On the morning of March 2, a bleary-eyed External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stood in the sunny forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to greet his counterparts attending the G20 foreign ministers meeting. It had been days of negotiations as Jaishankar and his team tried hard for a consensus. A week after the meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) of the G20, which failed to arrive at a joint communique, Jaishankar was hoping to find a middle ground on the Ukraine issue. The hurdle? An ally, Russia, and an arch rival, China. A consensus and a joint statement ultimately turned out to be elusive.
The foreign ministers met befittingly in a room filled with the photographs of India’s past presidents who had risen above partisan politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked Mahatma Gandhi in his video address, urging the top diplomats to overcome their differences. The consensus India helped hammer out at the G20 summit in Bali in November has frayed.
“It will be a tightrope walk for India,” said former ambassador Rakesh Sood. A few months after the Bali consensus, Russia has changed its position. “It is partly a reaction to NATO’s hardening stance, and it has hurt the prospects of peace. The Russians also expect more from Delhi as India is the host and a strategic partner,” said Sood.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
