Vikas Swarup, Retired Indian Diplomat And Writer: The Seven Things In Life That Diplomacy Has Taught Me

Rotary is service above self; in doing so, it bridges cultures and connects continents. In a sense, that is also what diplomats do. The Rotary 4-way test – is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build goodwill and better friendship, will it be beneficial for all concerned – is exactly what diplomats look for.

THE INDIAN FOREIGN SERVICE (IFS) IS A RARE SPECIES; FEW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET OR INTERACT WITH A FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER; THIS SPAWNS MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIPLOMATS. They are looked at as people paid to lie for their country, elites to roam around the cocktail circuit and meet Presidents. In reality, diplomacy is a serious business. If defence is primarily about power, diplomacy is influence.

Today’s problem can be only solved with communication which needs extensive knowledge, skills and finesse to deal with issues like disarmament, development, trade negotiations etc. Our bread-butter remains political reporting, nurturing bilateral ties, inviting FDI (foreign direct investment) and technology, promoting culture and commerce, dealing with media and press, etc.

YES, I HAVE MET QUEEN ELIZABETH, NELSON MANDELA, BARACK OBAMA, BUT I HAVE ALSO STOOD IN SWELTERING HEAT
at the intersection of Turkey and Syria in 1990 arranging buses for Indians fleeing the First Gulf war. I was tasked to charter a plane in Djibouti to rescue Indian teachers from Asmara trapped in the Indo-Eutopia war. During my posting in Japan, I saw the horrors of the Fukushima Earthquake as well as the resilience of the Japanese.

The perk of being a practising diplomat is that it gives you a ringside view of history being made. I lived through the end of the Cold War, fall of the Berlin Wall, rise of China, globalisation and so on. But the biggest change I saw was in India. As India went from a sleeping giant to the fastest growing economy, I saw it as a country that can be friends with everyone. To me, that is the real strength of Indian diplomacy; I have seen Indian soft power
blossom.

WHAT DID 35 YEARS OF FOREIGN SERVICE TEACH ME?

DIPLOMACY TAUGHT ME TO HAVE AN OPEN MIND. SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMATS ARE THOSE THAT IMMERSE IN THE CULTURE THEY ARE POSTED TO; YOU DEVELOP A COMPARATIVE SCALE TO GROW BETTER.
The virtue of being curious. The foreign service is unique because it enables us to understand the very DNA and essence of the place we are posted to. But an effort needs to be made. Be adaptable to the new city, culture, people, language. Your family needs to adapt, too. You have to adapt to your embassy. We get to work with new people and a new team with every posting. ‘I, me, myself,’ doesn’t work in diplomacy. The importance of tact; the ability to tell the truth in a way that considers people’s reactions. Patience. Diplomacy is not instant noodles; it takes months, and sometimes years, for results. Negotiations take time, geopolitics take time to evolve. There was nothing for 15 years, and suddenly there was Brexit, elections of Trump, Covid and so on. While cultivating patience, we also have to be prepared for sudden, tectonic shifts.

Value of compromise. All negotiations are about finding common grounds and that can’t happen without compromise. This means having a winwin situation; the art is to find beneficial and balanced solutions.

The most important one: always look at the big picture. Take into account all the related factors and consequences without getting distracted by unimportant details. Relations between countries can be crucial, diplomacy is about rising above the trivial.

ROTARIANS ASK

What do you see as the big picture regarding Dr. Jay Shankar (External Affairs Minister of India and MP (Rajya Sabha) from Gujarat)?
I have worked closely with him. He has always seen the big picture and he has the same temperament as his father. He has been the best salesman of global India to rest of the world. He said we buy less oil from Russia in a year than Europe buys in a month.

Many leaders are becoming autocratic; has the diplomacy changed?
Diplomacy is a delivery system of the government of the day. They (diplomats) are not the ones who decide the foreign policy; they implement it.

Did you have the gift of the gab or did you learn it on your way?
Communication is absolutely important. It is important to know everything about India because you are going to be the marketers of India. As diplomats, you have to know why the cow is sacred, why women wear a bindi, and so on. You have to know these answers, you have to choose your words carefully.

Our PM has sold the India story round the world but there are sections of foreign media who state otherwise. Your thoughts.
I have worked closely with him; I have travelled with him. He gets up 4.30-5.30 in the morning and
keeps on going. There is some inner energy. The way he projects India on the global platform is different from past governments.

How long do you think Rishi Sunak will last as the prime minister of UK?
We have to acknowledge his appointment. It is an important moment; we all knew there would be an Indian Prime Minister at some point. Multiculturalism is coming in, I think it is all cyclical.