The Hindu : National : Narasimha Rao and the `Look East' policy

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Friday, Dec 24, 2004

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Narasimha Rao and the `Look East' policy

By V. Jayanth

CHENNAI, DEC. 23. Aside from the economic reforms initiated during his Prime Ministership, P.V. Narasimha Rao will be remembered for the `Look East' policy he launched in the second half of his tenure. It was during his stewardship that India recognised and revived its links with South-East Asia. The benefits of his tilt towards the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was reaped by the subsequent United Front Government, headed first by H.D. Deve Gowda and then by I.K. Gujral.

There were many leaders in South-East Asia who associated India's reforms and its `Look East' policy with Mr. Rao, and many could not digest the fact that the Congress under his leadership lost the 1996 election. Singapore's leaders, for instance, thought that the Indian electorate was "ungrateful" and had forgotten the gains made during Mr. Rao's administration.

Though a series of visits to the ASEAN countries — stretching from Singapore and Malaysia to Thailand and Vietnam — Mr. Rao established what ASEAN leaders called "instant personal chemistry" with him. Be it Singapore's Mentor Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, or the then Premier, Goh Chok Tong, the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, or the Vietnamese leaders, there was nothing but admiration for the way Mr. Rao led India out of the deep financial crisis in 1991 to emerge as one of the dynamic economies of Asia and the world. Of course, they knew the contribution of his Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, but they recognised the fact that without his Prime Minister's solid backing and leadership, Dr. Singh could not have ventured this far with economic reforms.

Even if there was no flourish in his oratory, Mr. Rao's speeches and interventions in the ASEAN region were heard with serious attention. The way he took on a Pakistani diplomat in a Singapore lecture, which was telecast live, will always be remembered.

Leaders and diplomats alike felt that his stint as External Affairs Minister had provided him the insight and vision to look beyond the shores and revive historical and cultural links with the East to convert them into an economic and trade partnership. Analysts in that region were never tired of pointing out the historical cycle — India as an Asian leader under Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1950s, when most of East and South-East Asia gained independence and liberty; the complete neglect of the East when Indira Gandhi was at the helm; and a revival of interest under Mr. Rao.

After becoming a sectoral dialogue partner of the ASEAN in 1992, India graduated to a full-fledged dialogue partner in 1997 and became a summit partner in 2001. There has been no looking back since then.

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