*
http://tarafits.blogspot.com/2010/10/ndc-seminar-diplomatic-profession-and.html
In his lecture on 21 October , 2010 at the opening of the NDC seminar on "The
Role of Force in Strategic Affairs" to celebrate its golden jubilee,
National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon had referred to India's
ever popular
epics, the Mahabharata and, the Geeta and the Arthashastra by Chanakya,
which deals with both internal and external uses of force.
I reproduce extracts from my paper "The Profession of Diplomacy - A Brief
Outline of Indian Experience " presented in April,1988 at a seminar held in
Nairobi ,Kenya on " Training of Third World Diplomats" attended by Heads of
Diplomatic Training Academies/Institutes from all over the world including
Vienna , when I was establishing Foreign Service Institute for India's
Ministry of External affairs (1987-89) in New Delhi .
*"My nationalism is intense Internationalism. I am sick of strife between
nations and religions." - Mahatma Gandhi*.
*Historical Overview *
* *
*Ancient Times** *
India has a proud tradition of diplomacy, the agency for implementing
extroversive interests of a State, since ancient times, barring a few gaps
in the vast sweep of time..
Vedas, Smritis,Upanishads, Puranas and commentaries by scholars on Hindu
jurisprudence constitute principal sources of ancient Indian thought on
State, society, law and philosophy. There might be some dispute about how
old these ancient writings are, but Vedas evolved out of the intuitive
thoughts of ancient rishis (wise seers), certainly much before 2000 years
B.C., Smritis and Upanishads before Buddha, about whose birth and teachings
in 6th century B.C., there is no dispute. Smritis are divided into Sutras
and Dharma Sastras. Dharma Sastra, also known as Manu Smriti enjoys
unquestionable precedence in Indian philosophical and legal thought,
inter-state relations and diplomacy.
Commenting on different roles of authorities in a State, Manu stated, "Let
the king appoint an Ambassador ; the army depends on its Commander; control
of subjects (depends) on the army; the Government of the kingdom on the
King; peace and war on the Ambassador".
Vedic literature and Smrtis have treated the State as an individual
sovereign unit and also as a component unit of a circle of States called Raj
Mandala, to control and regulate relations among them. The protection .and
promotion of political, military and economic interests of a State rested on
five constituent elements; the Ministers, the kingdom, the fortress, the
treasury and the army.
Manu had advanced concepts like befriending the enemy of a hostile
neighbour, neutrality, mediation etc. now universally accepted. Commenting
on the importance of Ambassadors, Manu states, "The King has to be careful
about the details given by the Ambassador, the whole range of inter-state
relations and the existence of the State depends on the efficacy of the
Ambassadors."
According to him, a high degree of intellectual equipment was necessary for
an Ambassador; and in selecting people for diplomatic missions, one must
choose persons who are "loyal, honest, skilful, possessing good memory,
fearless and eloquent". writings of these and later times emphasised these
qualities and added that an envoy must be sweet voiced, persuasive,
industrious, well-versed in sciences and possessed of faculty of reading
others' thoughts and feelings from their behaviour and appearance etc.
Ramayana and Mahabharata
The well-known Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata (of which Bhagwat Geeta
is a component) which had origins earlier than Buddha paid great attention
to the institution of diplomacy and envoys and their functions. They contain
numerous references to the use of diplomatic agents in trying to peacefully
settle disputes; for example,
In Ramayana, before the declaration of war between the forces of Rama, the
Aryan King and Ravana, the Demon King, Hanumana was sent as a diplomatic
messenger to persuade Ravana to return Rama's wife Seeta whom Ravana had
abducted. The mission failed, but when Ravana sentenced Hanumana to death
and ordered his execution, Ravana's younger brother Vibhishana pleaded that
the order be revoked, since according to the law in force, it was not
permissible to kill envoys and messengers. The sentence of death was reduced
to a lesser punishment.
Before the final declaration of war between Rama and Ravana, another effort
was made through Angada who was sent as a diplomatic messenger.
In Mahabharata also, Lord Krishna was sent on a diplomatic mission on behalf
of Pandavas to the Court of Duryodhana to avoid the wholesale war between
the two princely families. When an attempt was made by Duryodhana's
supporters to assault envoy Krishna, it was emphatically and successfully
argued that the person of the Duta (diplomatic messenger) was inviolable and
therefore could not be assaulted or punished. A diplomat had to be treated
with high dignity and respect.
After the period covering the Vedic and epic literature, a variety of
principles on International relations. diplomatic practices and methods,
means of reconciliation and arbitration, principles of war were developed
and perfected.
An interesting concept was the Chakravartini Raja (Universal Monarch) whose
suzerainty or protection, after wars, if necessary, was acknowledged by
surrounding kings. It is quite akin to the modern-day super-power rivalry,
with their pacts, doctrines and areas of influence.
The knowledge and art of diplomacy like other knowledge and wisdom, which
was considered sacred was imparted through the institution of an Ashram (a
hostelry where the teacher and his disciples stayed together) and other
institutions. The technique of imparting Vidya (knowledge) through the
institution of guru-sishya parampara (teacher-student tradition) continues
in India even now, in the field of music, dancing, painting and other areas.
Kautilya's Arthsastra
A significant document, recovered in the early years of this century (20th),
is the Artha Sastra (an exhaustive treatise and manual on statecraft and
diplomacy). It is a prose work in 15 books authored by Kautilya, also known
as Chanakya and Vishnu Gupta, who was the principal counselor - adviser of
Emperor Chandra Gupta Maurya and was composed around 300 B.C. It shows close
acquaintance with the administrative and the diplomatic methods of
Hellenistic States, particularly in Syria and Egypt and is a distilled
quintessence of various schools on this subject which then existed in India.
The institution of diplomatic envoys is dealt in Book-I, Chapter XVI.
Whether the diplomatic mission is ad hoc or permanent, the mission had to
follow well accepted principles in inter-state relations. Adoption of
appropriate 'diplomatic language' was considered important in dealings
between rulers and kings. Guda lekha (code language) was adopted for
diplomatic correspondence.
The classification of Ambassadors, his qualifications, status, immunity,
duties, salary etc. are discussed in great details. A successful Adviser
(Minister) was deemed suitable for the
post of .Ambassador, a practice followed by many nations now for important
Missions. Of course, there was no paraphernalia like Minister/Counselor,
First Secretary etc and the Missions may not have been of permanent duration
in all States.
The envoys had the following four classifications ( similar to those adopted
et the Vienna Congress of 1815 etc.):
(a) Duta (Ambassador Extraordinary);
(b) Nisrishtartha (Minister Plenipotentiary);
(c) Parimitarhah (Charge d'Affaires); and
(d) Sasanarhah (Diplomatic Messenger / Special Envoy).
The grading of rank and status varied with the degree of responsibility
entrusted in the diplomatic agent (as in modern times). Kautilya also deals
with the methods and principles that are to be adopted by a diplomatic agent
in fulfilling his mission. He categorises the missions as madhyama
(mediatory), udasina (neutral), vijigishu (conquering the king) and ari
(enemy). He also gives detailed instructions on the institution of
intelligence network and the role of spies, which was necessary for the
maintenance of internal security and for efficient and successful conduct of
foreign relations. The intelligence reports and those from envoys were
double checked and analysed.
There were women spies in the garb of wives, courtesans and even
prostitutes, ascetics etc. Techniques for finding out the weakness of
enemies and ways to exploit it (blackmail), were well delineated. Other
measures included collection of information, dis-informatlon, and if
necessary use of force to eliminate enemies. The concept of Raj Mandala i.e.
Inter-state relations, was further elaborated and detailed strategies
explained. The concept of treaty was widely practiced in inter-state
relations.
*Kautilya* observes:
*"One shall make an alliance with a king who is stronger than one's
neighbouring enemy; in the absence of such a king, one should ingratiate
oneself with one's neighbouring enemy, either by supplying money or army or
by ceding a part of one's territory and keeping oneself aloof; for there can
be no greater evil to kings than alliance with a king of considerable power,
unless one is actually attacked by one's enemy."*
* *
* "When the advantages derivable from peace and war are of equal character,
one should prefer peace; for disadvantages such as loss of power and wealth,
sojourning and sin are ever attending upon war."*
* *
* "A king who is situated between two powerful kings, shall seek protection
from the stronger of the two or one of them on whom he can rely; or he may
make peace with both of them on equal terms."*
* *
* For the purpose of settlement of disputes, four methods were advocated,
namely, 'sama', 'dana', 'bheda', and 'danda'. Sama (conciliatory approach)
should be the first step in tackling a dispute or problem, followed by
appeasement (dana); when it failed then effort to create division and drive
a wedge between the opponents (bheda) was prescribed. The use of force
(danda) was to be employed as the last resort when all other methods had
failed. *
* *
*According to Artha Sastra, the State should follow a six-fold policy with
other States: (1) Sandhi (treaty of peace); (2) Vigrah (war); (3) Asana
(neutrality) (4) Yana (marching) - presumably a threat; (5) Samsrya
(alliance ) and (6) Dwidibhava (making peace with one and end war with
another).
*
* *
The wealth of contribution by Kautilya to the science of diplomacy,
statecraft, administration, management is stupendous and invaluable and
deserves a greater attention and study in our days. It is clear that in
ancient India, the concepts of statecraft and diplomacy was an organised
discipline for advancing a nation's interests through peaceful means.
During the Buddhist period and later, many rulers entrusted delicate and
strategic missions to diplomatic agents for the security of the State and
for the maintenance of friendly relations. During the reign of Indian King
Bindusara, Delmachos was sent as an Ambassador by King Antiochos of Syria
and Dinyosius as an Ambassador by King Ptolmy of Egypt (298 BC - 273 BC).
Emperor Ashoka (273 BC - 232 BC) established diplomatic relations with the
Kings of Ceylon (Srl Lanka), Syria, Egypt, Macedon, Cyrene and other
countries. During the 7th century AD, there were diplomatic relations
between the Indian King Pulkesin II and Shah of Persia, Khosru Parwez. There
is evidence of diplomatic relations between King Harasha Vardhana of India
and the Imperial Court of China.
* Medieval Period*
During the medieval period of Indian history, as in earlier times,
diplomatic relations were maintained among States in the Indian
sub-continent, as well as with States beyond it. The Afghan and Turks rulers
based in Delhi and other places , maintained diplomatic relations with
States in Central Asia, Persia, Arab world, Asia minor, Greece, Levant and
even with States in Tibet and China. The Kingdoms of South of India on the
West Coast, maintained diplomatic relations with States along Arabian Sea
Littoral and Indian Ocean littoral in Africa. The ones on the East-Coast and
South, maintained relations with Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaya;
some of these countries were conquered and colonised by the Kings of South
India.
The Moghuls maintained diplomatic relations with most of the states
mentioned earlier and in the later stages received envoys from European
states like Portugal, France , Britain, Holland, etc. During the period of
struggle for the Indian Empire between the Titular Moghul Emperors and other
Indian States on one hand and the British, Portuguese, French and other
naval based European powers on the other hand, the Indian kings, like Hyder
Ali, Tlpu Sultan and others maintained diplomatic relations with countries
in the Arab world, Ottoman Sultans and European powers in order to obtain
support in political and financial areas and others like defense technology
and training expertise and techniques.
* British Period *
During the British rule over India and in the region, the conduct of
international relations became a responsibility of the British Crown and
policies were formulated In London. It may, however, be reiterated that,
like the Moghuls earlier, the British had also modified the existing system
of administration, following from the days of the Mauryan Empire. In regard
to collection of revenue, maintaining law and order and administering
justice etc they only superimposed the British system over it. Even the
system of administering a district was based on the Moghul Sarkar system,
which was headed by a Faujdar - a military officer, representing the
provincial governor.
After experimentation, the district head was designated a Collector, who was
given the powers of the Faujdar for maintaining peace and order and of
Amalguzar for collecting revenue and looking after the peasants. The system
became and continues to be the lynch-pin of administration In India. The
police system modified and expanded from the old Moghul Daroga system,
finally blossomed as it exists now after the Police Act of 1861. The earlier
senior district and police officers were British. In late l9th century, top
revenue and judicial administration was devised, based on Macaulay Committee
Report, and run by Officers recruited through competitive examinations -
many years ahead of England, where entry to Civil Services was by patronage.
The Indianisation of Civil Services seriously started only after 1917, when
the number of Indian entrants through competition was increased to 50%. The
middle and low level officers in all departments were recruited partly
through examinations, but mostly through patronage. From this cadre of
trained Indian Civil Servants, some of whom were also seconded to the
Political and External departments of the Government of India, emerged the
nucleus of bureaucrats who formed the Diplomatic Service, known as the
Indian Foreign Service (IFS) after Independence in 1947. The gap after the
departure of the British Civil Servants and the extra requirements to meet
the sudden expansion of India's representation abroad, was filled by special
recruitment from retired Defence Services Officers, Scions of princely and
ruling native States, those who had studied abroad, etc.
K.Gajendra Singh ;Nairobi, Kenya ;April.1988
--
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear
of punishment and hope of reward after death." --
Albert Einstein !!!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22151765/History-of-Pakistan-Army-from-1757-to-1971
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21686885/TALIBAN-WAR-IN-AFGHANISTAN
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22455178/Letters-to-Command-and-Staff-College-Quetta-Citadel-Journal
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23150027/Pakistan-Army-through-eyes-of-Pakistani-Generals
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23701412/War-of-Independence-of-1857
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22457862/Pakistan-Army-Journal-The-Citadel
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21952758/1971-India-Pakistan-War
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25171703/BOOK-REVIEWS-BY-AGHA-H-AMIN
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