Tunis is the city where, 700 years earlier, Ibn Khaldun was born. He wrote about the persistent human propensity to disregard changed conditions; in the process he told us a good deal about the rise and fall of political and military power. His formulation on the philosophy of history, according to Arnold Toynbee, was "undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place".
My subject today is India and the world. Before delving into it, I wish to draw attention to a very disorderly world that all of us are confronted with today. An eminent American strategic thinker and practitioner of the art of realpolitik described the 20th century as a period of "Megadeath and Metamyth" spawning false notions of total control, derived from arrogant assertions of total righteousness. More recently, he wrote that "the world is now interactive and interdependent. It is also, for the first time, a world in which the problems of human survival have begun to overshadow more traditional international conflicts".
You will recall that in the wake of the end of the Cold War, and the expectation of an era of global cooperation for common good, a comprehensive agenda for peace was enunciated focusing on preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping, peace-making and peace building. Other initiatives came forth for addressing human security questions pertaining to economic development, social justice, environmental protection, democratisation, disarmament, respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Although interstate conflicts have admittedly declined, the experience of the past quarter of a century shows the manner in which the expectations of a more comprehensive corrective have been belied:
There has been a phenomenal increase in lower intensity civil conflicts; there has been an increase in violence against unprotected civilians; some of these conflicts have spilled across State boundaries and their principal victims are civilians; they have dislocated human populations and are endangering human security; they tend to undermine the nation state, and are creating friction between neighbouring countries.
We have witnessed the ease with which regional and sub-national conflicts have spiralled into broader conflict and become a global security challenge. These threats are increasingly emanating from non-state sources such as organised crime, organised terrorist outfits and pirates. Even more disturbing is the trend where non-state armed groups appear as parties in violent conflict.
The traditional security architecture has been slow to respond to these new realities, even as the economic prominence of new players is remarkably well understood. While emerging economies have secured a role in the global economic system, the Security Council of the United Nations remains a captive of its five Permanent Members. This intransigence has constrained the ability of the established security systems to address the evolving nature of security challenges.
This is the global landscape in which India has endeavoured in recent decades to address its developmental challenges and its role in the world. Some of its salient features are:
Twenty-five years of economic liberalisation, beginning in 1991, have transformed India's economy. The average annual growth rate of seven per cent has created wealth, allowing millions of Indians to take part, and to benefit from, a globalised world. Despite this, about one-third of our population lives in extreme poverty and we face formidable challenges of education, training, human and infrastructure development.
Our total global trade grew from $37.3 billion in 1991 to $ 758.5 billion in 2016. There has been a phenomenal increase in India's industrial and agricultural output. A business-friendly India is today one of the leading recipients of foreign direct investment in a range of sectors.
The availability of additional resources has allowed us to invest more in education and welfare of our citizens, which in turn has provided India with a wealth of scientific and entrepreneurial talent.
India is recognised as the world leader in the pharmaceutical sector and the information technology domain. Our capability in space technology and nuclear sciences has been recognised globally.
Strong growth has added to India's maritime and strategic capacity. Our defence capabilities have increased; so has our capacity to provide overseas security and humanitarian support to our friends and those in need. We like to resolve our conflicts peacefully through negotiations but at the same time would like to have an effective and credible deterrence capacity to protect our legitimate interests.
A peaceful periphery is critical to our success and we believe that the entire South Asian region needs to grow with India for our sustainable prosperity. "Neighbourhood first" has, therefore, been a key component of India's world view, with a strong sense of priority being attached to enhancing cooperation with immediate neighbours. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has been infused with new energy even as we have continued our bilateral cooperation with neighbouring countries.
We have adopted an Act East policy based on enhanced connectivity with maritime neighbours to the East. The deepening of strategic and commercial ties with the Indian Ocean Rim countries have been a priority. Our "Link West" approach has invigorated cooperation with West Asia and the Persian Gulf littoral. We consider the Middle East Peace Process as the key to resolve long-pending issues and prevent further radicalisation of the region. We have sought enhanced connectivity with Eurasia through initiatives such as the Chabahar port and related infrastructure, and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, a project whose initiation I attended last year with leaders from the other partner states.
Our relationships with the major powers have expanded in the last two decades. We share a strategic relation with the US and our cooperation has deepened across a range of activities on the foundations of a convergence of our economic and political views. With Russia we have had traditionally good relations, which have expanded significantly in energy and defence cooperation sectors. With China, the bilateral trade has expanded considerably, with new avenues of economic cooperation being created. With Japan, a range of cooperation activities are being implemented, especially in the infrastructure sector.
We have reached out to our friends in Africa through initiatives such as India-Africa Forum Summit, held last year in New Delhi. We convened a conclave of South Pacific islands to explore issues of mutual interest and define India's contribution in their growth and development goals. With other emerging economies we have collaborated, such as under the BRICS forum, to develop more equitable global governance systems.
Edited excerpts from Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari's address at the Tunisian Institute of Strategic Studies, Carthage, Tunisia, on June 3
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
