India needs long term approach towards South Asian neighbours: Former diplomat Raghavan
Emphasising on a clinical and not a sentimental appreciation of the turbulently fluid situation in the Indo-Pak relations, former diplomat TCA Raghavan on Monday underlined the need for a long-term approach on the part of India to manage its South Asian neighbourhood.
Speaking to a distinguished gathering comprising senior officials from armed forces and civil dispensation, faculties, researchers and students from different universities across the state and other distinguished luminaries, Raghavan discussed the Mecca Accord in terms of potential for complementarities that Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia could bring to the table.
According to a Press release, the eminent diplomat, scholar and author delivered an insightful lecture on “Mecca Accord, Pakistan and the Future of India- Pakistan Relations” at Bihar Lok Bhawan as part of the first edition of the ‘Patliputra Pragya Prawah’ series. Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) also graced the occasion.
He explained that Pakistan with its nuclear arsenal and defence capabilities, Arabia with its financial resources and Turkiye with its template of modernity and technology prowess could introduce new possibilities and new uncertainties not only in West Asia but also in South Asia.
While the three countries were not abandoning Washington, the Chinese factor loomed in the background and the Mecca Accord, he said, amounted to the creation of a more autonomous regional security architecture.
Raghavan made certain general points of great salience: first, foreign policy is not a zero-sum game and it is perfectly possible for different powers to engage in multi-alignment in order to serve their self-interest; second, the very nature of warfare is changing and the factor of asymmetry between unequal powers is getting reduced.
In the context of new sources of volatility, he underlined that the choice for India was to tread a fine balance between its uncompromising stand against terror provocations from Pakistan and the long-term need for engagement. Earlier, detailing the idea of ‘Patliputra Pragya Prawah’ Governor of Bihar Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) emphasized that Bihar has civilizationally been the centre of intellectual ferment, argumentation and contestation and given this, there is a need to revive and rejuvenate the idea of knowledge- sharing.
He assured that the Lok Bhawan would be at the forefront of encouraging and facilitating a culture of debate and dialogue in pursuit of which more lectures and seminars would be organised.
He also added that more and more such events should be organised at the decentralized level in order to usher in de-concentration of knowledge and new ways of looking at things.
Welcoming the participants, Dipak Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary to the Governor, informed the distinguished gathering that Bihar Lok Bhawan would organize two lectures each month with domain experts interacting with the audience on a host of issues.
He informed that the live streaming of the lecture would help it reach out to a substantial section of the people interested and hoped that universities and colleges would also organise such events so as to promote intellectual vitality.
Dr Faizan Mustafa, Vice- Chancellor of Chanakya National Law University- moderated the session and appreciated the initiative undertaken by the Lok Bhawan to organize such lecture series. The insightful lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session, added the Press release.
