Will Modi announce India’s Neo-South Asian policy?

The Narendra Modi led NDA government plans to rewrite India’s Neo-South Asian Policy, and the intent behind seems for a complete transformation of South Asia into a peace and prosperous region. While challenges are many, opportunities are abundant. The new government will seek to explore it from the very platform of its swearing-in-venue and likely do some complementary pronouncements. The BJP-led NDA government on the first day of its formal takeover is going to pronounce its new South Asian outlooks from the swearing-in-ceremony podium. The world is now much enthusiastically and resiliently observing this. How the new government will come out with its regional outlook is now the most important speculation for them. The big players including the USA, China must be very keenly detecting this development side by side. While the invitation of the South Asian leaders is the highly discussed around, their unprecedented desire for engagement with India have made the adversaries rather chocking. The new-claimant of New Delhi has said to have done the sufficient groundwork of the said celebration. While, the head of the governments in the neighbours have been reverently summoned, no stratagem has been left to easy the buoyant leaders to witness this majestic celebration the largest democracy going to showcase. The Modi-led NDA government is all set to reaching its South Asian Neighbours from the venue of swearing ceremony itself, the moment its formal taking of office is over. In response to the overwhelming response of the leaders from neighbourhood, the new PM is said to be having his plan to air a few parting delights these leaders can carry when they back to their countries. While the new ruling party is lobbying for a good reciprocation to the visiting head of governments South Asian countries, the new PM of India seeks to avoid a mismanagement to this exceptional germinal. Overall, the new government is in no mood to surpass this chance, and waiting upbeat the moment for a face-to-face communication recovery with the leaders from neighbours. The new Indian government will well orchestrate the point that there is nothing unusual behind the unprecedented interests shown by the regional leadership, and there has been no secret diplomatic-workout behind inviting the regional leaders to the platform of its sworn in ceremony. These developments were obvious to happen when the regional leadership could visualise their own progress in the new Indian leadership of a massive mandate in pocket. Though the new government is still judged with care and caution in the neighbourhood, leadership at New Delhi must be preparing to instil trust and confidence in them. For that reason, the new leadership have planned to showcase its unprecedented commitments with promises for a handful contribution towards the regional progress. The new government is all set to assert India’s undeniable stake in South Asian regional peace and progress. As the leaders from neighbours are about to approach India’s support to their growth, the new government is all set to orchestrate certain people-centric priorities, and will persuade these leaders to take this unprecedented political development into the advantage of their rise. The new leadership is all set to commit its support to the neighbours to the best level of their needs so that nothing should impede their development. Similarly, it is all set to communicate of the decisive leadership the new government is to demonstrate. On the side line of the pronouncement of its South Asian priorities, the new government may indicate its hard and tough approach unlike the previous regime. Accordingly, it may pronounce its resolve to be vigilant observer of various developments around its neighbourhood. It needs to be made clear that any policy of Indian containment needs will be dealt with iron-hand, while the desire of engagement will be equally reciprocated. India will make it clear that the old policy of Indian containment no more match to the new situation. Therefore, any effort of containment of India’s take-on will hardly matter. So the best natural option left before the leaders of the neighbours is only to care for a strong-knot relationship with India, so that at any given situation, India’s rapid socio-economic transformation may come to their recuperation. The leaders from the neighbours must be convinced that their countries preoccupied with weak-state- capacity, insecurity and vulnerability should no more derecognise India’s centrality to South Asian regional peace, stability and security at their own peril. The respective leaders must be astutely persuaded that the role and intention of China in the region has been almost divisive. Chinese plan of ‘Indian encirclement’ is in fact a strategy of South Asian encirclement and containment. Therefore, their strategic alliance with China is actually appears to be suicidal, as its distant outcome will not only weaken India, but also belittle their sovereignty. Therefore, it becomes equally important for all the South Asian countries to ensure the stopover of Chinese intrusion, so that its policy of South Asian containment is effectually contained. The leadership must be convinced that no way the China’s hegemonic, unilateralism and expansionist strategy going to complement their interests, whereas the plural and tolerant democracy India will not impede their progress and prosperity. Now the time has come for India to show a convincing commitment that it is serious to rework on the fissured regional integration, and for so, the need for a cohesive delimitation approach to conflicts at various fronts becomes necessary. Thus, before the good restart for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous South Asia, the foremost responsibility before the regional leaders is to ensure the minimisation of the enduring conflicts, which yield much insecurity in the region. For the larger regional interests, the leaders from the neighbours must be persuaded to shed the ‘age old identity and ethnic centric politics’ and understand the need of regional peace sooner than never. South Asian region has been a long sufferer of terrorism, and placed on the top list of “victim of global terrorism” index. The world has become nearly unfastened that how this serious menace can be eradicated from this region. While the leadership seems to be realising, they must be well persuaded that terrorism in South Asia is hard to eradicate unless the regional leadership resolve to fight it unitedly. At the same spell India may clear its resolve to fight terrorism along with its behind-motivation at length and breadth, it will hardly spare any perpetrator of terrorism irrespective of its state or non-state affiliation. “Will India pronounce the importance of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and underline it necessity for regional peace and progress’, is still not clear. But it is apparently clear that the pro-development-oriented fresh-political-leadership in India perceive the requirement of a regional political mechanics to foster multilateral cooperation and interaction in region without which its own development may also back track. India understands that unless the countries of South Asia do not prosper, the dream for peace and prosperity in the region will not suffice. And this realisation makes the present leadership feel responsible to bring all the countries back on track. To conclude, it is now the duty of India to win over the heart and mind of its South Asian neighbours and the leaders at the outset. India must convince the South Asian leadership that while their progress and peace shall be its priority, however, it will not access their progress from the prism of its own strategic parameters, rather it will ever seek to incessantly involve itself till the regional progress is seen and heard everywhere it the world. India must dutifully convince the neighbours that being the biggest country in South Asia the stake of its responsibility is naturally bigger, and its role in fostering peace and progress in the region should not be seen with suspicion and contained by aligning with the adverse player, rather need to be rejoiced.