With the largest shake-up in the Ministry of External Affairs’ recent history, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar has put in place a team with his imprint, including prominence for many officers who have caught the Prime Minister’s eye in the past year. Chief amongst the leading lights of the diplomatic corps that have been moved around, is Syed Akbaruddin, an Additional Secretary in the MEA, who has received a ‘double promotion’ to be the Permanent Representative of India (PMI) at the United Nations in New York.
Normally, say Foreign Service officers who spoke to The Hindu , the prized post is reserved for Secretary-level officers. However, Mr. Akbaruddin makes up with his U.N. experience, as he served at the Geneva-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as in the PMI in New York in the past. He is famous for his last posting where he was the JS (External Publicity) and official spokesperson, pioneering the media blitz during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first year of travels abroad after taking office. At present he has been entrusted with bringing together the heads of 54 African nations to the India-Africa summit in Delhi on October 26. His chief challenge would be squiring India’s push for a U.N. Security council seat during the 70th year of the U.N.
The other big change is the posting of Gautam Bambawale, who has been sent from Thimphu to the next High Commissioner of India to Islamabad. Mr. Bambawale is among the MEA’s China specialists and worked closely with the Foreign Secretary when Mr. Jaishankar was Ambassador to China. Mr. Modi's visit to Bhutan, his first trip abroad, was organised in part by Mr. Bambawale, who was then Ambassador-designate. Mr. Bambawale left an impression, which many believe has led to his transfer to a more challenging position much before the normal 3-year tenure of an ambassador.
The biggest buzz in the MEA, however, has been over the way Mr. Jaishankar has dealt with the high-power secretaries in the Ministry, who are equal or just a bit lower in seniority to him. Secretary (West) Navtej Sarna and Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa have been assigned London and Rome, respectively, while there is no change in Secretary (Multilateral & Economic Relations) Sujata Mehta’s position .
Move raises eyebrows The move of Mr. Anil Wadhwa has raised eyebrows, as Italy-India ties have been in the doldrums over the Italian marines’ issue, and Mr. Wadhwa would have been expected to be moved to a more “high-profile” assignment. Mr. Wadhwa was credited with the expert handling of “Operation Rahat” that he oversaw to help evacuate the stranded Indians in Yemen. In recent months, corridor gossip in the MEA had hinted that Mr. Wadhwa, following the Yemen operation had acquired a formidable stature and was emerging as a power centre in his own right. The other upset has been the neglect of Sujata Mehta, one of the seniormost officials at the MEA, who, as secretary of multilateral and economic relations, had been expected to be the next PR at the U.N.
Most prized positions Significantly with all the moves, the Foreign Secretary, who was himself specially chosen by Mr. Modi to replace Sujatha Singh in a controversial overnight move in January 2015, has managed to keep all the most prized positions with the Foreign Service. Given the importance of BJP officials in foreign policy making, many had speculated that positions in the U.S., Russia and the U.K. could see political appointees. The one exception may be Saudi Arabia, where it is learnt an IPS officer picked by NSA Ajit Doval has been chosen to serve as Ambassador. Given the ongoing Saudi diplomat case, this is a space to watch.
“The FS seems to have killed three birds with one reshuffle,” a senior Foreign service officer told The Hindu , describing all the changes. “He has put distance between him and his rivals, staved off pressure from the political and security establishment, even as he has put his own favourite officers in place.”
This article has been edited for an error.
