The appointment of former Foreign Secretary J N Dixit as National Security Advisor (NSA) today is clear evidence that the foreign policy of the new government will continue to be ‘‘pragmatic rather than revolutionary,’’ even as the Left parties seek significant changes in relations with Israel and the Arab world as well as with powers like the US.Foreign policy observers point out that the portion of the Congress party manifesto devoted to foreign policy mentions the word ‘‘non-alignment’’ only once. Considering that K. Natwar Singh, a longtime friend and chief foreign policy aide to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, along with Dixit wrote this part of the manifesto, there was ample recognition of the fact that India must learn to adjust with a continually difficult world order.Dixit now steps into the shoes of the all-powerful Brajesh Mishra, NSA and principal secretary to PM Vajpayee, with one difference. He has been given minister of state rank, while Natwar Singh enjoys Cabinet status. But as a relatively new recruit to the Congress—he joined the party after the Gujarat riots two years ago—Dixit rose quickly to become Sonia’s chief confidante on foreign policy.External Affairs minister Singh and Dixit—two former IFS diplomats, but from different generations—will now lead the Congress’ foreign policy from the front. It has been commonly suggested that Singh would prefer to hark back to an older, more familiar world order, where the high moral ground was often as or even more important than the murky world of realpolitik.Dixit is known to rather enjoy the thrust and parry of this universe. He has also been in most key places at the right time. For example, as desk officer on Bangladesh during the 1971 war with Pakistan, he was in the centre of events. In the late 80s he went to Colombo as high commissioner to preside over the Rajiv Gandhi accord —and got labelled ‘‘Viceroy’’ by the Sri Lankans.He returned to New Delhi from his post as high commissioner to Pakistan in November 1991 to become Foreign Secretary to PM Narasimha Rao. When the Soviet Union collapsed a month later, it was left to Dixit and Rao to steer New Delhi out of its traditional anti-American mould.Dixit was not available for comment on his new priorities, but sources close to him pointed out that his reputation for being ‘‘tough, but fair’’, on key issues like Pakistan, China and the US, would be carried forward. For example on Pakistan, Dixit as foreign secretary travelled to Islamabad in January 1994 to present three non-papers on Kashmir, defence and general issues. When the Pakistani establishment, under Benazir Bhutto, came back, it was to say ‘‘Kashmir first’’ and all issues later. The talks were broken off. They were to resume only in 1997 under the premiership of I.K. Gujral.It was also during Dixit’s tenure that India established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. In recent years the Vajpayee government cited ‘‘historical affinity’’ with the Jewish state to become Israel’s largest defence client. As for the Arab world, New Delhi retained all its commitments to Palestine even as it got more and more irritated with the OIC on its perceived double standards on the Kashmir issue and Pakistan.
