Raisina Chronicles: India’s Global Public Square
Edited by S. Jaishankar and Samir Saran
Rupa Publications, 232 pages, Rs 595

‘Raisina Chronicles’ celebrates a decade of the Raisina Dialogue – the tenth edition of it concluded only this week [https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/39172/Raisina_Dialogue_2025]. It brings together voices from across the world—of leaders and thinkers reflecting on the Raisina Dialogue’s impact on how we may navigate global challenges and create solutions that work. Putting India at the forefront of leading the change, the effect of these Dialogues is felt across policies and projections that the global family is working towards.

The editors – External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India’s premier policy think tank – who are also the curators of the Dialogue, emphasize that diversity, dissent, discord, and divergence of opinion make for the necessary ingredients for a sustainable future, shaped and owned by all. Ten years since its inception, the Raisina Dialogue has become the paramount platform for bringing together cultures, peoples and opinions. It is now India’s flagship geopolitical and geoeconomic conference, and has truly become a global public square—located in New Delhi, incubated by the world.

In tandem with the curated discussions, ‘Raisina Chronicles’ reflects on the Dialogue’s journey and brings to its readers a single volume containing thorough insights and unbridled optimism for finding common solutions to global challenges. As the world stands on the cusp of structural and historical change, the hope that is central to this work is for the voices of the people to be at the forefront of global politics and policymaking, resonating through power corridors, and finding their way to the masses. For leaders to implement change, society must come together to take that one step forward in the right direction.
 
The editors in their introduction present an overview of the Dialogues in the broader context. Here’s an excerpt from it:

WHY BHARAT MATTERS
The change that we have witnessed in the last decade has not just been a quantitative expansion. This transformation has been one equally of thought processes, self-confidence and self-reliance. It draws on generations of heritage and culture, thereby creating greater self-awareness about our identity. There is a greater seriousness, too, in realizing visions and achieving goals. Not least, there is a clear sense of what we were and are, which is essential to deciding where we want to go. Mediating effectively between tradition and technology has always been key to the quest for modernity. Today, the ability to delineate our own path and expand our decisional space is characteristic of our progress. The combination of all of these has helped to make India much more Bharat.

Confronted with an uncertain world, this means drawing on our own experiences and arriving at our judgements in the search for solutions. Conflicting pulls and pressures will press us to take positions that may not always be in our best interest. They could be presented as global norms or natural choices. It is here that independent thinking arrived at through detailed discourse can make a difference. When it came to the Indo–Pacific, we embraced a strategic concept that is clearly to our benefit. And joined a mechanism that promoted both global good and national interest.

That such steps were a departure from the past was not a discouragement. Similarly, when it came to the Ukraine conflict, we articulated the concerns of a large part of the world on its economic consequences. By contesting a narrative that served a particular region, we were also able to soften the impact on our own people. Bharat means having the courage to be contrary when needed, contributive when required, and confident at all times.

Raisina is the venue where such conversations happen. It is the living, dynamic bridge where the world comes to understand us, and where we communicate with the world. Raisina is the vehicle for this dialogue, where the world absorbs Bharat and Bharat in turn shapes the world.

THE RAISINA DIALECTIC
The Raisina Dialogue stands out currently as a broad- based forum that engages freely in debate, discussion and disputation. The coming together of diverse perspectives in a productive collision often results in new insights and solutions. There are particular reasons for the energy and effervescence that characterizes its activities. They emanate from its interdisciplinary nature, inclusive participation, equitable agenda and democratic ethos.

Raisina is designed to reap the dividends that flow from the interactions of different disciplines and methods of thinking. Such cross-sectoral discourse is of utmost importance for breaking down silos and enhancing understanding. Diplomats must speak to scholars and academics, while international relations thinkers should engage business leaders. It is common to see leaders in politics, business, media and civil society share a stage for discussion. Rigid policy conversations are shaken up with the introduction of freer scholarly interventions. This holistic approach makes discussions more complete, more comprehensive, and ultimately more effective.

Inclusiveness is at the heart of the Raisina spirit. The Dialogue welcomes views from across the globe that have not found space in traditional and established arenas. It allows conversations of a different kind because the voices themselves are different: they are younger; they are more diverse; they are from geographies that are often ignored or from institutions which cannot break into the international pecking order. They are more representative of the way the world actually looks. As a result, Raisina becomes a place for discovering new talent, new ideas, new perspectives, and new people. It acts as a springboard, a gateway, an all-access pass for these new protagonists and narratives to be allowed entry into the traditional forums.

Concerns of equity and fairness pervade the choice of topics for the panel discussions. Most international forums concern themselves with the first billion people of the world. Raisina is that exception where discussions focus on the interests of the next seven billion. Matters of food security are given as much prominence as the battles between tech platforms. Questions of regional development, energy access, public goods and employment are as important as concerns of war and peace, anti-trust regulation, and the quest for the ideal liberal society. Past empires are now talking back and demanding their place at the table. The Global South has been noticeable in that regard, be it in its self-perception or self-confidence. Raisina reflects this reality because it has consciously moved beyond privilege. It is not merely an active gathering but also a very contemporary one.

As a dialogue that is greater than the sum of its parts, its conversations take place not merely during the three days of the conference but also in the periods before and after. It is a zone where ideas are incubated, where solutions are assessed and reassessed, and where visions clash, compete, contest and cooperate. New sentiments are articulated, and outdated perspectives discarded. Discussions are frank and usually honest; they could be provocative but are always constructive. Through its reputation and impact, this approach is now becoming the new normal.

[The excerpt reproduced with the permission of the publishers.]