Ukraine’s Emine Dzhaparova exposes India’s Vishwaguru pipedreams

The Russian war on Ukraine shows that going forward there will be greater geopolitical challenges arising both from China as well as the new China-Russia axis

If the Narendra Modi government believed that its ‘Vishwaguru’ (Global teacher and arbiter) moment had arrived with the rotational presidency of the G-20 Summit, the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova, has certainly thrown a spanner in the works. She has stated in blunt terms what the international community, especially the democratic and liberal West, expects of the self-proclaimed world-leader and finds it falling short.

Despite the best efforts of Indian diplomats and the spin of India’s energy imports from Russia vs Europe’s, the Vishwaguru image that India seeks somehow seems destined to remain incomplete. It also shows that India will not remain untouched from the fast-moving geopolitical developments over Ukraine.

On the eve of her visit to India, Dzhaparova tweeted: “Happy to visit India, the land that gave birth to many sages, saints and gurus. Today, India wants to be the Vishwaguru, the global teacher and arbiter. In our case, we’ve got a very clear picture: aggressor against innocent victim. Supporting Ukraine is the only right choice for true Vishwaguru.’’ In effect, she said if India wants to live up to its global self-image, it cannot hide behind its national interest and refuse to take a moral position on global matters such as the violation of a nation’s sovereignty and annexation of parts of it by military force.

Addressing the Ministry of External Affairs’ think-tank, Indian Council for World Affairs, she did not mince her words, “Being with Russia, we are again very sincerely saying so, is actually being on the wrong side of history. Supporting Russia means that it is to be in the evil visionary picture of the world.” What could be a tighter slap on the face of the Vishwaguru than to point out that it is on the ‘wrong side of history’, or to remind the wannabe world-teacher that ‘the message of any spiritual teaching is justice’?

Dzhaparova also put India in a spot by soliciting an invitation for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the G-20 Summit in New Delhi, in September, daring India to demonstrate that it is not a timid nation limited to a partisan agenda. She said that Ukraine seeks “a better and deeper” relationship with India, “we knocked the door, but it is also up to the owner of the house to open the door.”

Underlining the partisan behaviour of the Indian establishment, Dzhaparova, pointed out in her speech at the ICWA that while National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has visited Russia thrice since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he had not visited Kyiv even once. “So, we think that in order to balance that, he might also come to Kyiv. This is what we call a pragmatic approach, because while there is a conversation with one side, there should be a conversation with another side [as well].”

She also warned India about the dangers of not stopping “difficult neighbours” who push their agenda with “impunity”. Like Ukraine, she pointed out, “India also has a difficult neighbourhood with China and Pakistan. The Crimea episode has a lesson for India as well. Whenever impunity happens and if it is not stopped, it becomes bigger.” This was a direct reference to India’s unsettled borders with both Pakistan and China, and the ongoing tensions with the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan, Eastern Ladakh, and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

Dzhaparova’s chiding is unlikely to have any effect on Indian foreign policy. However, she has laid bare the fact that if India is to appropriate the global role as President of G-20 and Vishwaguru to boot, it will have to take position as a defender of liberal and democratic order against the challenge of China and now Russia. The international community tolerates India’s secular decline on global indices on democracy, human rights, religious freedom, and media freedom, and allows it to celebrate its role as Vishwaguru for its larger geopolitical goals. However, the Russian war on Ukraine shows that going forward, there will be even greater geopolitical challenges arising both from China as well as the new China-Russia axis.

A role of eminence in global affairs suits the current regime because it can leverage the ‘importance’ given by the Western powers for domestic political purposes. Witness how the rotational G-20 presidency, which is a nominal conference organising role, is being deployed for the 2024 re-election bid by the current dispensation. India’s limited foreign policy goals, however, have not allowed that image to progress beyond offering “enhanced humanitarian assistance” and making vacuous calls for peace saying, ‘Today’s era is not of war’. A world-leader cannot go on repeating that it does not need any certification from the world — if it wants the world to listen to it then India will also have to listen to the world.

(Bharat Bhushan is a senior journalist. Twitter: @Bharatitis)

Disclaimer: The views mentioned above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.