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By:

Akhilesh Sinha

25 June 2025 at 2:53:54 pm

India's multi-align diplomacy triumphs

New Delhi: West Asia has transformed into a battlefield rained by fireballs. Seas or land, everywhere echoes the roar of cataclysmic explosions, flickering flames, and swirling smoke clouds. et amid such adversity, Indian ships boldly waving the Tricolour navigate the strait undeterred, entering the Arabian Sea. More remarkably, Iran has sealed its airspace to global flights but opened it for the safe evacuation of Indians.   This scene evokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's memorable 2014...

India's multi-align diplomacy triumphs

New Delhi: West Asia has transformed into a battlefield rained by fireballs. Seas or land, everywhere echoes the roar of cataclysmic explosions, flickering flames, and swirling smoke clouds. et amid such adversity, Indian ships boldly waving the Tricolour navigate the strait undeterred, entering the Arabian Sea. More remarkably, Iran has sealed its airspace to global flights but opened it for the safe evacuation of Indians.   This scene evokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's memorable 2014 interview. He stated that "there was a time when we counted waves from the shore; now the time has come to take the helm and plunge into the ocean ourselves."   In a world racing toward conflict, Modi has proven India's foreign policy ranks among the world's finest. Guided by 'Nation First' and prioritising Indian safety and interests, it steadfastly embodies  'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' , the world as one family.   Policy Shines Modi's foreign policy shines with such clarity and patience that even as war flames engulf West Asian nations, Indians studying and working there return home safe. In just 13 days, nearly 100,000 were evacuated from Gulf war zones, mostly by air, some via Armenia by road. PM Modi talked with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian to secure Iran's airspace for the safe evacuation of Indians, a privilege denied to any other nation. Additionally, clearance was granted for Indian ships carrying crude oil and LPG to pass safely through the Hormuz Strait. No other country's vessels are navigating these waters, except for those of Iran's ally, China. The same strategy worked in the Ukraine-Russia war: talks with both presidents ensured safe corridors, repatriating over 23,000 students and businessmen. Iran, Israel, or America, all know India deems terrorism or war unjustifiable at any cost. PM Modi amplified anti-terror campaigns from UN to global platforms, earning open support from many nations.   Global Powerhouse Bolstered by robust foreign policy and economic foresight, India emerges as a global powerhouse, undeterred by tariff hurdles. Modi's adept diplomacy yields notable successes. Contrast this with Nehru's era: wedded to Non-Aligned Movement, he watched NAM member China seize vast Ladakh territory in war. Today, Modi's government signals clearly, India honors friends, spares no foes. Abandoning non-alignment, it embraces multi-alignment: respecting sovereignties while prioritizing human welfare and progress. The world shifts from unipolar or bipolar to multipolar dynamics.   Modi's policy hallmark is that India seal defense deals like the S-400 and others with Russia yet sustains US friendship. America bestows Legion of Merit; Russia, its highest civilian honor, Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. India nurtures ties with Israel, Palestine, Iran via bilateral talks. Saudi Arabia stands shoulder-to-shoulder across fronts; UAE trade exceeds $80 billion. UN's top environment award, UNEP Champions of the Earth, graces India, unlike past when foreign nations campaigned against us on ecological pretexts.   This policy's triumph roots in economic empowerment. India now ranks the world's fourth-largest economy, poised for third in 1-2 years. The 2000s dubbed it 'fragile'; then-PM economist Dr. Manmohan Singh led. Yet  'Modinomics'  prevailed. As COVID crippled supply chains, recession loomed, inflation soared and growth plunged in developed countries,  Modinomics  made India the 'bright star.' Inflation stayed controlled, growth above 6.2 per cent. IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas praised it, advising the world to learn from India.

Cultural Collapse

When the custodians of culture become its gravediggers, decline is inevitable. The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (ASM), the city’s 221-year-old institution housed in the stately Town Hall on the steps of Horniman Circle, was once a citadel of knowledge, a hub of learning that connected India to the intellectual revolutions of the world. Today, it stands as a monument to neglect, wracked by infighting, financial collapse and administrative paralysis.


What began as an assembly of scholars in 1804, preserving treasures such as one of two known original copies of Dante’s Divine Comedy, has devolved into a sorry theatre of mismanagement. The Society, which boasts a membership of nearly 3,000, now barely sees 150 active participants. Its elections have been annulled by the charity commissioner, its finances are in shambles, and its leadership seems more intent on clinging to office than rescuing the institution from ruin. The current president, lauded as the first woman to lead the ASM, is at the end of her six-year term but even her departure is marred by controversy. Elections that were supposed to usher in a new committee have been declared illegal. The Society drifts leaderless, yet refuses to hold fresh elections.


At the heart of this crisis lies financial rot. The ASM has been bleeding money for years, losing nearly Rs. 1 crore annually. It survives on erratic grants from the state and central governments, but its leadership has failed to secure even the most basic funding assurances. Officials in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recount how the Society’s office bearers were indifferent when asked to follow up for additional grants. The result is a hand-to-mouth existence where even staff salaries are uncertain, and endowment funds meant for specific purposes are reportedly being diverted to keep the lights on.


The institution requires at least Rs. 3 crore annually to operate smoothly, yet no one seems capable or willing to fight for it. Successive committees have failed to lobby for the long-promised ‘Institute of National Importance’ status, which would have secured central funding and recognition. Instead, the management frittered away limited resources on wasteful projects.


Of the sanctioned 45 staff positions, barely 25 are filled. Crucial posts of the Librarian, Deputy Librarian and Archivist remain vacant. Many employees still draw salaries based on the 6th Pay Commission, eight years after the 7th became the standard. It is no surprise that preservation work has slowed to a crawl, leaving 3,000 manuscripts and 280,000 rare books vulnerable to deterioration.


If the Society’s founders, who envisioned it as a beacon of Oriental and Western scholarship, could see it today, they would be aghast.


Saving the ASM demands a ruthless cleaning-up. The Society must be pulled from the grip of aging elites who treat it as a private club rather than a public trust. In a city that prides itself on heritage, it is shameful that one of its greatest cultural assets teeters on the brink of oblivion.

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