I have been asked by some people about the title of my blog and its reasoning as they find it odd and too jingoistic, in some instances. This post is to give a brief background on why blog is titled India First.
I have always been interested in current affairs, geopolitics, international relations and national security, thanks in no small measure, to my parents for inculcating in me, the habit of reading newspapers and periodicals regularly. This naturally developed a curiosity and thirst for knowledge and set me on a never ending quest to keep myself current with all the developments on these topics. While there were many writers and columnists whose articles were read keenly, one person whose articles, interviews, op-eds and editorials I religiously followed was the late K.Subrahmanyam. KS sir, of course, has passed away recently after a prolonged and valiant fight with cancer and this post is not to offer any insight into his life and works, having never interacted with him in person or by mail unfortunately, when his peers, colleagues and students have more than eulogized him for his lifetime works as well as his singular achievement of seeding and nurturing the strategic studies culture in our country. Any follower of his articles will have noticed the various changes in positions he took over the course of his life on nuclear testing, nuclear cooperation deals, non-alignment, strategic alignment with Soviets and the realignment with US at the end of Cold War and many such issues, and be tempted to label him a flip-flop, who changed views to be on the right side always! Nothing can be farther from the truth, especially since he was known as the most hawkish person in the Indian establishment! To understand his varying positions, it is necessary to evaluate his views from the viewpoint of Indian interest, to realize the clarity with which he always articulated the best position for India at that point of time. He was not ashamed to shift his stance to suit the ever-changing world of geopolitics. He was steadfast in his goal of securing Indian interest at all times, even at the cost of personal embarrasment and public scorn. This was his most endearing quality to me and will be deeply etched in my mind for eternity.
Another person who set me about on the path of India First was my dearly departed mother. While she was the quintessential working woman in a middle class household aspiring to climb up the economic ladder, it never clouded her clarity on why it was necessary for the country's interests to be articulated and secured, even at the cost of short term economic hardship. This was evident at a small family gathering in the months following our Shakti II nuclear tests in May 1998. While everyone seemed to think that it was a foolish and suicidal move to have tested the nuclear devices inviting crippling economic sanctions on an already struggling economy, she held firm that it was necessary to do so and the price to pay, economic sanctions, will be a short term phenomenon, as India opened up further economically making it unsustainable for any developed nation to isolate us and not partake in the multitude of opportunites that will be up for grabs. This was a very brave statement from a woman who was struggling to put her kids through higher education at a time when her husband's work had been affected significantly by the economic situation following the sanctions!
The above two instances, as mentioned, are the prime reasons for the title of my blog. I hope to do justice to the title by staying true and writing about issues and topics from an Indian viewpoint always. As can be seen, this is my second post in more than four months since it's been difficult to find the time to pen my thoughts on various topics given the pressures and demands of a full time job. Things have eased up a little on work front currently and I promise to be more regular in my posts and catch up to be current soon enough. The initial target will be to write a blog post every week before any increase in frequency can be thought of.
I have always been interested in current affairs, geopolitics, international relations and national security, thanks in no small measure, to my parents for inculcating in me, the habit of reading newspapers and periodicals regularly. This naturally developed a curiosity and thirst for knowledge and set me on a never ending quest to keep myself current with all the developments on these topics. While there were many writers and columnists whose articles were read keenly, one person whose articles, interviews, op-eds and editorials I religiously followed was the late K.Subrahmanyam. KS sir, of course, has passed away recently after a prolonged and valiant fight with cancer and this post is not to offer any insight into his life and works, having never interacted with him in person or by mail unfortunately, when his peers, colleagues and students have more than eulogized him for his lifetime works as well as his singular achievement of seeding and nurturing the strategic studies culture in our country. Any follower of his articles will have noticed the various changes in positions he took over the course of his life on nuclear testing, nuclear cooperation deals, non-alignment, strategic alignment with Soviets and the realignment with US at the end of Cold War and many such issues, and be tempted to label him a flip-flop, who changed views to be on the right side always! Nothing can be farther from the truth, especially since he was known as the most hawkish person in the Indian establishment! To understand his varying positions, it is necessary to evaluate his views from the viewpoint of Indian interest, to realize the clarity with which he always articulated the best position for India at that point of time. He was not ashamed to shift his stance to suit the ever-changing world of geopolitics. He was steadfast in his goal of securing Indian interest at all times, even at the cost of personal embarrasment and public scorn. This was his most endearing quality to me and will be deeply etched in my mind for eternity.
Another person who set me about on the path of India First was my dearly departed mother. While she was the quintessential working woman in a middle class household aspiring to climb up the economic ladder, it never clouded her clarity on why it was necessary for the country's interests to be articulated and secured, even at the cost of short term economic hardship. This was evident at a small family gathering in the months following our Shakti II nuclear tests in May 1998. While everyone seemed to think that it was a foolish and suicidal move to have tested the nuclear devices inviting crippling economic sanctions on an already struggling economy, she held firm that it was necessary to do so and the price to pay, economic sanctions, will be a short term phenomenon, as India opened up further economically making it unsustainable for any developed nation to isolate us and not partake in the multitude of opportunites that will be up for grabs. This was a very brave statement from a woman who was struggling to put her kids through higher education at a time when her husband's work had been affected significantly by the economic situation following the sanctions!
The above two instances, as mentioned, are the prime reasons for the title of my blog. I hope to do justice to the title by staying true and writing about issues and topics from an Indian viewpoint always. As can be seen, this is my second post in more than four months since it's been difficult to find the time to pen my thoughts on various topics given the pressures and demands of a full time job. Things have eased up a little on work front currently and I promise to be more regular in my posts and catch up to be current soon enough. The initial target will be to write a blog post every week before any increase in frequency can be thought of.
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