Diplomacy rarely happens behind closed doors. Real ties are forged in student hostels, local tea stalls, and unexpected conversations across borders. When diplomats limit themselves to ministerial meetings and official communiqués, they miss the heartbeat of a country.
Riaz Hamidullah knows this better than most. As his tenure as Bangladesh High Commissioner to India wraps up, his three-and-a-half-decade journey offers a masterclass in cross-border relations. It all started in September 1990 at an Aligarh Muslim University hostel.
Beyond the Official Protocol
Most envoys stay inside high-security embassies, mingle at cocktail circuits, and read intelligence briefings. They view a host country through an administrative lens. Hamidullah chose a different path from day one.
Living as a student at AMU gave him direct access to the raw fabric of Indian society. He didn't just study books; he experienced regional identities, food traditions, and cultural quirks firsthand. Years later, during his professional postings in New Delhi, that grassroots foundation shaped his entire diplomatic philosophy.
State-to-state agreements matter on paper. But they collapse if the people on the ground don't understand each other. Hamidullah made it a point to travel widely and talk to ordinary citizens about topics that had nothing to do with bilateral trade or water-sharing treaties.
If you don't engage ordinary people, how can you ever explain your own society?
The Kashmir Classroom Surprise
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Hamidullah visited Delhi Public School in Srinagar, Kashmir. He walked into a campus buzzing with five thousand students, nearly forty percent of them young women.
A twelfth-grade student named Fatima, working at the school's digital radio studio, hit him with a question nobody expected. She asked him how he viewed borders.
Think about that for a second. A young student sitting in Srinagar throwing a philosophical curveball about geopolitical lines to a senior diplomat. Hamidullah answered with absolute candour. Before he left, students sang a composition by Allama Iqbal, reminding him that human connections run deeper than political maps.
We obsess over the lines that divide nations. Yet, millions of people cross cultural and emotional boundaries every single day without a second thought.
What Modern Diplomacy Gets Wrong
Governments often treat international relations like a game of chess. Move an ambassador here, sign a trade pact there, issue a press release to calm the public. It feels neat and organized.
It is also largely an illusion.
Real international friction stems from cultural ignorance and a lack of empathy. When diplomats refuse to step outside their comfort zones, stereotypes harden. Citizens view neighbors through sensationalized media headlines rather than lived experiences.
Fixing this requires practical steps. Governments should actively fund student exchange programs that send young people into ordinary neighborhoods, not just elite universities. Diplomats must spend less time in air-conditioned auditoriums and more time listening to local communities, regional artists, and everyday workers.
If you want to understand a neighboring country, stop reading policy papers. Go talk to the people who live there.
