India’s External Affairs Minister has been the darling of the masses lately. What for? For telling the world, especially the West, that it no longer holds the entire world as its colony. And he said this while looking into their eyes. Be it telling Europe that India buys in an afternoon what Europe does in a quarter in the context of Russian oil or asking the West to live with India’s stand on the Ukraine crisis, the message was clear: the Indian government is committed to working for national interest.
Is it just that? No! The bigger message was that India would no longer be toeing the West’s line. This was synonymous with the Prime Minister saying in his earlier speeches that India under him would walk with the world shoulder to shoulder. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the West’s opinion or acceptance was never important, be it in the form of validation or a prize.
Nobel Peace Panel member heaps praise on India
Asle Toje, a foreign policy scholar and a member of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, is currently on his India tour. Addressing the media, he heaped praise on India and the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He claimed that India’s intervention to remind Russia of the consequences of using nuclear weapons proved to be helpful, referring to PM Modi’s ‘Today’s era is not an era of war’. He said, “India didn’t speak in a loud voice; it didn’t threaten anybody; they just made their position known in a friendly manner. We need more of that in international politics.”
Toje claimed that India is destined to be a superpower, adding that PM Modi is the most trusted leader for stopping war and can establish peace between countries in conflict. He said that the Indian Prime Minister is perceived as one of the eldest statesmen in the world, who has credibility and is taken more seriously.
Also read: How an Indian ‘journalist’ tried desperately to win the Nobel Prize and failed
PM Modi nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?
The report was published, suggesting PM Modi was the strongest contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. All media headlines read, ‘Nobel for PM Modi?’ However, Toje was quick to call the news “fake.” He claimed that a fake tweet had been sent out and said, “Let’s not discuss it or give it more oxygen. I categorically deny that I said anything resembling that.
The tweet that Toje is talking about had 1.5 million impressions at the time of this writing. Speaking to news agency ANI, Toje said he was in India not as a deputy leader of the esteemed committee but as a director of International Peace and Understanding and as a friend of the India Center Foundation (ICF). He stressed that “a “fake news tweet was sent out, and we should treat it as fake news.”
But what if the tweet or news was not fake? Most likely, it was spoken out of enthusiasm. Can there be any weight in considering Prime Minister Modi’s name for the Nobel Peace Prize? Let’s explore?
PM Modi, the tallest global leader
When India became politically independent from the British in 1947, most people, especially in the Western world, believed that India would become balkanized and disintegrate into smaller geographic entities. It did not happen, but India did live at the mercy of the global superpowers. The leaders could not establish India on a global pedestal.
Over five decades had passed since India’s independence, and there had been no visible change in India’s foreign policy. Our representatives still spoke in the same low-pitched tone, not willing to offend the establishment. They used to dress up like Western diplomats and speak in a language and even with an accent that their erstwhile colonial counterparts could understand. Except for proactive engagement in the Bangladesh liberation war, Indians had no substantive evidence to claim that their country had ever shown any aggressive instinct to protect its own national interests.
And it is a hard fact that until you find your own place in the world, you are of no value. The same happened with India after 2014. India defined a more practical approach to foreign policy. From promising to take on China head-on during his pitch to talking of colonial mindset from the Red Fort, PM Modi had set the tone for his policies even before the Ukraine crisis kicked in. His visit to Israel can be seen in the same light. To counter this multi-partisanship on a world level, PM Modi started to emphasize strengthening bilateral relations with individual countries. He did not negate the role of forums (he invited every SAARC nation), but at the same time he balanced them out with his initiative towards stronger bilateral ties.
The Ukraine crisis complemented India’s rise, and PM Modi emerged as the tallest leader in the world. This was even accepted by his western counterparts. Thus, it would not be wrong to say the Nobel Peace Prize Committee may be considering PM Modi’s name to maintain their relevance.
Awarding PM Modi the Nobel Peace Prize will not only be beneficial, as it will draw unprecedented traction to the Nobel Committee, both from those who appreciate the work done under his leadership and from those who find nothing good in his style of politics.
Nobel Prize: Not so Noble
While we have weighed the Nobel Committee, let’s understand what it means for India and its leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Well, to put it simply, nothing. Yeah, you heard me right—even if the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the Prime Minister, it would be a form of validation that India doesn’t need at all. Why do I say so? It’s because, barring subjects like physics, chemistry, and medicine, the rest of the Nobel Prizes are given for political propaganda. Don’t you believe me? Let me give some examples.
It’s true that none of the awards are given without controversy, and the same holds true for the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize awarded in Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Physiology, or Medicine) is least controversial, as people in the media, most of them social sciences graduates, have limited capability to opine on these subjects.
However, the prizes awarded in peace, literature, and economics receive greater media attention and are therefore more controversial. The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, is the most controversial category. The ‘Peace’ Prize has been awarded to people like Henry Kissinger, Barack Obama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Yasser Arafat, and Shimon Peres—all of these individuals had been actively involved in waging war against other countries.
Now, you tell me, will any of the Indians want their prime minister to fall in line with these leaders? And you have your answer.
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