Negotiators used the then-impending Brics summit in Xiamen on September 4 as a deadline to resolve the stand-off over Doklam, since India’s prime minister Narendra Modi and China’s president Xi Jinping - pictured here together in New Delhi in September 2014 - were expected to meet on the sidelines of the conference. Manish Swarup / AP
Negotiators used the then-impending Brics summit in Xiamen on September 4 as a deadline to resolve the stand-off over Doklam, since India’s prime minister Narendra Modi and China’s president Xi JinpinShow more

Modi's foreign policy doctrine sails into uncomfortable waters, with a frail hand at the tiller of national security



Earlier this month, India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, asserted in parliament that prime minister Narendra Modi had "brought respect to the whole of India". Ms Swaraj, once bruited as a potential premier, is a capable minister, proactive, conscientious and, for a holder of one of the great offices of state, unusually accessible to the ordinary public. But even she could not defy Mr Modi, whose grip on the Bharatiya Janata Party has grown so tight that public obeisances to the leader are now the norm in a party that once prided itself on its egalitarian character.

Since his election in 2014, Mr Modi has appeared to treat foreign policy as a platform for self-promotion. His visits to foreign capitals are capped off with breathlessly publicised speeches to select members of the Indian diaspora. Mr Modi’s personal gains are many; the benefits to India are few, if any. Parliament has been reduced to a mute spectator. Momentous decisions that will affect India long after the current prime minister is gone have been made with barely any debate.

In 2015, for instance, Mr Modi placed an order for three dozen Rafale jets without consulting his defence minister. The following year he pushed through a controversial logistics pact with the United States by suppressing debate. Anyone with a concern was labelled a relic of the Cold War, a carryover from the days of paranoid anti-Americanism. The terms of the deal grant each side's military access the other's facilities to retool and refuel. America's assets, theoretically accessible to India, are of no use to Delhi, but India's assets are immensely valuable to an America that is "pivoting" to Asia. The agreement – stymied for a decade by Delhi's wise bureaucrats – already looks self-wounding in the erratic age of Donald Trump.

Even the most peaceable citizen will have to concede that India faces credible threats from China and Pakistan. But the intensification of relations with Washington under Mr Modi has done nothing to enhance India's security. At the 2016 Brics summit, held in Goa, China managed successfully to shield Pakistan from censure. Even Russia, not long ago India's most sympathetic foreign partner, seemed indifferent to Delhi's concerns. Moscow even proceeded to stage a joint military exercise with Pakistan despite India's objections – unthinkable only a few years ago.

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Mr Modi has managed to compress into three years the mistakes made by his predecessors over many decades. Unable to cope with bad headlines at home, he decided to make a surprise visit to Pakistan in December 2015. He embarrassed his own cabinet, which was kept in the dark about his travel plans; provoked the extremists within Pakistan’s military-intelligence camorra, whose price for tolerance of democracy in Pakistan has always been enmity with Delhi; and invited an attack on India, which materialised within weeks of his return from Pakistan. Far from jump-starting a peace process, Mr Modi’s actions plunged the two nations into a deep crisis – and possibly cost Nawaz Sharif his job.

This is the reality of Mr Modi's record in office. But even the most uncharitable critic of the prime minister cannot overlook the role of India's national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in shaping Mr Modi's decisions. Mr Doval, only the fifth occupant of the powerful office created less than two decades ago, is perhaps the most influential National Security Adviser to date. His job, broadly speaking, is to work with the National Security Council to identify political, economic and security concerns and counsel the prime minister. Mr Doval had no diplomatic experience. His principal qualification for the job, it seems, was his personal rapport with the prime minister.

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More from Kapil Komireddi

Book review: Arthur Cotterell's The Near East sets out to tell the whole story of civilisation
Will the uncomfortable truths of a movie about India's Emergency survive the censor's cuts?
Have India's rocket men sent a nation on a wrong-headed quest for status?

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Mr Doval’s frailties have been on display ever since he was hired in 2014. His predilection for force, distaste for discretion and addiction to publicity have strained relations and alienated partners. India has for years carried out raids against militant posts inside Myanmar. But Mr Doval became the first national security adviser to advertise – in pursuit of personal glory –  a raid conducted on his watch, prompting a furious Naypyidaw to terminate its cooperation with Delhi. Mr Modi’s decision to impose a blockade on Nepal, reportedly made at Mr Doval’s behest, drove Kathmandu into the arms of India’s archrival, China. Old hands in Ms Swaraj’s ministry are troubled, especially by Mr Doval’s disastrous handling of Pakistan. As one official told the journalist Swati Chaturvedi last year, “Doval has no experience of foreign affairs or diplomacy. He's clearly out of his depth and Pakistan and China are running rings around us”.

The patriotic passions provoked by India's ongoing military standoff with China at Doklam, the tri-junction of the two countries with the Kingdom of Bhutan, raise further concerns. The impasse at Doklam, if not resolved, has the potential to escalate into yet another conflagration between India and China. Mr Doval doesn't inspire any confidence. India needs a new national security adviser.

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Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3

Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)

Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)

Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)

Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)

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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding