’s stance on Indian businessman Gautam Adani’s projects in Sri Lanka has been openly critical. Dissanayake accused the Adani Group of striking corrupt deals, promising to cancel the wind power project if elected. The article points out that India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may need to reevaluate its approach to regional diplomacy, as its close ties with Western powers and controversial business figures like Adani could complicate its relationships with neighboring nations. The broader message is that India must be cautious not to alienate its neighbors by focusing too heavily on Western strategic interests or allowing corrupt business practices to tarnish its image in the region.
Easy/Short SUMMARY:
The article talks about India’s relationship with its neighbors, especially Sri Lanka. It describes how India is trying to show goodwill through small gestures like installing water vending machines. However, the bigger issue is how India is caught in a global power struggle with China and the West. Sri Lanka recently elected a leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is more supportive of China. Despite India’s efforts to be friendly with him, Dissanayake criticized Indian businessman Gautam Adani for corrupt business deals in Sri Lanka. The article suggests that India needs to be careful not to damage its relationships with neighbors by focusing too much on Western interests and controversial businesses.
SOLUTIONS of The Problem:
Strengthening Diplomatic Relations
India needs to focus on maintaining healthy diplomatic relationships with its neighbors by engaging in frequent, high-level dialogues and collaborations that address mutual concerns, rather than simply relying on symbolic gestures like installing water vending machines.
Redefining Regional Interests
India must clearly define and prioritize its regional interests, particularly in relation to China and the US. Rather than aligning itself too closely with Western strategies, it should adopt a more balanced approach that considers the unique dynamics of its neighboring countries.
Transparency in Business Deals
To avoid accusations of corruption and exploitation, India should ensure that business dealings in neighboring countries are transparent and mutually beneficial. Indian companies like Adani must be held accountable to ethical standards in foreign investments.
Local Economic Collaboration
India should seek to engage in joint economic ventures with its neighbors that benefit both sides equally. This could include infrastructure development, trade agreements, and technology sharing, which would improve regional cooperation and reduce tensions.
Strengthening Regional Organizations
India should work towards strengthening regional organizations like SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) to foster multilateral cooperation in South Asia and avoid the perception that it is prioritizing Western alliances over regional ties.
Addressing Security Concerns Collectively
Rather than positioning itself as part of a Western anti-China bloc, India should work with its neighbors to address collective security concerns, such as maritime security, through regional coalitions that do not exclude major players like China.
Reducing Western Influence on Foreign Policy
India’s foreign policy should aim to reduce the direct influence of Western powers, ensuring that its decisions in the region are made based on its own strategic interests rather than as a byproduct of Western-led initiatives like the Quad.
Promoting Sustainable Energy Solutions
India can turn controversies like the Adani wind power project into an opportunity by promoting sustainable and affordable energy solutions that benefit the host countries more than foreign investors, reducing friction and gaining goodwill.
Focus on Anti-Corruption Initiatives
By supporting anti-corruption initiatives both domestically and in neighboring countries, India can improve its image and reduce the chances of foreign leaders, like Dissanayake, accusing Indian businesses of unethical practices.
Better Public Relations Strategies
India needs to improve its public relations strategies in neighboring countries to highlight the long-term benefits of its investments and diplomatic efforts, countering any negative perceptions created by isolated incidents of controversy.
IMPORTANT Facts and Figures Given in the Article:
- India installed a water vending machine at a tourist site in Sri Lanka as a gesture of goodwill.
- Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Sept 21, 2024, saw Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist leader, win the presidency.
- The Quad group consists of India, Japan, Australia, and the US, aimed at countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.
- Dissanayake has accused Indian tycoon Gautam Adani of corruption and threatened to cancel a $442 million wind power project in Sri Lanka.
- The Adani Group is involved in several large-scale projects in Sri Lanka, including a $700 million container terminal at the Colombo Port.
MCQs from the Article:
1. Who was elected as Sri Lanka’s president in the Sept 21, 2024, election?
A. Ranil Wickremesinghe
B. Narendra Modi
C. Anura Kumara Dissanayake
D. Gautam Adani
2. What group is India a part of that aims to counter China’s influence?
A. SAARC
B. Quad
C. ASEAN
D. BRICS
3. Which Indian business tycoon was accused of corruption by Sri Lanka’s new president?
A. Mukesh Ambani
B. Gautam Adani
C. Ratan Tata
D. Anand Mahindra
4. What is the estimated value of Adani Green Energy’s wind power project in Sri Lanka?
A. $1 billion
B. $250 million
C. $442 million
D. $500 million
5. Which strategic port in Sri Lanka is considered crucial for India’s Western allies?
A. Colombo Port
B. Hambantota Port
C. Trincomalee Port
D. Galle Port
VOCABULARY:
- Proverbially (مثلًا): In a way that relates to a famous saying or proverb.
- Entangled (پھنس جانا): Involved in a difficult situation from which it is hard to escape.
- Strategic (حکمت عملی): Related to the planning and direction of large-scale military or political operations.
- Pivot (مرکز): A central point or turning point.
- Soft-soaping (خوشامد کرنا): Trying to win someone over through flattery.
- Ascent (چڑھائی): A climb or upward journey.
- Phlegmatic (سست): Having an unemotional and calm disposition.
- Trotskyite (ٹراٹسکی کا پیروکار): A follower of the ideas of Leon Trotsky, a Marxist revolutionary.
- Ambush (گھات لگانا): To attack unexpectedly from a hidden position.
- Corruption (بدعنوانی): Dishonest conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.
- Rapprochement (مفاہمت): The re-establishment of harmonious relations between countries.
- Avatar (نمونہ): An embodiment or manifestation of an idea or person.
- Vigilance (چوکسی): The action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.
- Tenuous (کمزور): Very weak or slight.
- Periphery (حاشیہ): The outer limits or edge of an area or object.
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The uphill climb to woo neighbours
Jawed Naqvi
A MONTH to the date before Sri Lanka’s Sept 21 presidential polls would elect a firebrand Marxist head of state, and disturb the political furniture in the region and beyond, the Indian high commissioner to Colombo installed a free water vending machine at a tourist site in Sigiriya.
At slightly over half the steep climb to the summit of the 180 metres high volcanic granite relic of King Kasyapa’s ancient fort-and-cave spectacle in the heart of Sri Lanka, the Indian envoy announced the RO machine on a metal plaque, which glistened in the sapping heat with the message of neighbourly goodwill “from the people of India”.
If the Indian envoy’s intent was to win friends or impress visitors, the investment fell short of its goal on two counts. A truer point that the water taps missed lies in a six-hour drive to Sri Lanka’s southernmost tip.
It’s here that a strategic port has come up abutting a sea lane seen as more crucial for India’s Western allies than for India. How New Delhi under Narendra Modi’s watch has got itself entangled with the US-led and completely self-centred ‘pivot to the East’ strategy offers an object lesson on how not to rise to the bait in a purely bilateral dispute, this one being essentially between Beijing and Washington. The day the two make up, even if they don’t end up kissing, proverbially, the cheerleaders in the transient stand-off wouldn’t know where to look.
The diplomatic soft-soaping from Dissanayake’s India visit seems not to have worked.
Pakistan has been used selfishly twice by the West, on both turns under the watch of a muscle-flexing military ruler. It’s in an economic mess today, but does the West care? Moreover, in the current context, the ascent of the Philippines as a China-specific military outpost for the US threatens to undercut Delhi’s worth in the Western strategy, say leading US think tanks.
And so, it would seem odd for New Delhi to share Western enthusiasm that the China-built Hambantota port somehow poses a threat to its interests.
The anti-China Quad group of which India is a member, others being Japan, Australia and the US, is as tenuous as the next business deal between the economic and political heavyweights. Yet, it so transpired that as the Beijing-friendly Anura Kumara Dissanayake was leading the Sri Lankan race, the Quad leaders were huddled in a meeting with President Joe Biden at his home in Delaware. India’s recent rapprochement with the tiny archipelago nation of the Maldives, after initial fears of Male veering sharply towards Beijing, may illustrate how mistaken Indian leaders could be about their neighbours’ intentions. The upsurge in Bangladesh also saw Delhi’s chorus boys in the media going out of their way to sow mistrust with another neighbour.
Coincidences apart, there was a starker message from the Sri Lanka polls waiting to ambush India, or perhaps not so much India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, personally. To its credit, New Delhi was not entirely unaware of the impending defeat of its preferred friend in Colombo, the outgoing president, Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Sensing the mood for change stalking the southern neighbour, New Delhi as early as February this year invited Dissanayake to visit the country, which he did as head of the National People’s Power. The NPP is purportedly a phlegmatic avatar of the virulently leftist JVP, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, in which the 56-year old Dissanayake cut his political teeth. The future president was taken on a guided tour of Delhi and Ahmedabad, Modi’s home state, and there’s a picture of him beaming in a frame with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar from that visit.
The diplomatic soft-soaping from the India visit seems not to have worked, however. Upon his return Dissanayake reiterated his main theme of fighting bigtime corruption he has accused his predecessors of indulging in. One such deal he mentioned in particular involved an Indian tycoon who has been in the crosshairs of Modi’s domestic opponents too — Gautam Adani. Modi has been accused of sacrificing India’s political and economic interests in plugging for Gautam Adani on his diplomatic sojourns. Dissanayake has been quoted as threatening to cancel Adani’s 450 MW wind power project in Sri Lanka if elected. Reports quote him as claiming the agreement was corrupt and skewed against Sri Lanka’s interests.
There are two ways for India to handle the crisis. It could treat it as a business deal between a private individual and a foreign government. Or it could regard the dealings of an individual as a cause to intervene as Indian government.
“Dissanayake highlighted that Sri Lanka is purchasing energy from Adani at a rate of $0.0826 per unit, whereas a nearby Sri Lankan firm supplies energy at only $0.0488 per unit,” a local daily in Colombo quoted him as saying. “The Adani project’s costs should decrease, given its large scale, but it’s the opposite. This is clearly a corrupt deal, and we will definitely cancel it.” The problem is that Adani is facing similar charges in Bangladesh and even from state governments in India.
In February 2023, Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment approved Adani Green Energy’s $442 million wind power project, with plants planned for Mannar and Pooneryn in northern Sri Lanka. The project has since faced legal challenges, local reports say, with its details currently under Sri Lankan supreme court’s review.
The Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, is also involved in the development of a $700m container terminal at the Colombo Port, adding to its growing presence in Sri Lanka, reports say.
From all accounts Dissanayake is not a Trotskyite variant of Don Quixote tilting at global capitalism. He says he wouldn’t reject his country’s deal with the IMF, and would prefer to adopt the business model of Vietnam, which doesn’t needlessly ruffle the West. It is India that needs to do more than humour the neighbours with RO utilities.
The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi.
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024