When the BJP came to power in India in 2014 we were promised a more assertive and stronger country, one that would be respected on the global stage and help India take its rightful place in the world.
The ongoing Iran War has shown just how insignificant India is in global politics. That is not to say that the world’s most populated country, one of the world’s biggest economies and a nation with a large military presence can be ignored. But it does appear that its government, from Prime Minister to External Affairs Minister, not to mention all those civil servants in the diplomatic corps, do not seem to have a clue how to make the country relevant to what is going on in the world.
Granted, the Iran War is a quagmire. On the one hand, India has had strong economic relations with Iran for decades, that is until we caved to the pressure applied by the Americans under Donald Trump. At the same time, we have only drawn closer to Israel and the USA in security and trade. But even though Iran is less important to India directly, the former’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has badly hurt India in terms of LPG and petroleum supplies.
There was a prime opportunity for India, a regional behemoth, to take the lead in broking a peace between the warring parties. And, yet, that role has gone to the bankrupt failed state that is Pakistan. That is nothing less than a huge embarrassment.
Indians have died in this conflict, the hospitality industry is suffering under a curtailing of LPG supply (and domestic consumers might soon suffer the same fate), world oil prices have risen by 50 percent (which could have serious negative effects on inflation), India’s various stock markets have crashed in value by a whopping 15.50 percent this year and the rupee is at record lows against the dollar.
Not all of this is in the control of the government but there was more it could have done to shore up domestic confidence and take the initiative to end this war that is sure to hurt ordinary Indians a great deal before it is over.
Instead, the Indian government seems keen to bury its head in the sand, deny that there is a problem and hope that the mess ends quickly. This inactivity is a poor indictment of the claim to be a vishwaguru.
