The world in his briefcase

His other trip will be to Pakistan for the second round of foreign secretary-level talks slated to begin on June 19. Colleagues say he will bring to the complicated process of dialogue 8220;superb negotiating skills8221; because he has the temperament for it. He doesn8217;t get frustrated with detail, doesn8217;t get tired and never loses his temper.

His style of working, colleagues add, is an obvious reflection of his study of China, one of his first loves. He has always maintained that it is necessary to go beyond the painstaking memorising of the 3000-odd characters that make up the Chinese script if one wants to understand its complicated ethos. Raghunath once told a friend that a 8220;distinctive feature8221; of China was that its people 8220;tended to be very organised, very focused because they viewed themselves in historical terms.8221; Interestingly, his knowledge of China could be the perfect foil for the Sino-Pakistani axis that has stood the test of recent times.

Raghunath joined the Indian Foreign Service the year India and China fought their only war. Soon after, he was posted as a Mandarin language probationer in Hong Kong, where he met his future wife, Sunny. He comes from Tamil Nadu, while she is Sikkimese. They got married in 1975.

Five years after Hong Kong, as a second secretary posted in Beijing in 1967, Raghunath and fellow diplomat and friend P. Vijay came face-to-face with the worst of the Cultural Revolution. They were beaten up by Mao8217;s brutal, young Red Guards and subjected to public abuse and humiliation 8212; as were diplomats of some other embassies, including the British 8212; ostensibly for photographing a 8220;sensitive8221; military installation it turned out to be entry prohibited8217; sign outside a temple. The Indian mission was surrounded and its walls covered with graffiti: antarrashtriya jasoos, the words said in Hindi, a literal translation of 8220;international spies8221;.

The incident caused an international furore. New Delhi protested, but the Red Guards were beyond Beijing8217;s control and even Mao8217;s own comrades in the Long March were not spared. One version of what happened next is that some people in New Delhi forcibly entered the Chinese embassy here and thrashed the first secretary. An international news magazine is said to have published a photograph of the Chinese diplomat being beaten up with a crowbar, with blood streaming down his head.

Another version, however, insists that there were no tit-for-tat measures. Raghunath and Vijay returned to India. According to a friend, Raghunath 8220;never bore any rancour8221; against the Chinese despite the trauma. He put it this way: 8220;He8217;s an extremely balanced, very gentle person, what one may call a universal man. No rancour ever stays with him.8221; It is also believed that when Raghunath8217;s appointment as India8217;s next foreign secretary was announced about ten days ago, some journalists sought the Chinese government8217;s reaction to this incident. From all accounts, Beijing seemed equally keen to play it down.

Thirty years and a month after the sorry episode, as Raghunath moves into the IFS8217; top job, he will bring with him a world view that not only focuses on China, but also incorporates perceptions of an age gone by. He has served in Moscow part of his tenure overlapping with that of Gujral as ambassador to the former Soviet Union from 1975-80 and was head of India8217;s mission in the former East Germany. He has also served in Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Philippines. While at home he has looked after the East Europe division as well as accumulated more than five years in Administration certainly not the most exciting of jobs. His tenure only lasts till November, but it is rumoured that he may get an extension.

A retired batch mate who calls him 8220;an officer8217;s officer and a complete gentleman8221; says Raghunath is very receptive to new ideas and reads every paper/note/speech/draft/communique he receives with attention. 8220;That may admittedly delay the file for a few days, but by the time he8217;s finished with it you can be sure that he knows everything about the subject. His signature is not just a dhobi mark on the file,8221; he says.

Others maintain that he belongs to a breed of bureaucrats who can never be politicians. Says a colleague: 8220;These people are the implementers of the line that is laid down by the minister. They will provide you with all the policy options and alternatives, but once policy is laid down they will faithfully translate it into action.8221;

Since Gujral is expected to retain effective control of the ministry, Raghunath will be instrumental in carrying out the Prime Minister8217;s good- neighbourly policy and continue the dialogue with Pakistan, besides evolving an effective policy in Afghanistan. Last year, after Kabul fell, Raghunath went to Mazar-e-Sharif, then the headquarters of the anti-Taliban alliance, to get a feel of the state of war.

He is convinced about India8217;s interests here, but is cautious. 8220;Let8217;s wait and watch,8221; he says on the current conflict. In Central Asia, he feels that Indian businessmen must be instrumental in establishing an Indian presence there. He will be confronted with the challenge of the relationship with the US and at some point will have to deal with the Fissile Material Cut-off Convention that Washington will push India to sign. He will have to articulate India8217;s role in the expansion of the Security Council.Come July 1 and Raghunath will indeed find his plate more than full.