In diplomacy, symbolism matters as much as substance. Flip through the photo album of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee's foreign visits in 2003 to know why. It does away with the thousands of words needed to describe just how India powered its way into the big league of nations in the past year. In May, dressed in formal bandgala, Vajpayee is seen sitting at the high table with George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

"The bottom line is we will not compromise on national security. The sky is the limit in every other sphere, be it trade, commerce, culture and military." Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha

Days later, pictures show the prime minister rubbing shoulders with world leaders at the G-8 summit in Evian, France. In June, he is shaking hands with China's new strongman Hu Jintao in Beijing after making a historic breakthrough on contentious issues that had bedevilled the relationship between the two countries. In September he is the only leader to be invited for a luncheon bilateral meeting by Bush, the world's bossman, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Then in October, wearing a flamboyant Balinese shirt, he is photographed consorting with the most powerful grouping of Asian countries at the asean summit.

"There is little doubt that India became a major player in the international checkerboard. It forced the world to engage with India on an entirely new basis," says Kanwal Sibal, who retired as foreign secretary recently. Armed with a booming economy and a willingness to discard historical baggage, India made some truly astonishing strides in its foreign policy. Spin the globe. Stop first at the US. India deftly handled its relations with the world's hyperpower at the trickiest moment in history-when the US launched the mother of all wars with Iraq. India was then negotiating with America to lift a ban on trade on critical hi-tech exports that it had imposed after the Pokhran blasts. It remained steadfast in its principles and by the year end not only appeared justified in not joining Bush's Coalition of the Willing but was able to convince America not to derail its hi-tech agreement.

India moved with growing self-confidence as it swiftly began redefining its relations with other countries. Shoving aside decades of sloth, it signed a major agreement with Beijing to recognise the Tibet Autonomous Region as an integral part of China and put on the fast track negotiations on the border dispute. By doing so, India recognised the importance of engaging independently with the world's rising power. External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha uses army lingo when he talks of India's new "multi-mode, multi-vector" diplomacy. Essentially, it means building bridges with a raft of nations on a variety of strategic issues rather than remaining narrow-focused. So India looked harder east than it ever did before, even signing a framework agreement for comprehensive economic cooperation with ASEAN in an effort to lessen China's influence in the region. It was key to India asserting itself as an Asian power, something that it was surprisingly not recognised as before.

It was also a year where India was willing to be bold and daring. In Afghanistan, even as the US frowned, it took the courageous step of opening consul offices in major provinces and funding development to expand its sphere of influence in Central Asia. By inviting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, India showed it was unafraid to go against the grain when its vital interests were involved. Against Pakistan, Vajpayee cleverly got out of the rut by employing what Sibal calls a "drums and flutes" approach. While maintaining India's stand of zero tolerance against cross-border terrorism, Vajpayee sagaciously pushed for a new peace process with Pakistan.

To understand just how seriously other nations take you, there is a formula that historian L.V. Namier outlined. In his Margins of History he wrote: "The weight of argument greatly depends on him who uses it: that of the strong has "force" and carries "conviction"; that of the weak, if unanswerable, is called quibble and apt to cause annoyance." In 2003, there is no quibble that India's foreign policy acquired the force of conviction of an emerging world power.

FORWARD STEP: Musharraf (centre) and Jamali (right)

friendly foes

The tortuous road to peace with Pakistan is paved with good intentions gone terribly wrong. In recent years, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has done much to cement the kerbs even as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has conspired in digging potholes on the tarmac. Just as it seemed that the two sides had reached a dead end, Vajpayee looked across the loc in Srinagar in April this year, and instead of shaking a fist, extended a friendly hand. Even as his colleagues grumbled at the sheer ad-hocism of the offer, there was plenty of method and reason to Vajpayee's seeming madness. The prime minister had sensed that the mood in the Valley had dramatically changed with the installation of a new Government. Also, India's policy of no talks till all cross-border terrorism ceased had begun to pay diminishing returns. Internationally, India was being viewed as obdurate and cussed. With military action ruled out unless prompted by another major December 13 like attack on the Indian Parliament, Vajpayee decided that diplomacy was his best option. Pakistan was quick to grasp his offer. Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali called Vajpayee and "spoke from his heart". Even as the cynics predicted the worst, the relations between the two countries, much to everyone's amazement, began to improve dramatically. Diplomatic relations were restored, with the two countries exchanging high commissioners. There was a flurry of people-to-people contact, with both sides showing compassion in releasing fishermen and treating sick children. There was an agreement to restore the flight and train services and even explore new ways of boosting travel. On New Year's eve, the air was pregnant with the possibility of a bilateral summit between Vajpayee and Jamali and even with Musharraf at the SAARC summit. The buzz word is step by step. Whatever the speed, the movement is definitely forward.

EUROPEAN UNION

EU-turn

The India-EU relationship started off badly with Denmark's recriminations on Indo-Pak dialogue-India walked off in a huff refusing to sign a joint statement at a Copenhagen summit. Several harsh exchanges later, it seemed India's threat to sever ties with the Europeans would work. But EU President Silvio Berlusconi (left) demanded that India abide by UN resolution 1172 and sign the NPT. Smoke billowed from South Block and no tear was shed for Berlusconi's stomach gripes, which kept him away from India. It was a "plaintive" european delegation, that by year end, had come round to India's terms.

When US President George Bush launched the "shock and awe" attacks in Iraq to bring Saddam Hussein to heel, India looked awkwardly out of step for a while. The day before the fall of Baghdad, the Indian Parliament deplored the invasion and demanded a quick withdrawal of occupational forces, with a central role for the UN. In hindsight, India's stand seemed justified. For the US, winning the peace proved more difficult than waging the war. As US casualties mounted after the fall of Baghdad, there was pressure on Indian forces to join the Coalition of the Willing. But India had to balance a complex set of interests. At stake was the need to maintain stable oil supply. So the ties with the Arab states and the Gulf had to be kept in mind. Moreover, there was a huge expatriate population in the Gulf which pumped in massive foreign exchange into the economy. Also, with state polls on in December it would embarrass the Government if body bags of Indian soldiers killed in Iraq were flown in. So India wisely chose to stick to its principled stand even at the risk of annoying the US. The dividends would pay off in the years ahead.

War on terror

India-Bhutan ties entered a new phase on December 15 when the Royal Bhutanese Army launched flushing operations against the ULFA, NDFB and KLO camps in the country. After a week of action, which saw the Indian Army ranged along the border to pick up fleeing insurgents, the top leaders of several groups were killed or imprisoned. India will now turn to Bangladesh and Myanmar for similar cooperation.