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Congress MP-author Shashi Tharoor commented on Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s 12 years in office in a recent opinion piece, saying the government\u2019s record is marked by significant achievements in foreign policy and economic transformation. Writing in Project Syndicate, Tharoor argued that Modi\u2019s tenure has fundamentally reshaped India\u2019s position in the world while also prompting debate over the direction of its democracy.<\/p>
On foreign policy, Tharoor was largely appreciative of the Modi government\u2019s approach. \u201cOn foreign policy, Modi has emulated Nehru, asserting India as a formidable and independent actor on the world stage,\u201d he wrote. Rather than aligning with any single global power, Modi has pursued what Tharoor described as \u201cthe doctrine of multi-alignment,\u201d allowing India to maintain strategic autonomy while strengthening relationships across geopolitical divides.<\/p>
READ THIS:\u00a0‘Significant news for Vizhinjam’: Shashi Tharoor welcomes Adani Ports-MSC deal, but seeks due diligence<\/strong><\/p> He said that this approach has helped India deepen ties with Gulf nations, emerge as a prominent voice for the Global South, negotiate trade agreements with the European Union and the United Kingdom. This approach, according to the former senior UN official, has so far helped India maintain its longstanding defence partnership with Russia, and simultaneously expand strategic cooperation with the US through the Quad alongside Australia and Japan.<\/p> While praising India\u2019s growing global influence, Tharoor also acknowledged areas where he believes the government could have acted differently. Referring to the recent Iran conflict, he wrote, \u201cIndia arguably should have positioned itself as a neutral party and potential mediator\u2026 rather than giving the impression that it was on the US and Israel\u2019s side.\u201d Even so, he concluded that \u201cduring Modi\u2019s tenure, India has established itself as an independent pole in the global order.\u201d<\/p> Tharoor was equally positive about several aspects of the government\u2019s economic record. Earlier in his article, he wrote that \u201cIndia has undergone dizzying progress in economic modernization,\u201d highlighting advances in infrastructure, digital public services, financial inclusion, manufacturing and technology.<\/p> He said these reforms have improved governance, strengthened India\u2019s economic profile and enhanced its standing as one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing major economies. Furthermore, he\u00a0had his own reservations regarding\u00a0the government’s handling of democratic institutions and its work vis-a-vis social cohesion.<\/p> The Congress MP argued that economic achievements should be viewed alongside institutional and social challenges. \u201cEconomic success cannot compensate for democratic failures,\u201d he wrote, stressing that constitutional values, pluralism and strong institutions are equally important measures of national progress.<\/p> On the economy, he said one major challenge remains employment. While acknowledging India as \u201cthe world\u2019s fastest-growing major economy,\u201d Tharoor observed that this growth \u201chas not translated into enough high-quality, formal-sector jobs\u201d for the millions of young people entering the workforce each year.<\/p> ALSO READ:\u00a0Modi calls Takaichi his ‘younger sister’; Japan PM responds: ‘We are on the same page and…’<\/strong><\/p> Discussing domestic politics, the Congress veteran said that critics of the government have raised concerns about the impact of Hindutva on India\u2019s secular fabric. He referred to criticism surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, and concerns that religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, feel increasingly marginalised.<\/p> He also noted allegations that independent institutions, including sections of the media, oversight bodies and parts of the judiciary, have faced increasing pressure during the Modi years, while international democracy watchdogs have described India as an \u201celectoral autocracy\u201d or an \u201cilliberal democracy.\u201d<\/p> <\/div> Shashi Tharoor, Narendra Modi, Modi 12 years, Modi government, Shashi Tharoor article, Project Syndicate, Modi foreign policy, India's foreign policy, strategic autonomy, multi-alignment, Quad alliance, India US relations, India Russia ties, Global South, Modi economic record, India's economic growth, democratic institutions, Hindutva#039Modi #emulated #Nehru #on…039 #Tharoor #India #balances #ties #Russia #friendship #Iran #crisis1783074439<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Congress MP-author Shashi Tharoor commented on Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s 12 years in office in a recent opinion piece, saying the government\u2019s record is marked by significant achievements in foreign policy and economic transformation. Writing in Project Syndicate, Tharoor argued that Modi\u2019s tenure has fundamentally reshaped India\u2019s position in the world while also prompting debate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[43433,22825,2151,43431,43434,16237,37785,43432,200,10209,33641,43430,43425,968,43421,43429,43424,38448,43427,9633,38387,43435,43423,43428,15110,32995,43422,43426,7945,1884],"class_list":["post-10892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","tag-039modi","tag-balances","tag-crisis","tag-democratic-institutions","tag-emulated","tag-friendship","tag-global-south","tag-hindutva","tag-india","tag-india-russia-ties","tag-india-us-relations","tag-indias-economic-growth","tag-indias-foreign-policy","tag-iran","tag-modi-12-years","tag-modi-economic-record","tag-modi-foreign-policy","tag-modi-government","tag-multi-alignment","tag-narendra-modi","tag-nehru","tag-on-039","tag-project-syndicate","tag-quad-alliance","tag-russia","tag-shashi-tharoor","tag-shashi-tharoor-article","tag-strategic-autonomy","tag-tharoor","tag-ties"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}