New frontiers marked out for South Block

On his fortieth death anniversary, the spirit of Jawaharlal Nehru was all but invisible in the new South Block. Commandeered by External Aff...

On his fortieth death anniversary, the spirit of Jawaharlal Nehru was all but invisible in the new South Block. Commandeered by External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, who cut his teeth as a young diplomat in the service of the non-aligned world, diplomats were today poring over old party manifestoes as well as the newly-arrived CMP to make sense of the new order.

The winds of change had actually begun earlier in the week, when Singh returned home to the MEA on Monday 8212; it was the only ministry he is believed to have told Congress president Sonia Gandhi he really wanted 8212; and confirmed to his flock that it had really all begun with the Nehruvian era.

That was the mother lode, he indicated, from which all major foreign policy initiatives stemmed. Naturally, then, even as New Delhi sought to deal with a brave new world dominated by one hyperpower, it would seek to 8216;8216;balance8217;8217; that by strengthening other poles, including the non-aligned movement.

That phrase, in the 8216;8216;give and take8217;8217; between the Congress and the Left parties, doesn8217;t show up in the CMP, although Singh8217;s emphasis on the neighbourhood 8212; Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, etc 8212; along with 8216;8216;traditional ties with West Asia which will be given a fresh thrust8217;8217; find pride of place.

Highly placed sources here said that 8216;8216;it was no coincidence8217;8217; that the MEA had 8216;8216;after years and years8217;8217; last week condemned the massacre of Palestinians in Rafah by Israeli defence forces. The sources said the new Congress government had given orders that the incident be roundly condemned.

Singh was also said to be preparing for a major exchange of views with SAARC and ASEAN heads of missions in the city tomorrow, even as he received various ambassadors from the Arab world, including from Oman.

8216;8216;Closer engagement and relations with the USA8217;8217; has been relegated to the second last paragraph of the CMP. Clearly, the Left parties seem to have had their say, considering the Congress manifesto spoke of engaging the US in 8216;8216;technological, strategic and commercial cooperation8217;8217;.

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Ties with China, in previous Congress documents as well as in the CMP, find pride of place. While a previous manifesto says India8217;s relations with China are a 8216;8216;most important factor which affect Asia8217;s security and stability,8217;8217; and points out that the Congress will continue and increase the momentum of the initiative that it took between 1988-96, the CMP insists that 8216;8216;talks on the border issue will be pursued seriously8217;8217;.