By The Editor

Being powerful is one thing but asserting that power is another. India has only recently rediscovered its assertive status after a long time and long awaited leadership. There are some in political and journalism circles that object to PM Modi’s frequent visit abroad but it’s a positive sign that our leadership is putting an effort into bringing India out of irrelevance on world stage.

 G-20 and SAARC just recently concluded and it would not be justified to look everything in the perspective of win or loss. Meetings between global heads need not necessarily be successful but it open doors to future possibilities both for strengthening ties with friends and putting enemies in their place with the help of friends. It’s an unfortunate fact that international arena of politics, sometimes you have to be feared to be respected and surprising part is that you can get away with it.  Take for instance the case of president Putin, west in essence describe him as reincarnation of Stalin, who pushes out those who gets in his way but at the ground that’s how things work, those who are familiar with Russian history know that it’s the way of the land for centuries, people were talking same for President bush when he was in power. The point is we live in a world where no one hears you until you make them hear you. Did world woke up to problems in Syria and Iraq when it all began, did anyone took notice when ISIS was beginning to spread its tentacles in the Middle East and even after all this bloodshed, beheadings of innocent journalist and people, NATO or any of its allies won’t put troops on the ground. Standing up to Chinese influence in South Asia and countering Pakistan would not be an easy task and our pleas would not go to International audience until we start blowing drums in their ears.

 Couple of days ago when Sri Lanka gave death sentence to five Indian fishermen, tensions ran high in Tamil Nadu. Though they were later given presidential pardon in a gesture of goodwill later on and released, we should in part thank PM Modi for his outreach to our neighbors in strengthening those ties. Manmohan Singh’s   government’s policy of placating every side degraded our status on world stage. Now world has started to took notice, better relations and effectiveness of Indian government will ensure more safeguard to issues and interest of Indians living abroad. This might also help us in securing a permanent seat at UN Security Council. We are a powerful nation and until we start believing in ourselves, in our strength no one will.