The nuclear deal between the U.S. and India galvanized the Indian American community to lobby for a goal which promised a quantum jump in U.S.-India relations, as well addressed the energy security needs of India’s fast growing economy. The last mile of a mutual agreement is yet to be finalized, but amendment to domestic U.S. law which sets the context for the bilateral nuclear agreement has been hailed as a major milestone in U.S – India relations. This landmark was achieved more by social entrepreneurship than by any other strategy, and herein lays the seed to the next frontier of public diplomacy which the Indian Diasporas globally now need to internalize, and act urgently upon.
There is a clear cut need to action, and a specific roadmap to the mobilization of efforts, towards public diplomacy that will help secure India’s energy needs. The proposed action by the Indian Diasporas will aid one of the most ambitious efforts in modern history to lift the quality of life of millions in the shortest period of time. The Indian Diasporas in countries around the globe can now play a meaningful role in making nuclear energy a reality in India, and thereby also pioneer a global lobbying machine that will stand India well in stead for centuries to come.
This call to action goes out to all people of Indian origin living in the member countries of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). This exhortation seeks to stimulate social entrepreneurship amongst the Indian Diasporas and calls upon it to engage with the leaderships in their home countries in order to convince them to support India’s case at the upcoming Annual Plenary Meeting of the NSG, scheduled to be held in South Africa. The Campaign for Indian and Global Energy Solutions (CIGES) has already begun since the last few weeks, and it needs vibrant inputs from social entrepreneurs, community leaders, and the passive Indian Diasporas across the globe. The campaign is not driven or platform-ed by any organization and will have its activists and leaders logically emerging from different countries as the campaign progresses in coming months.
At this juncture it may be relevant to paint the mosaic which forms the backdrop of this unprecedented call to public diplomacy. First, and foremost, the bilateral agreement between the U.S. and India (the 123 agreement) is yet to be finally negotiated, and mutually agreed upon by the U.S. and India. Yes, there are hiccups there, yet many people are giving their best to make it a mature and satisfactory agreement for both India and the U.S., and therefore there is a high probability that the outstanding issues will be resolved. Thus, this campaign builds on the pre-supposition that the 123 agreement will be inked – however the core argument and activities being undertaken in this campaign will deliver strategic value even if the 123 agreement is postponed or delayed.
Second, once the 123 agreement is approved by both countries, then India has to approach the NSG for granting it exemption from the sanctions which have thus far prevented India from engaging in trade and transfer of nuclear materials and technology. The next annual plenary session of the NSG is scheduled in South Africa, and India’s case will be taken up by the NSG only if the 123 agreement has been consummated between the U.S. and India by then. Urgent efforts are afoot in the U.S. and India, in both governmental and public spheres, to meet this deadline, and the Indian American community has to keep its focus on enabling a mutually satisfactory 123 agreement, while the global Diasporas readies for lobbying with the NSG.
It is only after the NSG lifts the sanctions on India that nuclear energy can become a reality in India. Also, it should be noted that the NSG operates by unanimous consent, and any one member can hold up or delay India’s case. However, the chances of NSG approval are reasonably high, given India’s record, and as well the fact that U.S. will be lobbying with other NSG members for India’s case, once the 123 agreement has been signed between the U.S. and India. This is not to say that it is an assured home-run, and therein is the genesis for this call to engage in active public diplomacy by the Indian Diasporas.
By lobbying in their home countries to support India’s case at the NSG, people of Indian origin can make a landmark contribution to India’s energy security, and thereby its socio-economic growth. By engaging with law makers, opinion leaders, think tanks, media, and the nuclear power industry in their adopted homelands, they can add the punch of public diplomacy to the efforts of the people of India to obtain rightful access to civil nuclear energy.
Classic propaganda theorists often say that communities need a “super-ordinate goal” in order to rally behind any idea. The nuclear issue provided the super-ordinate goal to the Indian American community, which then rallied behind a grand idea. No other issue has ever stirred the community like the nuclear issue, and therein also came the opportunity for many to take a lead in social entrepreneurship and public diplomacy. Time has now come for the global Indian Diasporas to grab this opportunity in order to achieve two critical objectives – one, establish the super-ordinate goal for the Indian Diasporas to help India’s energy needs by lobbying with the NSG, and, two, take advantage of the existence of this super-ordinate goal to build momentum for grassroots activism, public diplomacy and lobbying globally. Both of these objectives are very valuable to the global eco-system and India in the present, and in times to come.
The Indian American community has in a way pioneered a path of public diplomacy and ethnic lobbying, and now it is incumbent upon Indian communities in other countries to carry the baton once the theatre is shifting to the NSG. The over 25 million strong Diaspora already sends home to India over US$ 24 billion every year – more than any other ethnic Diasporas, and is estimated to have a GDP of over US$ 250 billion by some rough estimates.
The Diasporas is not only a knowledge or capital bank – it is also a marketing and lobbying force that has not been tapped or scientifically harnessed. Knowledge and capital will flow into India in abundance once the India story is properly told to as many people globally as possible. In any country, the logical first set of people to tell the India story are the people of Indian origin living in that country – it is time they engaged in public diplomacy, and it is also time that they be supported by India and others who have a stake in India’s socio-economic development.
Lest it be misconstrued by the Diasporas that this is merely a one way street, it should be noted that India’s growth offers them economic opportunities – and many of them are already chasing and benefiting from opportunities in India. With the Indian economy expected to grow at over 10% in 2007, compared to sluggish economies of the West, India offers perhaps the most attractive investment destination to the Indian Diasporas. They should also note that outward investment from India is growing, and Indian companies are setting up offices or acquiring firms in foreign lands – thus creating business opportunities, or jobs for them or their children in years to come. The official changeover of the Ritz Carlton in Boston to the Taj Boston a few days ago is a symbol of the growing economic opportunities that India and Indian business is now spawning at a ferocious rate.
The activism of the Indian American community was driven both by sensing an economic opportunity, as well the emotional context. The experience of cross-cultural marketing, ethnic mobilization, grassroots activism, other communications and messaging strategies, debate and agenda setting, financial management, and Washington, DC style lobbying can now be shared with Indian Diasporas globally. This business model is now being modified and contextualized for the next level of Indian Diasporas activism as strategic and value added global citizens.
The Indian Diasporas worldwide is waking up to the Indian opportunity a little later than the Indian American, but the Indian growth story is now hitting their shores and minds and the NSG campaign is a historic opportunity for them to fast-track their relations with India and connect with opportunities in India too. The just concluded Prawasi Bhartiya Diwas was an apt occasion to spread the word and exhort as many people of Indian origin as possible, yet the opportunity was not leveraged to the fullest extent. However, at least a beginning has been made and several dynamics in public diplomacy are now moving to give a quantum impetus to the campaign with NSG countries. This effort has to move in tandem with the final resolution of the 123 agreement, and of course the IAEA negotiations.
Let us focus and lend our energies and entrepreneurial skills to the acceptance of India as a rightful participant in global affairs. 1 , 2 , 3 ….. ready to go?
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