Indian-Origin Diplomats In New Delhi: Australia Was A Trendsetter

By siliconindia | Monday, 18 April 2016, 11:19 Hrs

The reaction of the diplomatic community was tellingly a mixed bag. It was then de rigueur for an incoming senior diplomat to call on his counterparts in missions of interest to Australia. I covered about thirty. Presenting myself for the appointment at the British High Commission, much confusion ensued: it had all been a "mistake" and the meeting was politely "postponed" (inevitably followed next day by profuse apologies and a sheepish call on me instead).

The appointment with the US Embassy kept getting delayed until presumably they had 'cleared' me as a genuine article. New Zealanders and Canadians were warmly welcoming.

The Russians, fully aware of my six (Cold War) years in Moscow handling a portfolio quite unpalatable to the then Soviet Union, were downright suspicious, tinged with a hint of hostility. The Chinese evinced much wariness, for e.g., on working together on issues of mutual interest, the crass undiplomatic response was "we will do so with your colleagues", casting doubts on my credibility as a genuine Australian representative.

Singapore apart, other Asian diplomats were visibly confounded, but once recovered, marveled at what they perceived to be a stealthy Australian diplomatic ploy. No sense of my professional merit entered their calculations!

Outside the cloistered Chanakyapuri chanceries, and the Ministry of External Affairs whose staffers had known me or about me over the years in previous official reincarnations, it was uniformly a case of being greeted with undisguised disbelief by Indian bureaucrats. Instead of discussing the official matter at hand, invariably one had to first walk through a barrage of what we would deem personal questions -- the how and why of a "non-white" being the DHC. It was all inoffensive, but somewhat wearisome.

A few months later though, it was just like working as in any other foreign capital.

More broadly, on the public front, I did become something of an exotic specimen for TV and print media. That did not go unnoticed back home, reassuringly so. Indian business with its usual pragmatism dealt with me as it would with another western diplomat. My calendar became overweight with invitations to speak at trade, academic, NGO, arts and other social events.

Fears about being besieged by entreaties proved groundless. At no time during my posting did I receive any untoward request from the usual suspects -- businesspersons, bureaucrats and social contacts. Or from local staff with whom I worked on a day to day basis. The indelible emotional footprint left on my mind after the six year posting was one of having received overwhelming warmth, blended with visible pride, and full working cooperation from Indians of all stations.

While it is not for me to judge the value of my contribution to Australia-India relations, I can confidently assert that my appointment as a senior Australian representative did much to undermine the then Indian elite's highly negative views of Australia, largely informed by still fresh memories of the White Australia policy.

And it served as a precedent for other western governments; today Indian origin diplomats abound in their missions in New Delhi.

They would do well to give credit to the Australian Foreign Service for initiating a multicultural presence in the western diplomatic corps long before it became the norm in India (or elsewhere).

(18.04.2016 - Rakesh Ahuja is a former member of the Australian foreign service who served as a Australian Deputy High Commissioner in India. He is now Managing Associate, Axess India Consultancy Group. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at Rakesh.Ahuja@axessindia.com)

Source: IANS