Wilson Center policy expert Kugelman talks to the American Bazaar on the Indian government’s move amid Kashmir crisis and CAA protests.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that India’s secular image has come under great scrutiny, especially in the western world, in the wake of a communication blockade in Kashmir and ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
During these times of turmoil, the Indian government’s decision to hire the Washington-based Cornerstone Government Affairs, a bipartisan consulting firm specializing in public affairs and state government relations, too has come under the scanner.
Eyebrows have also been raised over the cost of the three-month contract for $40,000 a month, at a time when India’s economic growth is on a downward spiral.
The move has been seen by foreign affairs experts as an attempt by India to reach out to a section of Democrats in the US who have been critical of the Indian action in Kashmir.
Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia program at the Washington-based Wilson Center, sees “this move as an acknowledgement by the Indian government that its post-August 5 diplomatic efforts have had limited success in Washington.”
It also shows “that earlier attempts by senior Indian officials to get members of Congress to be less critical of Indian policy in Kashmir have not been sufficient.”
“My own view is that it’s never a good strategic move for a government to hire a lobby group,” said Kugelman. “Looking to messaging and branding may make sense in the advertising world, but not in the world of international relations.”
“You can’t reduce criticism about a controversial policy simply by crafting a stronger narrative or a slicker message meant to make that policy seem more palatable. Unless changes are made to the policy itself, you won’t get the results you want.”
Citing the example of Pakistan, Kugelman said, “The Pakistani state has long sought to project a ‘softer’ side of the country to the world in order to distract the world’s attention from Islamabad’s support for terror groups.
“But Pakistan’s image overseas has continued to suffer, and it will suffer more until Islamabad severs all ties with all terror groups and their networks,” he noted.
During the George W. Bush administration, the US government, too, hired a Madison Avenue executive to try to market US policy more effectively, Kugelman recalled. “But that had little effect on a US war in Iraq and other US policies, especially in the Middle East, that made many people very angry,” he said.
On how would the recent ongoing protests in India over CAA and the proposal to implement NRC further escalate the situation, Kugelman says, “Let’s be clear: India’s government has its work cut out for itself as it tries to repair an image that’s suffered blow after blow in recent months.”
“From laws that undermine India’s cherished secular principles to ugly visuals of police attacking peaceful student protesters, the optics aren’t good. And they haven’t been good for a while.”
“There’s an irony here, given that the Indian government frequently suggests it doesn’t care what the world thinks of what it’s doing,” Kugelman says. “But clearly New Delhi does care. Otherwise it wouldn’t have hired a lobby group.”
“The bottom line is that the global criticism of India will continue until there are meaningful policy shifts—changes in its messaging put in place by lobbies won’t have that much of an impact.”
However, despite the ongoing struggles, Kugelman noted, “The Indian government and its policies continue to be perceived relatively positively in the international court of public opinion.”
“In the case of the US and other key Western capitals, this is because of India’s status as a democracy, an important market, and as a country that shares the West’s concerns about Islamist terror and the rise of China,”
However, Kugelman warns, “All this said, the longer that India maintains its lockdown in Kashmir, and the longer it continues to shrug off global criticism, the more it risks damage to an image that has long been a positive one overseas.”
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