India has advantage as a mediator, could play a big role: Former German ambassador weighs in

You first arrived in India with a guitar and a backpack and later returned in a diplomatic suit? What has stayed constant between the two Indias? Has your way of looking at India changed?

Of course it has changed because 50 years lay between my first touchdown in India and my arrival as ambassador. The function has changed, of course. On the surface, things have changed a lot. India is much more modern. There are no more elephants on the streets, and you have modern cars and skyscrapers. You wouldn’t recognise Mumbai or Bangalore.

But if you dig deeper, you see that many things stay the same. Take a city like Varanasi, with 7,000 years of history. How can this change in 50 years? It won’t. Many of the temples, the spirituality, the soul of India remains.

You have written that the West should learn from India, particularly humility, adaptability, and spirituality. But is this a romantic inversion of the colonial gaze, seeing India as a moral teacher rather than a modern power with its own contradictions?

In the book, it’s both. It’s a modern India with a lot of contradictions. You travel to the moon and have the best IT, digital, and AI people. And still, if you go across the countryside, you see oxen and an India like it has been 300, 400 years ago—with the difference that you can buy a banana with a cell phone.

I wouldn’t say it’s romantic, but there is a typical Indian part of the soul: the food, the religions, the colorfulness, the traditions, the languages. They are out there. The interesting thing is how well India is adopting to this modern world. There is a very modern way of doing things here which are more advanced than in many Western countries. In that sense, India has since long overtaken colonial powers.

India is a land of extremes and contradictions—the poor and the privileged, the mystic and the technocrat. How does the West perceive these contradictions?

That makes India a complicated country. As many say in India, everything is true, but the contrary is true too. It’s more countries and more centuries at the same time. It has to do with its history and its variety of cultures—a melting pot of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. To have a coexistence of all these religions is not easy for others to understand. The same is true with its 300 official languages and 28 federal states.

You have to live here and emerge into the day-to-day life to start to understand the contradictions. It’s a lifelong thing to understand.

According to former German ambassador, India is everything that the West is not – young, dynamic and innovative. (Courtesy:  Walter J. Lindner)

These days, mediation has become the new language of power. With countries like Turkey, Qatar, and China stepping in as deal brokers, where does that leave India on the global chessboard?

First, any mediation is better than war. Now, the Trump style of mediation is more “take it or leave it.” The Indian way of mediation, for hundreds of years, has always been a multipolar testing of alliances—a strategic independence. This gives India the advantage of being called in as a mediator because it has a very objective position. India had the best contacts to both Trump and Biden, to Netanyahu and Abbas, to Russia and the Europeans.

It’s not easy to strike this balance. Only India, and perhaps China due to its mass, can do it. India’s background of neutrality and not being a member of a military alliance is a big advantage in a polarised world. India could play a big role, but wisely does not impose it. If asked, I’m sure they will step in.

Do you think Europe can ever approach third-world countries like India as equals, or is a diplomatic partnership an illusion?

I hope it’s not an illusion. If it is, we are all losers. Every country is equal by definition at the UN, but India is even more equal because it’s the biggest country and has suffered under a colonial past. We better treat India as an equal and keep in mind what we have done as colonial powers.

This kind of preaching from a moral pedestal is totally outdated. 80% of the people in the world are living in the global south. We are neither the majority nor the leaders. We better have a modest, equal approach, especially to India because it’s so big.

A lot has happened since your book was written. India is under pressure to stop buying Russian oil. How do you see this pressure and India’s reaction to it?

When Russia invaded Ukraine, I was ambassador in India. In the first two weeks, I tried to convince India to follow the line of many countries. But then I understood the Indian way of seeing things—the special relationship with Russia, not just for weapons, but for Russia’s constant support in the Security Council on issues like Bangladesh and Kashmir. There’s an emotional, special relationship.

This strategic independence and balancing is the very soul of Indian foreign politics. I understand that India has its reasons for having its own speed. We have to be prudent and not order Indians by force. Give India time for its own strategic deliberations. To exercise pressure would be post-colonial.

Your red Ambassador car became a Delhi folk hero. Was it a protest against “glass box diplomacy”? What can other diplomats learn from it?

I think, unconsciously, it was a kind of protest. In diplomatic circles, you have all these BMWs and fancy things—it’s an artificial circle. I’m more an ambassador who goes out and talks to rickshaw pullers to see what’s happening in the country. When my chancellor called and asked what was happening, I could give a more authentic point of view.

It wasn’t a PR gag. I found the car in the embassy, used for postal services. I always loved those cars from my first visit. We painted it red, and I thought, why not use it to present my credentials? It became a personality of its own. It just came out of nowhere.

After Pak-based terror organisations targeted Indian civilians, India launched a surgical strike in Pakistan. How do you view Operation Sindoor?

Every country has an absolute right to self-defense. The attack was very brutal—pulling people from buses, forcing them to quote Quranic verses, and shooting them in front of their children. It’s barbaric. It is absolutely justified that India had a reaction. To my knowledge, the reaction was adequate. They could have done much more, but they kept in mind their responsibility as a nuclear power. India is very well positioned to talk about fighting Islamistic terrorists, and when they do so, they are justified.

Your book has a chapter titled “Worshipped, Banished and Burnt” about women in modern India. Has the situation for women improved from your earlier visits? What can India learn from the West?

Things have improved. The laws are better, but the problem is more the implementation of laws. When a molested woman presents herself at a police station, is she taken seriously? These practical things have to improve.

I have three chapters in the book: the glorified women (goddesses and mothers), the victims, and the modern women. It’s not a black-and-white thing. It is not easy to be a woman in India for several reasons: societal pressure, dowry, etc. You see in the countryside that boys often have more freedom. I see it as a challenge, but I also see progress.

With incidents like the theft at the Louvre, how can we globally safeguard cultural artefacts? Should colonial artefacts be returned?

First, it’s important to guard them better. On the question of returning colonial pieces, it’s a different matter. There is a question of where they are better protected. I have a mixed reaction. Pieces should be brought back, but maybe not all. They should be seen as a world heritage. If they are better protected in some places with access for everyone, that’s okay. I’m not totally in favour of bringing everything back, as it might lead to a black market. This topic has to be discussed among the concerned states.

What are your thoughts on the rise of the far-right across the world?

It has to do with many factors. The world has become more complicated with globalization and digitalization, and many people feel lost and listen to those who promise simple solutions or a return to the “old times.” Secondly, the COVID time brought an economic downfall; people lost jobs and are in despair. Thirdly, migration has played a part. There has to be a solution for illegal migration. We can’t have conflicts where illegal immigrants compete for low-paid jobs.

Politicians like Putin who disrespect laws, and an American president who doesn’t advocate for the global legal system, add to this. At the moment, we have to go through this. I hope when the economic situation improves and politicians get a grip on illegal migration, things might shift back to the centre.

If you were still a backpacker and had to send yourself a postcard, what would it say and what image would it show?

I would say, “Keep on travelling!” Because, funny enough, with all the fancy dresses as an ambassador, I still was a backpacker—being close to the people. So I would say, “Keep it up, young man!”

The image would be of a nice beach in the background, maybe in Tahiti or Lakshadweep.

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