downtime | app Bahrainthismonth.com 62 January 2024 BOOK REVIEW The former Indian Ambassador to Bahrain, Dr. Mohan Kumar, who served in the Kingdom from 2010-2015, is one of the most respected diplomats of recent times. Last month, he released his second book, India’s Moment, at St. James Court London Taj Hotel on November 23. Now Dean at O.P. Jindal University, we take a look at Dr. Kumar’s latest work. The idea of how India negotiates with the world is at the heart of this book. Dr. Kumar, a career diplomat, represented India at multiple international fora over a career spanning three and a half decades. During this time, he would invariably be told that Indian negotiators were among the best in the business. And yet, several of his interlocutors would ask, in the same breath, why India was such a tough customer when it came to multilateral negotiations. Indeed, it was hard to escape the view, held even by India’s friends, that the country was somehow more of a naysayer than a partner in key international parleys. This book is a sincere attempt to set the record straight. At one level, India is not very different from other countries insomuch as it seeks to protect where necessary, and advance where possible, its national interest. There are several unique aspects about India and the way it approaches multilateral negotiations with the world. This book dwells on some of those fundamental factors and traces how India’s positions have evolved over time. A central contention of this book is that India has moved, slowly but surely, from being an alleged naysayer to becoming a putative partner for the world in key multilateral negotiations. More broadly, this reflects India’s growing political, economic and strategic clout in the world today. It is only when this transformation is fuller and more substantial that India will be able to fulfil its manifest destiny of becoming a leading power, capable of shaping global rules. The chief guest at the book launch was Indian High Commissioner to UK, HE Vikram Doraiswami, the guest of Honour was Lord Kamlesh Patel from Bradford. Also present was Vice Chancellor Prof. Smith of University of Southampton. The event was organised by Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, Professor Dr. Raj Kumar. Scan the QR code to find Dr. Mohan Kumar’s book: eShahab Every month, Bahrain This Month draws attention to an app that brings value and usefulness to the people of Bahrain. This time, we take a look at eShahab which is revolutionising youth programmes in the Kingdom. The eShabab app is provided by the Information and eGovernment Authority in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sport Affairs (MYS). In essence, it displays a varied list of events, programmes and activities provided by the MYS for young people in Bahrain, whereby they can easily create a user profile to search and register for available youth programmes that take place during different intervals. Submission of volunteering requests to help organise and facilitate youth programmes are also available through the ‘Sawaed’” service available in the app for users between 15-30 years of age. eShahab comes with a number of other eServices and features: • Register for assessment exams and enquire about their status. • Add family members (children or siblings) with the ability to register them for programmes. • Request users to be notified when places become available for previously fully-booked programmes. • View the list of events provided by (MYS) with the ability to register, add it to the calendar and share the event details through social media. • MYS Locator: A map-based service that provides the list of youth centres and sport clubs across Bahrain and the details for each centre or club. • Receive notifications sent by the ministry. eShahab is simple to download and register on. So, if you’re interested in enrolling young family members in a variety of exciting programmes, download it now. The application is available for download for iOS and Android. Vice Chancellor Smith, HE Vikram Doraiswami, Mala Kumar, Ambassador Mohan Kumar, Professor Padmadas, Vice Chancellor Raj Kumar From left to right: Professor Padmadas, Vice Chancellor Smith, Lord Patel, H.E. Vikram Doraiswami, Vice Chancellor Raj Kumar, Ambassador Dr. Mohan Kumar India’s Moment Dr Mohan Kumar
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