Today, I’m talking about a man whose speeches are becoming the new clickbait for reaction channels on Youtube to grab the eyeballs of 1.5 billion people and slide in

Today, I’m talking about a man whose speeches are becoming the new clickbait for reaction channels on Youtube to grab the eyeballs of 1.5 billion people and slide in some of that AdSense money in their monthly income. It’s none other than the current Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr S. Jaishankar, who may or may not have written a little book in the pandemic era.

His book, The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World, reflects the insights of a diplomat with four decades worth of experience as he touches upon the diplomatic decisions taken by the country from his days in South Block to the Pandemic challenges of 2020.

It contains chapters in the form of excerpts from lectures given by the author at multiple forums, giving personal insights on global events ranging from China’s Belt and Road Initiative to the challenges the country faces in a pandemic-marked era. As a person who looks up to the author, this first-hand account can be seen as a guide for anyone who wants to understand Indian Foreign Policy from a professional's perspective.

The Book is divided into chapters with intriguing titles like, “The Lessons of Awadh”, “A Delayed Destiny”, and “Dogmas of Delhi” among a few, though my favourite chapter of the book is “The Art of Disruption”. The chapter titles are a reflection of what a topic the author will touch upon and has a hidden subtext of the direction the country takes over the years by analyzing the paths of their counterparts during historical events like the ‘Cold War’, ‘World War’ and the wars that India took part in. That correlation, in my opinion, was a factor in how I got hooked on the book, more likely due to my background as a student of history, however, it doesn’t mean that one has to be an expert in history to enjoy this book.

He even provides some perspective on where the policymakers can improvise upon the ongoing improving relationships within the Ind-Pacific as well as on how to keep a balance with the American-Russo-Sino trifecta through his analysis on the MEA’s direction with Indian Foreign Policy in the 2010s and other preceding years.

If I were to pick a quote from the book, it would be this one from my favourite chapter,

“If you had believed the best minds of our times, this was not supposed to happen. But for two decades, China had been winning without fighting, while the US was fighting without winning.”

This quote doesn’t only touch upon the events that passed in the 21st century but acts as a metaphor for the waning influence of the United States of America as the leader of global politics and the People’s Republic of China’s walking onward on the path to becoming the new status quo. I liked the usage of metaphors in certain parts of the book where fewer words were effective in understanding what was going on in the world.

Another chapter that effectively uses metaphorical terms is “Krishna’s Choice,” where the cast and scenarios in the Mahabharata were used in explaining the approach taken by India towards its foreign policy. 

The language of the book is, I would say, lucid, with a tinge of complexity. The author made the reader understand the world of foreign policy through the use of simple sentences, which made any average reader grasp the concepts covered in the book. Still, the complexity of understanding terms related to the field of diplomacy may require the average reader to ask Google for an easier explanation.

However, a minor flaw that I have observed in the book is that there is a heavier focus on “Hard Power” (Defence, Economy and other related) aspects of Diplomacy and International Relations and there is a lack of mention of any soft power related aspects (Culture, Diaspora relations, Education etc.), which was and is currently a crucial part of Indian Foreign Policy. I hope that the author can touch upon this aspect of diplomacy in a future edition or another book someday.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand Indian Foreign Policy but doesn’t know where to begin, and definitely to my family and friends, who are still trying to understand why I decided to go into this field. My rating for this book is 4 out of 5 stars. 

With no further spoilers, I hope you all enjoy reading this book.

Book Review : The India Way by S Jaishankar

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