Soundbites in Place of Strategy: How Modi Squandered India's Global Voice
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/indias-diplomacy-is-measured-not-mute/article69780623.ece Lewis Carroll once quipped, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” It seems Priyam Gandhi-Mody, in her recent op-ed, has taken that advice a bit too literally. With the enthusiasm of a Bhakt moonlighting as a strategist, she argues that India’s silence on global affairs is proof of rising diplomatic maturity. “India speaks when it matters,” she declares. Allow me to disagree — robustly. Let’s begin with the absurd. Amit Shah, in full campaign mode, not so long ago claimed that “Modi ne war rukwa dee” — that the Prime Minister stopped the Russia-Ukraine war. Never mind that the war hasn’t paused for a second. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv remembers this magical intervention. And yet, we are told this is what “measured” diplomacy looks like — restraint wrapped in gravitas. I call it what it is: a strategic muzzle, saffron-tinted and politically convenient. ...