How the Modi-Hug serves India’s foreign policy

Given that world leaders are also flesh and blood, with the same need to be hugged but are structurally unable to access them like the rest of us, it is not unreasonable to hypothesize that PM Modi’s hugs are actually addressing a ‘hug deficit’ in world leaders.

- RAHUL SUR

Question: What’s common between Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, former US President Barack Obama, French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to name a few?

Answer: All have received Prime Minister Narendra Modis “famous bear hugs.”

Now, as humans, we know that few things in life are as universally comforting as a hug. Whether it’s a warm squeeze from a loved one, an encouraging pat from a friend, or an intimate embrace that speaks volumes without words, hugs are a fundamental way we connect.

But PM Modi hugs not his near or dear ones, but world leaders. Some critics have been sceptical and have questioned whether Indian foreign policy benefits from these hugs in today’s world order. Are they correct?

THE DIPLOMATIC CHESSBOARD

International diplomacy today resembles a chessboard, only far more complex. It has not 64, but 195 moving pieces or countries. Each nation is theoretically sovereign and equal. All try to deftly manoeuvre in a game of uncertain rules, where a pawn can suddenly turn into a bishop or a castle following an unexpected constellation of global events; a king might feel so threatened that he decides to move all over the chessboard himself, or a conflict rages in one corner of the chessboard.

In contrast, other conflicts, equally serious, are ignored.

All countries employ every stratagem to advance their interests, outwit enemies, and cement friendships.

India, without a seat in the Security Council, is no exception. How does the Modi hug fit into this framework?

INDIA'S INTERNATIONAL VISUAL RANKING