Narrative as a catalyst and compass of national interest.

Raisina Hill at night.
Shaurya Singh / Pixabay

"It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true." 

These are the words of the former US Secretary of State, and former National Security Advisor under the Nixon administration Henry Kissinger, on the power of perspective and good storytelling in the world of realpolitik, which many consider him to be the harbinger of, which enabled America to diplomatically annihilate any and all threats to American interests. 

Today, these words hold unprecedented credence given the current geopolitical situation prevailing in the world. Many polities today are not able to effectively advance their national interests, simply due to a lack of narrative and/or ability to advantageously propagate a set narrative that is conducive to the national interest.

Taking India's case specifically, it has been a historical drawback that it has never been able to effectively communicate its narrative and stance on matters to the world with any degree of efficacy. Many countries do exist that have taken sides of one superpower or the other, and thus have the added advantage of having their narratives being shaped for them by their superpower of choice.

But given India's stance of "strategic autonomy", it becomes evermore essential to have an extremely potent modus operandi to effectively communicate the nature of its national interest, its methods, principles and values on the global stage, as having this approach inherently entails the ire of many other great powers who have a massive advantage in the narrative war, despite not having hard power to back it up with concrete actions.

In a day and age, where India's police and military have all-round robust capabilities to fend off any and all threats - internal and external alike, it is vital to the national interest to save these forces for tangible and relevant threats. The true power of a nation can be measured not just by its ability to exercise its hard power, but also by how it uses its soft power, to not have to activate its hard power in the first place.

The fact that not a single Western country pays heed to India's concerns with respect to external threats to sovereignty and national integrity, combined with the paradigm of India's reactionary, and "commentary" style of foreign policy, that hinders the ability of India to influence conversation, even among the most ardent geopolitical and diplomatic circles, must serve as a cold and ruthless wake-up call to India's political and diplomatic establishment to ramp up efforts to influence conversations and bring a sense of awareness on the world stage with regards to Indian concerns.

For instance, in light of recent events with respect to Canada and America, India has given strong responses to both countries, conveying its concerns to the respective governments. Key word: responses. India has never taken a single proactive step to spark conversations and start to build narratives. Only when people are forced to think do they take a given issue seriously, which is doubly true for inherently racist countries halfway around the world who could care less about what goes on even in their neighbourhood.

Unless India changes this, and takes proactive steps towards influencing global conversations, and "un-alienate" us on the global stage, and in the global narrative cycle which proves to be vital in shaping national perspectives in the global outlook especially amidst the backdrop of widespread racism against South Asians in general, India's dream of achieving and maintaining its supreme national interest will eventually end in vain.