The book under review is yet another value addition to the corpus of literature on the multi-layered mosaic of India-Japan relations. Rajaram Panda is a senior scholar of Japanese studies. The book is a product of a two year prestigious senior fellowship at the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library, formerly the Teen Murti library.
Panda takes a macro view of India-Japan relations. The introductory chapter of the book pertaining to historical and cultural aspects is highly informative, and although new findings are not many, retelling and recycling a story has its own charm as cultural and historical past can always be leveraged for political and geo-strategic purposes.
Against this backdrop it would have been better if there had been a little more elucidation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s exposition of his brilliant speech on ‘Confluence of the Two Seas’ which he delivered in the historic Central Hall of the Indian Parliament in August 2007. At a time when the edifice of the Indo-Pacific has attracted a lot of traction, the late Prime Minister conceptualized it and injected a lot of strategic heft to the idea in the backdrop of China’s assertive behaviour on the seas. He said: ‘The Pacific and the Indian Oceans are now bringing about a dynamic coupling as seas of freedom and prosperity. A broader Asia that broke away geographical barrier is now beginning to take on a distinct form. Our two countries have the ability and responsibility to ensure that it broadens yet further and to nurture and enrich these seas to become of clearest transparence.’ In his speech, the Prime Minister also alluded to Swami Vivekananda, describing him as a Renaissance man ahead of his time, and to the enduring contributions of Justice Radhabinod Pal for his dissenting judgement in the Tokyo trial after the Second World War. Panda mentions in great detail the life and times of Rash Behari Bose in Japan. Pal and Bose are held in high esteem by the Japanese people.
Panda mentions that the book was conceptualized to examine and analyse India-Japan relationship during the long tenure of Prime Minister Modi in India and Shinzo Abe in Japan. Here, one expected some comparison in the style of functioning of the two Prime Ministers and the domestic politics in the two countries. Panda does discuss domestic politics in Japan during Shinzo Abe’s tenure, but he doesn’t allude to domestic politics in India.
The author discusses the impact of Japan on Indian nationalism. There was a great resonance in India after the victory of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Indian nationalists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak stated that Japan’s victory had exploded the myth of the superiority and invincibility of the European over the Asian. Inspired by Japan’s success, Tilak felt that Indian freedom fighters could follow its example. Yet another important point that emerges from the book is the sympathy and solidarity of the Japanese people for India’s freedom struggle in spite of Anglo-Japanese ties.
Overall, the book is a welcome addition to the literature on the subject. If there is a revised edition, the author may consider updating and to take care to avoid repetition. At a few places footnotes would have been useful. A little care should have been taken for proper editing of the manuscript.
Rup Narayan Das is former Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, and Taiwan Fellow in 2022.