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Words Are Not Enough The diplomatic art of obfuscation By APARISIM GHOSH November 25, 1999 Web posted at 4 a.m. Hong Kong time, 3 p.m. EDT For those who lament the passing of oratory in public life, Jaswant Singh is a welcome throwback to more erudite, eloquent times. In a 24-hour period earlier this week, I enjoyed three opportunities to hear India's foreign minister hold forth on weighty matters. First, he spoke with the editors of TIME, impressing us above all with his articulateness. In an era of sound bites, politicians have a hard time speaking in complete sentences--Singh talks in full paragraphs! That evening, he addressed a gathering of nonresident Indians at the residence of the Indian consul general to Hong Kong. The next afternoon, he gave a speech to members of the Asia Society.
This is not necessarily a bad thing in a foreign minister: diplomacy is often the art of obfuscation. That quality certainly came in handy when Singh was required to defend India's testing of nuclear weapons last year; his eloquence was again on display this summer when he went to bat for his country over the fighting with Pakistani-backed forces in the Kargil area of disputed Kashmir. Perhaps we should be thankful that Singh at least takes the pains to be charmingly disingenuous while most diplomats are just blandly noncommittal--or downright cagey. But, on the evidence of his performance at the consul general's house, Singh suffers the weakness of so many politicians: the tendency to use words to cover up for inaction. That he is particularly gifted at word-spinning makes his circumlocution relatively palatable, but it doesn't satisfy the appetite. The NRIs gathered at the consul general's house had some specific questions for the minister--small ones, reflecting commonplace concerns and requiring direct answers rather than evasive effusiveness. All they got were flip one-liners that, although delivered with the aplomb of a standup comic, left many in the audience feeling that their intelligence had been insulted. First, Singh issued some feel-good bromides about all of us being "ambassadors of India." Then the floor was opened to questions. Why wasn't India doing enough to market itself as a tourist destination, asked one guest. Surely it could learn from the experience of Thailand, which had been so successful with its Amazing Thailand campaign? "Well, I wouldn't want us to become Thailand," said the minister, with a smirk. When the polite laughter had died down, he launched into a vaguely apologetic answer that seemed to acknowledge the government's failing and promise some action in the unspecified future. Another NRI had a suggestion: India produces so many fine marketers in the private sector, so why not use some of them to sell the country's attractions to the world? "I'm all for privatization," quoth Singh. "But I wouldn't want the External Affairs Ministry privatized." More polite laughter. And so on for another 15 minutes. A question on improving India's reciprocal visa relations with other countries was met with a reply about the poor conditions at immigration counters in Indian airports (everybody nodded in agreement, but the question remained unanswered). A query about India's relations with China elicited clichés about two ancient civilizations (as if the bosses in Beijing care about obscure cultural ties that existed 2,000 years ago). The minister's most revealing comment came afterward, as he mingled with the guests. Singh was speaking to a Foreign Ministry official: "You know, someone's just complimented me on being frank--and I was immediately worried about what I might have said." He said it in jest, of course, and he got more polite laughter. But if he had been paying attention to the expressions on the faces gathered around him, he'd have realized that the joke was on him. Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com Search for recent Asia Buzz
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