Over the past three years, I have had the opportunity to interact closely with many former members of the Indian Foreign Service. In the beginning, their command over history, their erudite style pf argumentation and astute professionalism left me awed. As these interactions have progressed, my first impressions have now hardened into an opinion – they don’t make ’em like that anymore.I say so because there is a marked difference between those who joined the service in the first few decades of India’s independence, and the ones who have joined in the past three decades. There are identifiable reasons for this difference. To begin with, the world has changed in more ways than we can count. This has meant that India’s approach to foreign policy making has changed. Therefore, the systems and agents responsible for the crafting and implementation of this foreign policy have adapted to this new world, and rightly so.The Indian Foreign Service today has emerged as one of the most competent and able organisations furthering India’s interests across the world. However, while this change is both acceptable and understandable, there is also a yearning that the essential qualities of the Indian diplomat from the old guard be preserved and more importantly, passed on. This essence is not just composed of the institutional legacy of the IFS or the individual qualities of its members, but also the values that birthed and then nurtured the idea of India during its first few decades.Also read: Mannu Bhandari’s Short Stories Explored the Inner Worlds of Women in India’s Cities, Small TownsPascal Alan Nazareth is one such member of the old guard who embodies this essence. His autobiography, aptly titled A Ringside Seat to History, chronicles his 35 years as an Indian diplomat.Pascal Alan Nazsreth, A Ringside Seat to History: An Autobiography. Konark: 2021.If the objective of an autobiography is to describe a life so that the reader feels as if they know the author in their entirety, this book does well. However, its real triumph lies in its unassuming narrative that defines the author beyond a mere description of his life. It captures his humanism, unbending commitment to honest conduct in public service, perceptible ingenuity at problem solving and undying regard for Gandhian ideals. Above the book’s contribution to some of the contemporary debates discussed in this review, it stands out due to its reflective narration that exposes the author’s vulnerabilities. Since it connects to its reader at a human level, this approach (whether intentional or not) widens the book’s readership.We know that yoga, Bollywood and spiritualism are some aspects that make India appealing to distant countries. A rich civilisational heritage coupled with the resilience of ideological and spiritual approaches to human problems has led to the perception of India’s exceptionalism. The developed world has consumed the fruits of this exceptionalism such as yoga, classical art forms, archeological wonders, marketable spiritual wellness, natural medicine and India’s exotically diverse geography.The developing and underdeveloped world, however, has viewed India as a norm entrepreneur of sorts. Legacies of the non-aligned movement, a relatable socio-economic structure and challenges, a democratic polity and a dynamic economy that can nurture more than a billion lives and imaginations (through Bollywood), is in many ways inspirational. In both these worlds, India’s soft power has carved for it a respectable place.In today’s geopolitical context, this has meant that Indian investments and development assistance in the Global South are viewed more favourably than China’s. In the Global North, India’s vibrant polity, its growing economy, military capabilities and productive demography have positioned it as a preferred regional partner. However, how India built this perception is not always known or understood, because of the hundreds of thousands of moving parts involved in the process. This book documents the efforts of a single agent of change, who like many of his colleagues, on behalf of his government, almost always through individual initiative, was able to influence people’s perception of India. Whether he was in New York, London or in Ghana, Nazareth always had something to offer as a solution to the problems of those around him.Pascal Alan Nazareth. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsThe book will be most interesting for those eager for a career in diplomacy. These readers will understand the work that various postings in the service entail. They will also get a fair picture of the kind of personality a foreign service officer needs to have, in order to meet the varied demands of different postings. Above all, these readers will get to see how an officer is able to bring impactful change while successfully navigating the rules of his organisation. Even though the avenues for communication, the number of Indian missions, the strength of these missions etc., have changed drastically, the basic purpose of an officer remains the same – securing India’s interests. This book shows how this can be achieved by a determined officer stuck in the most difficult of circumstances.Also read: Why the Coolie Was a Central Figure in World War IThe book conveys all this through enjoyable descriptions of the authors postings. These include – accounts of his involvement in India’s attempts to extradite Dharma Teja (who defaulted on a $40 million loan from India’s Shipping Development Fund), his witnessing of the midnight coup in Ghana (when Jerry Rawlings sized power in 1981), where he and his wife had to huddle on the bedroom floor as bullets struck their residence walls and the 1964 ‘Jewellery Crises’ in Burma, to name a few.The author’s narration also captures the haphazard and infamous system of postings that the MEA used to follow until recently. This is most visible in the author’s first assignment in Japan – to a distant culture where he learnt Japanese for almost two years, without ever being posted back to Japan! However, you don’t find the author bitter at these happenings, rather you witness his pragmatic attitude – right from when he didn’t make it to the civil services on his first attempt, to when he was given postings that he didn’t deserve.Of all his postings, the reader can discern the role in which the author shines the most – as a patron of Gandhian values and culture. This you see in his remarkable tenure as the director of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It is here that that the author was able to spread his wings and orchestrate a complete turnaround in ICCRs administration, agenda and outreach.The book also documents the numerous personal challenges the author faced during his demanding career. From a two year wait to get married to his to-be wife due to his posting in Japan, to his wife’s post-partum complications in Burma and his son’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment in New York. The most heart wrenching of these is the untimely death of his young and brilliant daughter to asthma. In the descriptions of these events, the author retains his pragmatism and faith in spiritual beliefs. His ability to comprehend these events as part of the larger machinations of the world, reveals once again why his approach to life made him a successful diplomat.There are many facets to this book but perhaps the most important one is the author himself. His life and the way he lived it, has lessons for all. It will sooth those who today are dismayed by a slow erosion of Gandhian values from Indian society and India’s foreign policy. It will educate those, who wish to one day become a part of the Indian Foreign Service. Finally, it will inspire others who wish to know what it means to serve a nation without being constrained by myopic views of nationalism.Dr. Gaurav Saini is the co-founder of the New Delhi based think-tank, Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR).
