A Vasco da Gama, in reverse

There8217;s many a slip between the cup and the lip, but Shashank, the seniormost secretary in the MEA, is clearly hoping that his African ...

There8217;s many a slip between the cup and the lip, but Shashank, the seniormost secretary in the MEA, is clearly hoping that his African journeys over the last few months will give him enough ballast to turn around the flag-embellished corner of South Block and sprint the last 50 m dash home to the Foreign Secretary8217;s office by November 8212; which is when Kanwal Sibal retires.

For Shashank is the keystone cop of India8217;s dialogue with Africa, and in this capacity has travelled to the darkest continent not a few times recently 8212; all presumably via Paris, from where you get the best connections. Now who can forget that airline connections are only an inheritance of France8217;s great imperialist tradition, when it refused to give up Algeria and other parts of the empire right upto the early 1960s, when the UN was still very much around.

But back to Shashank, who a couple of months ago, travelled to Cote D8217;Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea, then followed that up with Mozambique and South Africa. In a couple of days, the gentleman will be wending his way to Cameroon, Benin and Nigeria. So what8217;s brought on the Indian rediscovery of Africa? And is Shashank the new Vasco da Gama, only in reverse? The answer is far more commonplace. Seems that an Indian diplomat went seeking an African nation8217;s support for a UN post and the Foreign Minister of that country blithely told him that New Delhi, ahem, should get in touch more often and not only in times of need8230; Rumour is that Shashank has by now such a wealth of material on him that he8217;s contemplating writing a book called Tales from Timbuktu and Other Stories.

New beginning with South Africa

Now there are 56 nations in all Africa, but of course there continues to be a special place in New Delhi8217;s heart for Pretoria. Notwithstanding the MEA8217;s aversion to the liberal-minded comments Nelson Mandela made about Kashmir a few years ago at a Non-Aligned Summit in Durban, India and South Africa seem at last to be stabilising their relationship. To celebrate that and more, South African President Thabo Mbeki will be in India in mid-October, when both sides will sign six agreements on information technology, defence, transfer of mining technology, education, etc. And unlike Mandela who was invited to attend the Navratra celebrations alongside Narendra Modi, Mbeki is not expected to be visiting Ahmedabad.

The Mbeki visit is clearly a highlight of MEA8217;s winter agenda, and is expected to clear the cobwebs of the mind between India and South Africa. Mandela8217;s prosaic comments about Kashmir being one of the world8217;s hotspots grated badly on New Delhi8217;s oversensitive nerves in 1998, which thought it was running a pro-West and therefore highly critical line after India8217;s nuclear tests. Still, things have eased up a bit recently, especially with IBSA, the three-country group India, Brazil and South Africa from three continents recently joining hands and wanting to together ride into the sunset. Clearly, with New Delhi far closer now to Washington than it was five years ago, there8217;s far more understanding about Pretoria.

Karmapa for Sikkim?

For the last two years, a political battle has been brewing in the heart of one of Buddhism8217;s most powerful sects, and for some strange reason the MEA has decided it must be the arbiter of the Karma Kagyu sect8217;s destiny. For two years since he escaped from the Tsurphu monastery in Tibet, Karmapa Ugyen Thinley Dorji has not been allowed to venture within breathing distance of Sikkim, where the seat of the Kagyu sect, the Rumtek monastery, is located. Neither has he been given travel documents that let all Tibetan refugees resident in India travel abroad. According to the MEA, if the young Karmapa wants to return to Tibet, from where he escaped two years ago, then that8217;s perfectly fine with them. All this, despite the PM8217;s recent visit to China, when Vajpayee promised that India8217;s Tibetan population will be not be asked to leave the country.

Still, there8217;s hope yet. Nearly a month ago on July 19, leaders of the All Sikkim Buddhist Organisations met Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra and asked if the Karmapa could visit Sikkim, promising there would be 8216;8216;no law and order problem8221; if the Karmapa was allowed there. Mishra, it is believed, told them to be 8216;8216;patient8217;8217; while New Delhi considered their demand.

Aiyar for Laloo

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The tables seemed to be turned on the witty and articulate Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former diplomat in Pakistan and now a Congress MP 8212; who had once famously quipped that India would be more than happy to give Kashmir to Pakistan, as long as Bihar went with it 8212; by none other than Laloo Prasad in Islamabad. With Laloo and his inimitable brand of humour hogging the headlines, Aiyar was quoted as saying that he feels like a 8220;starlet8221; on the Laloo roadshow. Que Sera Sera.