PANDEMIC aftershocks, wars geopolitical tension, geoeconomic re-posturing and a world more divided than ever with multiple poles vying to set a course of the new world order—this is the backdrop in which India assumed the presidency of the Group of 20.
While it was a truly momentous occasion for India, the world looked at us with mixed feelings, viewing us as a country that maintains deliberate strategic ambiguity and is non-allied with any world powers—a country that has always had potential but has hitherto only continued to have the potential. Having heard of us as a country with potential and demographic dividend, the sceptics were growing restless to see when we would realise them.
However, these mixed feelings faded from the moment get-go on December 1, 2022, when India assumed the G20 presidency from Indonesia. The presidency was launched to grand and rich cultural fanfare—after all, India is not just a country, but a civilisation—to the backdrop of the royal heritage city of Udaipur. The G20 delegates knew that this year would be different: it would be more than business and offer a cultural treat through sights, sounds, people and food.
When delegates visited the 15th-century Ranakpur Jain temple near Udaipur, their faces reflected the spiritual ecstasy and awareness that had set upon them. With this, we welcomed the world to the New India, an India that is rooted in its proud cultural heritage, stands by its civilisational values and is bold to set a G20 agenda.
Steering the Mandate
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin August 21, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin August 21, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Trump, Up And Charging
'Many countries are nervous about Donald Trump returning to power, but India is not one of them'
Post and Past the Oil in Azerbaijan
As the UN climate conference takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan traces the history of the hydrocarbon industry through the lens of postage stamps
Bhutto's Nehru Story
Nehru's principle of \"compromise and argument\" remains the only workable formula for South Asian leaders
Breathless on Bachchan
Cédric Dupire's documentary The Real Superstar is an irreverent, experimental archive of Amitabh Bachchan's life and his stardom
The Anaphora to Zeugma of the Queen's English
Shashi Tharoor's book is a logophile's candy shop, full of fun, surprises and insights
The Wind Knocked
THE wind knocked on the door. Hesitantly. Wanting to be let in. It had heard the murmuring of the flames. And knew that there was a fire. The wind sought shelter.
The Way Home
“We comfort ourselves by reliving memories of protection. Something closed must retain our memories, while leaving them their original value as images. Memories of the outside world will never have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to our store of dreams; we are never real historians, but always near poets, and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost.”—Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
The War Artist
Cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco is in search of the truths distorted by conventional narratives
Mining Adivasi Votes
If the BJP manages to win Jharkhand, it will be the third mineral-rich state after Odisha and Chhattisgarh that will fall into the party's kitty
Unequal Republic
Political parties make promises of equal represention to women, but patriarchy continues to dominate electoral democracy
