At the heart of the Indian foreign-policy and security architecture is the pre-eminent position of the national-security advisor (NSA). The recent decision to appoint former Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to this position is a positive step, holding the promise of creative diplomacy from the Indian establishment in addressing Southasia's pressing problems.
Since the office was conceptualised over a decade ago, in 1998, India has had three NSAs. Brajesh Mishra combined his role as the principal secretary to the prime minister and the NSA under Atal Behari Vajpayee until 2004. Manmohan Singh's first NSA was the veteran foreign-policy strategist J N Dixit, until his sudden death in January 2005. Singh then asked his serving internal-security advisor, M K Narayanan, to take over as NSA. Under each of these individuals, the NSA's role has had several consistent responsibilities: diplomacy, nuclear command and control, long-term strategic planning, coordination between different agencies and departments on national-security matters, and (in some cases) political fire-fighting for the prime minister.
The mandate is not rigid, however, and varies according to the nature and background of the incumbent. For example, Narayanan, who headed the Intelligence Bureau during the Rajiv Gandhi years, instinctively veered towards intelligence coordination as an additional responsibility. The fact that for most of the United Progressive Alliance government's first tenure there was a weak home minister meant that Narayanan quite comfortably won the command of the Intelligence Bureau, which reports to the Home Ministry. As India's external-intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) reports to the prime minister; thus, Narayanan was also an integral part of deliberations on external relations.
During his tenure, Narayanan performed several other functions as well. He was the special envoy on border negotiations with China. He played a key role in reconciling the positions of multiple internal actors on the US '123' nuclear deal, and helped the government to win the related parliamentary vote in 2008. He also helped frame policy on Pakistan (to talk and then cut down on engagement after the attacks of 26 November 2008), Sri Lanka (supporting the government offensive against the LTTE but pressuring them to minimise Tamil casualties), Nepal (engaging with the Maoists but keeping them out of the power structure until they undergo 'course correction') and Bangladesh (supporting the restoration of the democracy, and backing the Awami League).