New Delhi: India’s foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar appears to know his game. When asked if India is still a ‘soft state’ with ‘loud politics’ as opposed to a ‘hard’ one, the diplomat-turned-politician said that things are "changing now".
“I wouldn’t say that is not the case… but I think we are changing. We have a less lethargic government mindset today than we had in the past...we have been very strong on certain issues... where we had to engage and persuade, we have done that… My mindset would be if I see a ball being bowled at my ribcage, I won’t duck, I will hook,” Jaishankar said during a book release event in the national capital on Monday evening.
The minister’s statement is in line with the many ‘hard’ policies and decisions the Narendra Modi-led government has taken, from demonetisation to military surgical strikes across the international borders to abrogation of Article 370, and the latest amendments to the citizenship act that has seen countrywide protests, disregarding obvious resistance from various sections of people.
The former diplomat added, “My concern is that we have accumulated a legacy of problems. And if you see today what is happening in this country, these problems have caught up with us. The last few years have been active years of debate, argumentation and decision making.”
“A lot of what we are doing is addressing an accumulation of problems which we had not addressed. Just look at this year. Look at the citizenship issue, it started some 40-50 years ago. Rajiv Gandhi made an agreement in Assam in 1985. Look at (Article) 370. It was a temporary article… went on for 70 years. Look at the constituent assembly debates on it. Look at Ayodhya. Surely where in the world would you have an unresolved problem for 150 years?” he said.
An expert on China who speaks fluent Mandarin and was posted in China as a diplomat from 2009 to 2013, Jaishankar heaped praises on the Chinese way of solving problems.
“China changed from what was a civilisational society and became a modern state...One needs to look at them, study them and then ask what is my learning from it?”
“The Chinese look at a problem and start finding a solution for the same. And the systematic mindset is that those who solve it are quickly rewarded and incentivised… the more Indian and Chinese interact with each other, I think a lot of Indians will pick that up… I have always been a great advocate of more intensive engagement with China. We should appreciate the enormity of what is happening across the border,” the former JNU student said.
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On the latest controversy surrounding JNU after large-scale campus violence on Sunday evening, Jaishankar said there was no ‘tukde-tukde gang’ in the university.
