External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar received a rousing welcome in Pune on Friday evening. He visited the city to address the youth at the Balagandharv Rang Mandir during an event titled "Why Bharat Matters: Opportunity for Youth and Participation in Global Scenario."
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During the event, Jaishankar spoke on a wide range of topics.
'India's policy on dealing with terrorism has changed since 2014'
Jaishankar said there is a change in the country's foreign policy since 2014 and it is how terrorism is dealt with.
When asked which countries India finds difficult to maintain relationships with, Jaishankar said one, Pakistan, was in the neighbourhood and "for that we are only responsible".
In 1947, Pakistan sent tribal invaders into Kashmir and the Army countered them and the integration of the state took place, he pointed out.
"While the Indian Army was taking its action, we stopped and went to the UN and mentioned the work of tribal invaders instead of terrorism. If we, from the very start, were clear that Pakistan is using terrorism, then would have had a very different policy," the EAM said.
Terrorism cannot be acceptable under any circumstances, he asserted.
Asked about continuity in the country's foreign policy, Jaishankar said, "My answer is yes. There is 50 per cent continuity and there is 50 per cent change. That one change is on terrorism. After the Mumbai attack, there was not a single person who felt we should not have responded. But it was thought at the time that the cost of attacking Pakistan is more than not attacking Pakistan." If something like Mumbai (26/11) happens now and if one does not react then how does one prevent the next attack, Jaishankar asked.
"Terrorists should not feel since they are across the border, no one can touch them. Terrorists do not play by any rules so the answer to the terrorist cannot have any rules," he said.
'India's budget for infrastructure on China border rose significantly after 2014'
Jaishankar said India's budget for infrastructure on the border with China was increased significantly after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.
India should have learnt lessons from the 1962 war but no headway was made in the development of border infrastructure till 2014, he claimed, adding that the Modi government increased the budget for the same from ₹3,500 crore to ₹14,500 crore.
"Just recall that in the last few years, new tunnels, roads, bridges along the China border have been made. Sela tunnel was made where the Chinese had reached in 1962. Till the time, we do not make any headways into the border infrastructure, how can we make the border pose a challenge," he said.
Jaishankar said the other serious challenge in connection with China was economic as the Indian market was receiving goods from that nation for the last 20-25 years.
"Because of this, our businesses and labour force were suffering. Till we started manufacturing in India. In the name of environment, manufacturing was being stopped. Even now a renowned economist claimed India does not have the capability to manufacture," the EAM said.
'America will always want to have a partnership with PM Modi'
Highlighting the ties shared between India and the US, Jaishankar said that America will always want to have a partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and added that whosoever will be the President of the US will tend to have good relations with India.
Jaishankar, also underlined the incidents that happened with students in America are not political.
He said, "The incidents that happened with students in America are not political, we have told the Embassy to maintain maximum contact with the student community, all the cases are individual cases, there is no connection with each other."
Notably, multiple distressing incidents have been reported lately from the US involving Indian nationals or people of Indian origin. As many as five Indian students were reported dead in separate incidents in the first two months of 2024.
'20,000 children who came back from Ukraine were Modi ki Guarantee'
Jaishankar emphasised that the 20,000 children who came back from Ukraine were "Modi ki Guarantee," adding that foreign policy is not just for diplomats, but has an impact on every person's life.
"Sometimes, people also visit the countries, dealing with conflicts and tensions. and you can get stuck in such situations like when the around 20,000 students got stuck in Ukraine in 2022," he noted.
Stating another example, Jaishankar underscored the Russia-Ukraine war and said that when it began, western countries pushed everyone to halt the import of Russian oil. However, India did not stop importing oil from Russia.
"Another example is when the Ukraine-Russia war began, western countries pushed everyone, especially India, to not import oil from Russia. If we had come under pressure and stopped importing oil from them...then petrol and things related to it would have become expensive in our country,' he added.
