‘Karan’ and ‘Duryodhana’: Check EAM Jaishankar’s Mahabharata reference while slamming India’s ‘unusual’ neighbours
1 min read . Updated: 29 Jan 2023, 06:32 AM IST
PremiumEAM S Jaishankar accused India’s neighbours of violating rules while giving a Mahabharata reference.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar lamented over the geographical limitations of India to choose its neighbours. He compared India with Pandavas from the Mahabharata. They could not choose their relatives, and it made their life difficult. For India, it’s neighbours. But, he hopes that “good sense prevails".
Jaishankar was speaking at an event in Pune for the release of his English book "The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World". The book has been translated into Marathi as 'Bharat Marg'.
Jaishankar was asked if a “rogue" neighbour with nuclear power was an asset or liability. The EAM spoke about rules-based order in reply. Again, he didn’t take names but used characters from the Indian epic. According to him, "Karan and Duryodhana" are violating rules-based order.
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A shared agreement among nations to carry out their operations in line with a set of rules is typically referred to as a rules-based order. A structure of global governance that has evolved since the Second World War supports the rules-based order.
Living next to China, an “unusual neighbour", is challenging since it is a global power, Jaishankar said. “Living next to global power has its own challenges," he said.
Jaishankar also emphasised how India had suffered more from terrorism than other nations as he spoke about national security.
"We all know how much India has suffered due to terrorism as compared to other countries because other countries don't have a neighbour like the one we have," Jaishankar said without taking any names.
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Jaishankar was unhappy about foreign newspapers using the term “Hindu nationalist government". They won't call someone a Christian nationalist in America or Europe; such terms are only used in India, said Jaishankar.
Jaishankar declared that he was proud of it and did not see any reason to apologise for being a nationalist. The same nationalists have aided foreign nations and advanced in other nations' crisis situations, he said.
EAM Jaishankar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the said responsibilities. According to him, he never even dared to imagine being a minister. He is grateful to PM Modi because he doubts any other PM would have appointed him as a minister.
(With agency inputs)
