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    ISAS Insights

    Detailed perspectives on developments in South Asia​​

    49 : The Growing Influence of Business and Media on Indian Foreign Policy

    Sanjaya Baru

    5 February 2009

    Dr Manmohan Singh was perhaps the first Indian Prime Minister to so clearly articulate the rising influence of civil society and business in the making of Indian foreign policy. Turning a 19th Century aphorism on its head, the Prime Minister seemed to suggest that it is no longer trade that 'follows the flag', but 'the flag' that follows trade.