Book Review-

Pax Indica by Shashi Tharoor

Submitted by- Mahi Panchal, 112.

Written by Shashi Tharoor, Pax Indica- India and the world of 21st century,
offers an insight on how India’s foreign policy has evolved since its
independence. The author is India’s celebrated writer, politician, diplomat and a
member of parliament since 2009 who introduces the book as of a non-
academic nature and attempt to take the foreign policy thinking to the masses.

The multi-pronged orientation of the book talks about India's national interest
and what any Indian at grassroots expects out of India's foreign policy. It
stresses on the link between foreign policy and domestic needs of a nation. He
emphasised in the book that the foreign policy of India ought to serve the
interest of domestic transformation of challenges such as fighting poverty and
under development so that every Indian share a decent life. He is also very
vocal about the fact that India holds a sense of responsibility towards the world
as internationalism has been ingrained into India’s policy since the time of
Pandit J. Nehru, evident in his “Tryst with Destiny” with which Tharoor begins
the book.
The proposal made by Tharoor, as of India being besieged by hostility, is the
requirement of new mechanism to reinforce cooperation and dynamism such as
‘sub-regional water resources management project’ involving Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Nepal and India which would bind these nations into cooperative
partnership that would mutually benefit them and could later grow to involve
other nations of the region. Such projects will demand collaboration from the
actors involved and which may segue into the formation of a region flourishing
as an economic or a socio-cultural–intellectual hub, instead of the conflict-
riddled area which it currently
reflects.
Pax India also throws light of bilateral relations between India ad other nations,
which Indian foreign policy-makers can contemplate. In a somewhat
provocative tone, it suggests that as a response to China’s overtures on
Arunachal Pradesh and
Kashmir, India should focus on a regenerated India–Taiwan relationship
especially on the economic front. It also promotes the idea of the Indian North-
east region as a gateway to East and South-east Asia and suggests that a
flourishing India-EU relationship can be conceived of as a genuine alternative
to the coaxing inclination towards the US and China. While referring to India’s
approach several countries, Tharoor underlines that India needs to think beyond
the approaches of NAM and to take present era of multi-alignment into
consideration and a need for India to strive for the creation of a multi-polar
world.
In addition, the book covers general themes on India’s forthcoming role on
deciding the faith of global commons, encompassing the issues of environment,
human rights, refugees, peacekeeping, drug trafficking, cyber space and the
United Nations. Tharoor insists that India has the capacity to make a valuable
contribution in the governance of the global commons as it is currently in a
position to set the rules in the international system, as against merely accepting
the rules set by more powerful countries.

From my personal standpoint, Tharoor highlights the incessant reiteration of

India’s non-revisionist stance in the world. Burdened with the ‘rising power’
title, India has to live up to the expectations which come along with this coveted
caption. India’s domestic shortcomings must be addressed before India can
successfully share the mantle along with the great powers. The task on the
shoulders of a ‘rising nation’ increases when it has to simultaneously allay the
fears of both its neighbours and existing great powers about the benign nature of
its rise. Given India’s rising power status, it becomes necessary to enunciate the
non-threatening nature of India’s emergence in order to ensure that countries
concerned are unflustered about the emergence of a new power.

The running threats that the book possess are that of ‘Hope’ that Tharoor
constantly holds while referring to the problems and shortcomings of India’s
foreign policy. The book also lacks in both economic and strategic assessment
of India and as highlighted above, its most elaborative role will remain in the
attempt to enunciate the role foreign policy plays in the fulfilment of domestic
requirements of a nation. The narrative of Pax India does not enable to reader to
engage in any thinking process thus it can be reviewed that the book is more or
less for a basic and weightless understanding of Indian foreign policy that can
help readers coming from primary groups.