G20 Summit: In its coming out party, India has changed the grammar of G20, breathed new life in multilateralism

The G20 Summit has rolled into its business end. Host India is ready to conduct key sessions over the weekend with the heads of member states, special invitees and international organisations at the newly inaugurated Bharat Manadapam in New Delhi. Alongside, prime minister Narendra Modi has lined up 15 bilateral engagements on the sidelines, three of which took place on Friday night when he met the prime ministers of Mauritius, Bangladesh and the president of the United States. The three core G20 conferences, structured around ‘One Earth’, ‘One Family’, and ‘One Future’, and a couple of sideline events to be held over the next two days are examples of herculean organizational effort and meticulous planning — a culmination of all G20 processes, working group and ministerial meetings numbering over 200 across every state and Union Territory of India as well as inputs from scholars and policy analysts from across the globe since last year. Amid these intense multilateral engagements, however, the dominant discourse holds that ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of India’s G20 presidency lies on whether New Delhi succeeds in placating the warring groups and manages to issue a joint declaration. That’s unadulterated rubbish. This reductionism, forced by the compulsive need for narrative clarity, is a wrong metric to judge the G20 as a multilateral forum, and India’s impact as the chair. It is as cynical as western media’s coverage that kept its eyes firmly fixed on the stench of drains and signs of poverty, as if it is illegal for India to have great power ambitions. What we have witnessed since Indonesia handed over the presidency to India at the Bali Summit last November, is a tectonic shift in the grammar of the forum under India’s tutelage even as the world hastened towards intractable geopolitical positions around great power rivalry, squeezing the space for effective multilateralism. Be it the groupings of G7, SCO, or BRICS, the dynamics were hardening around respective blocs shaped by Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s power struggle against the US. Amid this backdrop, India had four key objectives as the chair of G20. One, democratize the grammar of G20 and transform it from an arena of great power politics and self-affirmative policies to a movement owned by and led by the people by ensuring mass participation, or ‘jan bhagidari’. Two, showcase India’s arrival on world stage and make the hosting of G20 as its grand, unabashed ‘coming out’ party. Three, make the platform more inclusive by bringing to G20 table the concerns of Global South — the diverse nations from Africa, Asia and Latin America that lie geopolitically under-represented and marginalized. And four, usher in a technological revolution that benefits the Global South by showcasing its prowess in digital public infrastructure. Whether or not India has been successful in its tenure as G20 chair lies in the assessment of these metrics, not merely on the issuing of a joint communique. And all available evidence points to the fact that India has made a lasting impact and is leaving a legacy that will be hard to ignore or rewire. It is no one’s case that geopolitical divisions have had no impact on this edition of G20. Vladimir Putin has stayed away, so has his ‘no limits’ partner Xi Jinping, whose absence has sparked a rainbow of speculation. The fallout of the war in Europe and China’s expansionism has been an inevitable scepticism over the future of multilateralism. And yet, thanks to India’s missionary zeal in making something out of a bad script, led by Prime Minister Modi’s infectious optimism, India has injected a rare, breathtaking dynamism into multilateralism that was getting restricted within its staid, moribund structure. India has also used the forum as a mechanism to project its growing power — creating momentum for its rise, increasing strategic space and building lasting and critical partnerships for the future. And these tricky yet necessary diplomatic efforts took place in conjunction with its move to create mass awareness over internationalism at home and democratize multilateralism for a more equitable global economy. Western media appear particularly piqued that India’s G20 stewardship has coincided with the general elections due next year, accusing Modi of ‘using’ the platform for ‘self-promotion’. Yet this myopic animosity towards the world’s most popular, democratically elected leader ignores the fact that India is merely answering the call of history. India’s time has come. It is the fastest-growing large economy in the world, the world’s most populous nation, the planet’s largest democracy blessed with a young demography, abundant human resources and a competent leadership that has successfully navigated the geopolitical faultlines to propel India to the fifth spot in global economy and has set more ambitious targets. India is in a hurry, but not so much as to ignore its pivotal role in acting as the bridge between ‘north-south’ and ‘east-west’ divides. It has pulled off an incredible feat in landing a spacecraft on the south side of the moon, the first country to do so, and is now going for the sun. The G20 venue is a testament to India’s breathtaking diversity, culture, soft power and its ability to make technological development and digital public infrastructure work towards driving growth and presenting a viable model for the Global South to emulate. The Aadhaar, UPI, or ONDC are examples of India’s low-cost yet effective tech solutions. And while it is championing the cause of Global South in making multilateralism more inclusive, it is simultaneously amplifying its strategic space and fortifying Brand India among a host of aspirational middle powers. For example, the inclusion of African Union — that includes 55 African nations — into the G20 as a full member at India’s behest brings more voices to the G20 table that have more strategic alignment with India’s strategic positions — nullifying to an extent the veto power of the West. This is smart diplomacy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.