Dhankhar invokes Savarkar's realism, backs national interest as India's international diplomacy compass

The Print

24-06-2025

'Browsing through the pages of New World, I felt the imprint of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the author's thought… Savarkar, despite all the untenable misgivings in extremity, remains a celebrated thinker…,' Dhankhar said.
At the launch of the book 'New World: 21st Century Global Order in India', authored by senior RSS leader & India Foundation president Ram Madhav, Dhankhar said he saw a Savarkarite lens in the author's worldview.
New Delhi: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar Monday recalled Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who had said that global politics is dictated by realism and self-interest, not morality or solidarity.
'Savarkar, a staunch realist, believed in a post-war world where nations would act only in pursuit of their own interests not based on idealism, morality or international solidarity. Imagine how prophetic he has been. Look around—last fortnight, last 3 months. All this has been seen by all of us,' he said.
He also echoed Savarkar's critique of Western institutions, saying the nationalist leader had rejected 'pacifist or utopian internationalism' and 'emphasised that India must safeguard its sovereignty through strength, not by relying on Western-dominated institutions like the League of Nations or later the United Nations, both ignoring due place to one-sixth of humanity.'
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'Strengthening Bharat is the governing philosophy today'
In a strong endorsement of the Modi government's worldview, Dhankhar said: 'Friends, today, strengthening Bharat is the governing philosophy and resolve of this government. It is steadfast, firm, non-negotiable, and notwithstanding the critics—it is spinally strong.'
'Let us not be misguided by the distraction—who said what. The government, and India and its people, stand firmly for the nation—nation first and our nationalism… Those who take a stand for momentary situations are not in the psyche or groove of Bharat. Once we attain strength inwards, we can shape our strategic environment outwards,' he added.
Backing Ram Madhav's thesis in the book, he said, 'I couldn't agree more with the lamentations of the author Dr. Ram Madhav. He highlights a perpetual decline of global multilateralism and prescribes India to give up romanticism and focus on economic growth.'
'George Tanham was wrong—India's strategic thought is deep-rooted'
The Vice-President also took on longstanding Western criticisms about India's lack of strategic culture.
'George Tanham, an American thinker, 3 decades ago, in a treatise effectively suggested that there is absence of a strategic thinking in India on account of its Hindu philosophical roots and there were takers of it. But with Shri Ram Madhav's volume, George Tanham stands corrected. He couldn't be more wrong,' Dhankhar said.
He added: 'The principle 'Rajadharma' (ethical statecraft) and 'Dharmayudha' (just war) in Mahabharata; Dhamma diplomacy in Ashokan edicts; and the Mandala Theory of Kautilya are all examples of theorising strategic environments—all feast to the intellect. These philosophies have ever been relevant, but in our contemporaneous challenging times, these are the needs of the global order.'
'India must re-strategise for a shifting global order'—Ram Madhav
Speaking to the media after the launch, author Ram Madhav said the world is shifting away from the liberal international order formed post-World War II, and India must reorient its strategy to keep pace. 'We are moving away from the international liberal order that was created some 75 years ago. We are entering into a new kind of world,' he said.
He cited the emergence of China and the rising importance of smaller nations like Turkey. 'In our recent clash with Pakistan, we not only talked about Pakistan, but also about Turkey. So, the realisation is Turkey is also a power today,' he said.
Madhav pointed out that wars are now being fought in unconventional ways—'no army is facing each other'—and that India must adapt quickly if it wants to become a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
'India has to re-strategise its whole future trajectory…That means doing some very important things and becoming a very proactive participant in this new order,' he said.
He added that international diplomacy must now be grounded in national interest, not ideological loyalty. 'In politics and diplomacy, there are no permanent friends and no permanent foes…That was a romantic approach of the past. There are only permanent interests.'
He also emphasised India's message to global institutions, saying, 'India has told the UN leadership that you are not delivering…you are failing. If you fail, we have to look for other ways…other countries will have to come forward.'
Underscoring New Delhi's diplomatic positioning amid global conflicts, Madhav said: 'India is not taking sides, India is fighting—or is working—for peace.'
Trump, Iran bombing, China, Kargil 2.0—a volatile new world
The backdrop to Monday's discussion was a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape. Tensions in West Asia have intensified in recent months, with the long-simmering Iran-Israel conflict spilling over into open confrontation. The US, a key Israeli ally, has become directly involved following a series of escalations, including Iranian missile strikes and retaliatory US airstrikes on Iranian military targets—marking a significant deepening of the regional conflict.
Congress MP Manish Tewari, who also spoke at the event, listed these global crises while framing the shifts in strategic thinking.
'There are unprecedented trade tensions across the world triggered by President Trump's attempt to restructure the international architecture of commerce. The Russia-Ukraine war that began in February of 2022, the Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah-Houthi-Iran conflict that broke out in October of 2023, and the rise of China over the past three decades that has attained potential overtones in large parts of the world beyond the immediate Chinese realms in North Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The added dynamic is the latest India-Pakistan standoff, the worst after the Kargil war 26 years ago, and now the US bombing of Iran. Modern strategic thought is essentially a European construct because of the experimentation with ideas and the impulses of colonialism,' Tewari said.
'Democracy means dialogue'
Spealing about the 'sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niramayah' philosophy, Dhankhar said, 'Friends, even the Fabian socialists of the 50s cannot disagree with the direction of the country as we strive to attain. And what do we strive to attain? We are not creating Bharat, it was not born on 15 August, 1947. We only got rid of the colonial power then. 'Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, sarve santu niramayah'—that is our philosophy. May all beings be happy, may all beings be free from illness.'
Adding to this philosophical dimension, Dhankhar underlined the centrality of expression and dialogue to India's democratic ethos. 'We firmly believe that democracy is primarily defined by expression and dialogue. Both are complementary. This, in our Vedic philosophy, is anantavada. One of the fundamentals is, and that is inalienable facet, non-negotiable, respect the others' point of view. My own experience shows, more often than not, the other point of view is the correct point of view.'
Cautioning against internal division, Dhankhar urged political dialogue and maturity.
'Friends, the pathway to Bharat's rise would require careful treading. There are forces that are determined to make our life difficult. There are forces within the country and outside. These sinister forces, pernicious to our interests, want to strike by dividing us on issues even like language,' he said.
'Which country in the world can take pride in their language richness like Bharat can? Look at our classical languages, their number. In parliament, 22 such languages allow and afford opportunity for anyone to express in them.'
'It would require many such thinkers to come together and debate and discuss challenges and opportunities and aid policymakers in making right strategic choices. Evolution of policies must take place now with a little more representative character.'
Calling for political convergence, Dhankhar concluded that 'convergence' is required. 'There has to be greater dialogue among political parties. I firmly believe we have no enemies in the country. We have enemies outside. And some who are enemies within—a small fraction—they are rooted in outside forces, inimical to Bharat.'
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: Savarkar severely criticised RSS for its 'purely cultural' orientation