By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 16 Mar: Governor Lt General (Retd) Gurmit Singh launched a book titled, ‘International Relations’ at Raj Bhawan here today. The Book has been authored by former DGP of Uttarakhand Ashok Kumar and ASP Hisar, Dr Rajesh Kumar Mohan. The book is aimed to provide useful information regarding foreign policy and international relations in a rather concise form as a guide for Civil Services Aspirants for the examination conducted by UPSC. It is targeted for those whose core subject has not been political science and international relations. The book covers a wide range of topics, including international organizations, diplomatic relations, conflict resolution, and global governance.
Releasing the book, Governor Singh congratulated the authors of the book. He said that this book is a valuable resource for children preparing for UPSC and it will make it easier to grasp a complicated subject as international relations and help them prepare well for competitions. Speaking about the book, the Governor further observed that the book is good enough to put a spark amongst the civil services aspirants.
The Governor said in the world, problems are looked upon from the perspective of DIME, i.e. Diplomacy, Information, Military and Economy. He said that having served the Indian Army for so many years, he can say that even in a situation of war, the value of diplomacy can’t be undermined as compared to the Military power, information and economy. Singh asserted that for past ten years or so, India has been on a path of rapid transformation and it has risen in the global arena on the basis of its crystal clear diplomacy, rapidly improving economy and of course rapidly developing technology.
Lt General Singh reminded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly asserted that the 21st Century belongs to India and also reminded that he was present in Kedarnath when PM Modi had announced that the third decade of the current century belongs to Uttarakhand and strongly advocated “Vocal for Local”. The country and the state are moving towards this, he asserted. He also lauded the way Uttarakhand had been able to attract investment MoUs worth Rs 3.5 lakh crores and already by now ground projects worth over Rs 91,000 crores.
The Governor said that rising power of India’s diplomacy is evident from many recent examples. India managed to ensure ceasefire between warring Russia and Ukraine for some days so that it could rescue its citizens. It has also shown the world that its foreign policy is now driven by keeping national interests above anything else. India’s rising power economically and diplomatically is also evident from the fact that its Israel-Palestine policy is not driven by any other country but by the national interests of India and global peace. India is increasingly playing an important role on the world stage with its rich history and strategic location. As India grows economically and strategically, India’s role in the international affairs will continue to become stronger and stronger. India’s soft diplomacy was also recently visible when the leading dignitaries of the world came to Jamnagar in an Indian wedding and shook their legs in celebration.
The Governor said that today’s new India is not hesitating in taking important tough decisions. India is currently changing its decades-old defensive policy and is now moving towards a more clear and aggressive policy and is playing an important role in international peace and security on the world stage. Singh also lauded India’s recent assertion with respect to its relationship with China and reminded that Indian soldiers were able to kill over 100 Chinese soldiers intruding into Indian borders at Galwan and the rest of the world had to support India. Governor said that India is well on its way to becoming a Vishwa Guru and Vishwa Mitra.
Former DGP Anil Raturi, present at the release programme, said that this book tries to explain the complex world of international relations in a very simple and concise manner. He said that the book will prove useful for students preparing for UPSC.
Raturi also asserted that India’s role at the global level has seen a rapid transformation and that the world order is changing today. India has already become the fifth largest economy in the world and is certain to become top third or second economy in some years to come. This is incredible to see what India was achieving now after witnessing a millennium of slavery. This is incredible for a country of 140 crores. Raturi also praised the book saying that it will prove useful in particular for those whose core subject is not political science or international relations. He also said that when he was preparing for the civil services around four decades ago, there was little information available on such subjects and that there was no internet. He also praised the credibility that has been maintained by UPSC saying that 1.3 million candidates appeared in 2023 for civil services and that UPSC has been able to ensure that the merit remains the top criteria. He also praised the rising level of vernacular students succeeding in civil services now, which showed that merit remained the sole criteria for selection in Civil Services.
Speaking on the occasion, author, Ashok Kumar, retired IPS officer and former DGP of Uttarakhand and currently serving as Vice Chancellor of Sports University in Haryana, spoke about the importance of the book. He said that there are some books available for the UPSC aspirants in respect of International Relations , some running into more than a thousand pages each, but they were mainly helpful for those whose main optional subject was International Relations. However, now even in preliminary examinations, several questions are asked in respect to International Relations and this book has been written keeping them in mind. It covers the subject and various aspects of international relations and foreign policy in a concise but useful manner. He also highlighted the changing world order and the changing role of international relations by reminding the audience that not very long ago, the world was bipolar with US on one hand and USSR on the other. India did try to carve out its own way through Panchsheel and Non Alligned Meet (NAM). Then the world became more or less unipolar with US becoming the sole dominant power at the global level. Now the world is moving towards a multipolar world with China and India also becoming top international players. It was good that India has understood that idealist foreign policy based on Panchsheel principles had not served it well and it is changing its policy to become more assertive at the global level. Co author and IPS Officer Rajesh Kumar Mohan also addressed the audience.
On this occasion among those present were several police officers, Alaknanda Ashok and publisher Ashutosh of McGrawHill and many other dignitaries like Kulbhushan Kain.
