Blunders of Nehruvian era still haunting the country: Dr Jaishankar

Hyderabad: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar highlighted that several issues that the nation is facing today on its borders have their roots in the mistakes committed during the Nehruvian era.

He delivering a talk on 'Foreign Policy – The India Way: From Diffidence to Confidence," organised by the Forum for Nationalist Thinkers Hyderabad Chapter, here on Tuesday.

He said that the country's foreign policy decision-making for long has been under the shadow of diffidence, resulting in problems at the borders of China and Pakistan.

He explained the controversial decisions of the Nehruvian era which resulted in the Indo-China war of 1962, India unable to secure the permanent seat in the UN Security Council, differences that were cropped up with the US regarding the pro-socialist agenda followed, etc.

Dr S Jaishankar said, "Think of a country like Israel. Israel became independent in 1948. From 1948 to 1992, we chose not to have an ambassador and an embassy in Israel. Why?” he asked.

“Besides, from 1992, though we had an embassy in Israel, till 2017, when Narendra Modi went to Israel, no Prime Minister of India ever visited Israel. Think about it and then tell me that faith has no influence on our policy. Is this not vote bank?" he questioned.

The country has changed over the past 10 years and emerged as a confident one in international affairs and across various multinational forums, expressing its stand and keeping its national interest, he added.

From buying oil from Russia despite the threat of Western sanctions, to successfully holding G-20 Summit, securing the safety of Indians from conflict zones and India’s emergence as the fifth largest economy in the world – all this means today India is pursuing its interests above everything, Dr Jaishankar said.