On 21st August 2025, Mizoram University had the honour of hosting former diplomat Ambassador Vikas Swarup for a Distinguished Lecture titled “Diplomacy in the Age of Disruption: Challenges and Opportunities for India.” The event was held at the Dean’s Conference Hall, School of Social Sciences, and jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and the Department of Political Science, Mizoram University. It witnessed the participation of faculty members, PhD scholars, and students from across disciplines, as well as faculty from affiliated colleges.
Ambassador Swarup, a distinguished member of the 1986 batch of the Indian Foreign Service, has served in prominent diplomatic roles across the world, including Ankara, Washington DC, Addis Ababa, London, Pretoria, Osaka-Kobe, and as High Commissioner to Canada. At the Ministry of External Affairs, he held key positions such as Director (Pakistan), Official Spokesperson, and Secretary (West). Post-retirement, he has continued his engagement in global affairs through his Sansad TV programme Diplomatic Dispatch.
Beyond diplomacy, Ambassador Swarup is also an acclaimed novelist. His debut novel Q & A inspired the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, while his other works—Six Suspects, The Accidental Apprentice, and The Girl with the Seven Lives—have won wide acclaim, with adaptations into film and web series. His works have been translated into 47 international languages, and he has been conferred four honorary doctorates, including the Kalinga Book Award for Best English Fiction in 2025.
In his lecture, Ambassador Swarup identified the top ten geopolitical disruptors shaping the 21st century, highlighting their impact on global power dynamics, economic relations, security priorities, and the practice of diplomacy. He posed critical questions on how India should navigate this new landscape: balancing strategic autonomy with deeper partnerships, leveraging the rising voice of the Global South, and addressing technological challenges that distort truth.
Turning his attention to the North East, he underscored its growing strategic importance—not as a distant frontier, but as India’s gateway to the East and the focal point of the Act East Policy. He highlighted major connectivity projects such as the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway, emphasizing their transformative potential for Mizoram and the wider region.
Concluding his lecture, Ambassador Swarup observed that in an age of uncertainty, India’s diplomacy must focus on turning disruption into direction—harnessing change not as a threat, but as a catalyst for building a secure, prosperous, and inclusive future.
