Statecraft festival: Editorial on how a litfest for diplomats could make foreign policy accessible

It is a litfest with a difference. Starting today, officials who have led their nations in tough negotiations will gather for three days in New Delhi to discuss books not borders, tales not trade, and poems not protocol. Organised with the help of the federal government and the Rajasthan administration, this literature festival, Words Beyond Borders, meant specifically for diplomats, marks a seemingly light but nonetheless important step towards making foreign policy accessible to ordinary people. India's long and proud legacy of author-diplomats makes it the perfect host for such a ‘summit’. After all, many Indian diplomats have published informative and engaging literary works while still serving or after retirement. It is apt that the conclave is the brainchild of Dnyaneshwar Mulay, a retired diplomat, who has written more than a dozen books. Several veteran diplomat-writers are among those expected to attend along with their peers from other countries. The occasion represents an opportunity for the dignitaries to discuss their books, writings and thoughts that have been shaped by their decades of service for their respective countries. But it could do much more. Such events are ultimately also an opportunity to promote the soft power of diplomacy through the words penned by its practitioners.

The impact of foreign policy on everyday lives may be clear to an informed constituency. But it is often shrouded by the opacity inherent in the sensitive give-and-take of difficult diplomatic negotiations. For instance, the pain inflicted by a tariff is obvious, but not what went behind trying to reduce its impact. Many of the most memorable books written by diplomats, including those from India, are at least partly memoirs shaped by their experiences while in service in different parts of the world. Those experiences, put down in books meant for everyday audiences, would give readers a glimpse of how decisions that define the world and public lives are made and where India and its foreign policy fit in that equation. If such conclaves grow into truly global events, with representation from multiple major countries, they would also give visitors a chance to explore different, perhaps even divergent, perspectives on contentious issues.

In theory, such literature festivals could also serve as platforms for Track-2 diplomacy. But even otherwise, by simply functioning as gatherings of august diplomats and their books, they are valuable in setting narratives. Ultimately, the collective understanding of the past and the present is defined by what has been written and shared about key events. It is wise of the Indian government to support an initiative that gives New Delhi an active role in using the best skills diplomats have to offer to communicate the country's experiences and perspectives to the world. As India's global stature grows, it becomes all the more imperative for it to try and help the world see the country the way India sees itself; New Delhi will also gain from similar views offered by invitees from other nations through such endeavours. A literature festival for diplomats is a step in that direction.