Carr Canberra elevation is good news for India

Jabbal

CONTRIBUTORS

George Thakur, Sujith Krishnan, Priyanka Tater, Usha Ramanujam Arvind, Chitra Sudarshan, Soundarajan Iyer, Franky Gerald Fernandes, Tim Blight, Prakash Closepet, Noel G DeSouza, Shailendra Bedarkar, Talia Kaur, Geeta Khurana, Minal Khona, Thomas E King, Elizabeth Gaete, Nancy Jade Althea, Uzma Beg

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DESIGN

Danielle Cairis

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The new Foreign Minister of Australia, Bob Carr had this to say in his blog of 15 Feb. 2012 “The Federal Government has expanded uranium mining and opened exports to India. South Australia boasts what will become the world’s largest uranium mine. The ban for NSW reflected the anti-nuclear sentiment of the 1980s and it is irrelevant today when to beat global warming we urgently need every available source of carbon-free energy.”

His appointment would have pleased many in the Indian government, none more so than the former Consul General of India (Sydney) M. Ganapathi. Gana, as he was popularly known, is now Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs in India. Many a time, both the then Premier of NSW Bob Carr and the Indian Consul General were seen enjoying a cup of coffee in a coffee shop at Sydney’s Bligh Street.

Both vociferous readers, they enjoyed stimulating debates about historical and contemporary issues. Carr was always keen to understand more about India and who better than one of India’s finest diplomats to enlighten him on this aspect.

Bob Carr has often expressed his admiration for the democratic traditions of India. In a conversation, he expressed his amazement at the peacefulness of the 2004 elections in which over 670 million voted, the incumbent BJP lost and handed the keys of the country to the Opposition Congress party without any bloodshed. He marvelled at the maturity of the system. His admiration of the local Indian ethic of hard work and desire for higher learning was a mantra he often repeated at Indian community events. It was during his tenure as premier that the NSW Parliament was introduced to Diwali celebrations, now such a highlight of our community’s annual social calendar.

Bob Carr travelled to India a few times, both before and after becoming Premier. He is known for his love of bush walking and lists his time on the foothills of the Himalayas as one of his fondest memories. His wife Helena also has her Indian links, with an Indian father, Lourdes, and Chinese mother, Regina, who both met in Malaysia.

So how will India feature in Australia’s pages now that Carr is in charge of Foreign Affairs?

While PM Julia Gillard was able to push through the sale of uranium to India at the recent Labor party conference, it had evoked a strong reaction from the then Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. Whether it was a reaction to the snub which was directed at him as the PM had not consulted him prior to this change of Labor policy, or whether he believed that India did not deserve to be sold uranium, Rudd’s post conference comments indicated quite clearly that the actual journey of transition from policy to sale could be arduous for India. Due diligence and monitoring aspects with India will have to be agreed upon, but with Carr at the helm, there would be a balance in this direction.

Foreign Minister Carr needs also to visit India sooner rather than later. The mood towards Australia is quite friendly at the moment after months of bad press. The students’ issue has largely died down and uranium sales are on the way forward.

It is time to engage once again and forge deeper friendships.