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In the weeks following the government’s decision to amend Article 370 and divide Jammu and Kashmir into two separate
Union Territories, the government sent out a number of diplomatic missions worldwide to try and contain the
international fallout of the move. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to China, Europe and the United States
where he addressed a record “7 think tanks in 7 days” and met a number of officials and lawmakers during an extended
stay. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan went to the West Asian countries:
the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally spoke to U.S. President
Donald Trump and other leaders to explain his move. On a visit to Switzerland, even President Ramnath Kovind found that
the “situation in Kashmir” had been put on the agenda by his hosts. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary V. Gokhale marshalled
diplomats at all Indian missions worldwide and cancelled a planned Heads of Missions meet in India to ensure that ach
embassy was able to fully disseminate the talking points sent out by South Block. The concerted efforts by the government
met with mixed results. The UN Security Council held a “closed meeting” on the issue at China’s request — the first time
Kashmir was formally on the agenda in 50 years — but to India’s relief, the meeting resulted in no public statement. The
European Parliament too met and debated the situation in Kashmir, which it had last referred to more than a decade ago,
but did not push for a resolution. After a visit to Srinagar, 23 rightwing Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)
appeared to endorse India’s actions, but German Chancellor Merkel’s characterisation of the situation of Kashmiris being
“unsustainable”, during her Delhi trip on Friday will be more worrying for the government. At the UN Human Rights
Council, Pakistan was unable to secure the numbers to bring a resolution to the table.