The Literary Diplomat
By
Ambica Gulati

Navtej Sarna (IFS Retd)
Navtej Sarna (IFS Retd)
Warsaw was a busy mission with a small staff and a tremendous learning experience for a young officer. ‘For months, I was also the chargé d’affaires as the ambassador had passed away. I had to handle the nitty gritty of the mission as well as high-level matters.’
Personally too, life was rolling full steam. His son, Satyajit, was six months old when Sarna and his wife, Avina, reached Poland. Avina, a medical doctor, was not practicing medicine but ended up doing her MD in Poland after learning the language.
‘The Sarnas like to go with the flow, they live in the moment and don’t complain. Eventually, they make the best of whatever comes their way,’ smiles the literary diplomat.
‘We became fluent in Polish. My book Folk Tales of Poland is a result of the strong influence the country had on me. We travelled a lot within Poland. We savoured Polish food, music, and culture.’
From Poland to Bhutan, the country of happiness, spirituality, and nature. ‘Bhutan was all about genuine cooperation and friendship. I was also involved in working on bilateral development projects, which diplomats usually are not. We were helping to build capacity in many sectors, our Border Roads Organization was building roads, and hydel projects were being set up. Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital, was a far smaller town then. Life was simple and slow.’
From quiet Bhutan to the hectic pace as deputy chief of protocol (ceremonials) in New Delhi, the switchovers were always rapid. This office handled all outgoing and incoming heads of state, heads of government, vice presidential, and foreign ministerial visits.
In 1994, Sarna was posted to Geneva to the permanent mission of India to the United Nations. The work was related to arms control negotiations, which went on for three years. The negotiations were for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as well as other arms control issues including biological weapons, landmines, and so on. ‘We did not sign the CTBT and consequently India was able to conduct nuclear tests in 1998, which were essential for its security.
‘The number of delegates varied for each country. Our delegation comprised one ambassador and two counsellors; I was one of the counsellors. We had to multi-task. The USA had over fifty people, specialists for every paragraph. The British, French, and Chinese governments had also sent large delegations.’
After three years in Geneva, Sarna got a posting of his choice to Iran. ‘I was fascinated with the Persian language and culture. It is an orthodox country and my wife had to wear a hijab. The children were admitted to the only Indian school run under the aegis of the gurdwara. The government allowed the gurdwara to function, as the small Sikh community was in good standing there.’
As usual, the Sarnas picked up the language, made new friends, and learned about the culture. Before this posting tenure was over, he was sent to Washington, USA. ‘I went as the press counsellor as the requirement was of someone who had a background in nuclear negotiations as well as press work. India’s nuclear test had attracted international attention and people were curious. We had to explain India’s reasoning. I stayed there four years, dealing with the American press. I found old friends from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other newspapers. I moved around the country, and slowly, we made a difference and helped change the narrative around India’s nuclear policy. That positive trajectory of India-USA relations has continued to this day.’
From Washington, it was back to New Delhi. ‘The XP division is always throbbing with activity. For the next six years, I was spokesperson and that has been the longest anyone was posted in that position. Work was 24X7 as something was always happening.’
In 2008, Sarna became India’s ambassador to Israel. ‘Israel is at the crossroads of major religions, languages and cultures. It requires sensitivity and understanding. The posting was both complex and interesting. And there’s history everywhere. The chance to explore the old city of Jerusalem was one of the most exciting opportunities. I became intensely interested in old Jerusalem and its India connection. That’s how the book, Indians at Herod’s Gate: A Jerusalem Tale, came into being. It has recently been translated into Hebrew and Arabic.’
After spending four years in Israel, Sarna again headed for New Delhi, this time as additional secretary and secretary. The duties included taking care of political relations with ninety-five countries and a lot of travel. He then went as high commissioner to the UK, but that was a brief stint. ‘London has a lot to offer in terms of history and connection with India. But that was my shortest posting, lasting only nine months. I was then moved to Washington as the Indian ambassador to the United States of America. That, too, proved to be a different time, as I landed just three days before Donald Trump came into power in 2017. I only had a year and two months left in service at that time, then my stay was extended by a year. The USA has a well-structured and highly-developed political ecosystem. I had to work with the administration, Congress, media, industry, think tanks. Washington is very interesting as it is almost like being at the centre of the world. You can watch what’s happening in China, Europe, Asia, as American policy has a strong impact on the rest of the world. It required a lot of footwork and agility to be on top of things. We did well in terms of improving Indo-US relations in many areas. I returned in January 2019 after my retirement.’