How 'Modi doctrine' changed the world

Ahead of India approaching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek relief for former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court on espionage charges, there was apprehension within the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's team that deliberated the pros and cons – including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other top officials – argued that in the past, whenever India had taken Pakistan to any international forum, it had shot itself in the foot.

Modi cut the debate short, people familiar with the meeting told DNA, and asked senior MEA officials to show confidence and look at the world with new eyes. "India is now not a power to be ignored," he was quoted as saying. Diplomats here say the decision to seek relief from the ICJ was typical of Modi's anti-status quo style and in line with his diruptionist attitude.

Virtually excommunicated and even denied visas when he was chief minister of Gujarat, it was a challenge for Modi to find acceptability within the comity of nations after becoming the Prime Minister. But he surprised observers by inviting the South Asian heads of government to his swearing-in, swiftly ending his impending isolation with. For a leader who had barely uttered a word about foreign policy during his election campaign, this dramatic gesture presaged the first of many foreign policy surprises that Modi would unveil. He met then US President Barack Obama an unprecedented eight times. And this was the country that had set the precedent for denying him a visa.

His emphasis on three mantras – Act East, Link West and Neighborhood First – to pursue the three pillars of trade, energy, and security with a single-minded sprit is the goal he has set for the Foreign Ministry. Redoubling investment in protecting Indian interests in the larger Indian Ocean region, a remarkable outreach to the US, intensification of the emerging partnership with Japan, balanced ties with both China and Russia, nurturing of important partners in Western Europe, Central and Southeast Asia, and in the Persian Gulf, and energising the Indian diaspora have been the hallmarks of Modi's foreign policy so far.

As relations with Pakistan remain tense, his government has quietly boosted ties with other neighbours —Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Mayanmar and Sri Lanka—effectively isolating Pakistan in the region. Modi has also not shied away granting concessions to neighbours for good behaviour. When the United Nations tribunal awarded Bangladesh 19,467 sq. km of the 25,602 sq. km sea area of the Bay of Bengal, he put his foot down it was suggested that India should go for an appeal. Also, he settled, once and for all, the land boundary issue with Dhaka.

Even though Modi infused a new life into the Indo-US civilian nuclear energy deal by settling many thorny issues, there remains little hope of entering the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) due to Chinese opposition. But the feather in the cap is that India has gained entry into the Missile Test Control Regime (MTCR).

Modi also introduced 'fast-track diplomacy' and 'para diplomacy' into the lexicon of the Foreign Ministry. Explaining the first, Swaraj said it had three phases: proactive, strong, and sensitive. It also means showing India's presence in multilateral forums, and taking follow-up measures to carry forward the leads gained by high-profile visits and exchanges. Para diplomacy is where each states and cities were encouraged to forge special relation with countries or federal states of another country, or even cities of their interest in order. Indian states have until now never been part of foreign policy. So far there have been agreements between Mumbai and Shanghai, Ahmedabad and Guangzhou and a similar 'sister states' agreement between Gujarat and Guangdong province of China. Earlier Varanasi signed partnership agreement with Kyoto, Japan.

The A-Team

Sushma Swaraj: Due to Modi's aura and imprints on foreign policy, she may have been eclipsed. But she is running the biggest public diplomacy drive via Twitter.

MJ Akbar: Modi chose him to assist Swaraj, who has been in and out of hospitals. His brief to target West Asia has paid dividends, as Modi has achieved a fine balance between Arab nations and Israel.

Ajit Doval: A seasoned intelligence officer who is the eyes and ears of the PM, he is the architect of Modi's Pakistan and China policies.

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar: PM's trusted bureaucrat, shaping his foreign policy. Just a day after the US President Barack Obama's successful India visit in 2015, the Modi government sacked Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and appointed Jaishankar, who was India's ambassador to the US. He was given one year extension recently.

Arvind Gupta, Deputy NSA: A 1979 batch officer, he is also Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), an apex advisory body on political, economic and strategic security concerns.