Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 20 (ANI): Emphasising India’s own traditions and highlighting instances of strategy and statecraft in its scriptures, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman were “greatest diplomats” also and noted that one is the great diplomat of story of Mahabharata, the other is great diplomat of the Ramayana.
Speaking at the Pune Book Festival, Jaishankar also said that the world today is an era of coalition politics.
“No one has a majority. No coalition has a majority. So what happens is that constantly combinations are formed, deals are struck, somebody is up, somebody is down, some issue comes up. Multipolar world is like having many parties…Sometimes you are with one, for some other issue you are with another. But all the while, I have one principle, which is helping my country. So whatever helps my country, that is my choice,” he said.
He said there is need to use and popularise Indian terms, concepts and context in domain of strategic thinking.
“Most of the textbooks you get are written by Western people… I was tired of reading again and again that we are very strategic, but India has no tradition of strategy and statecraft… We have grown up with our beliefs, our culture. We don’t use our own terms, and the world doesn’t know our own terms either… It was this feeling that was growing in me… I want to explain to the world what I have felt for a long time,” he said.
“We think that Mahabharat is about power, it’s about struggle, it’s about family. We don’t think naturally of all the complexity of Ramayan, the tactics, the strategy, the game plan. So, actually, when someone asked me, ‘Who, in your view, are the greatest diplomats?’ And at that time, I said, Lord Krishna and Hanuman. Because one is the great diplomat of this story, the Mahabharata, the other is a great diplomat of the Ramayana,” he added.
Jaishankar noted that Lord Hanuman was sent to Sri Lanka, actually, to get information.
“Think about what Hanuman did. Hanuman was sent to Sri Lanka, actually, to get information. He was able to get information. He was able to go all the way to meet Maa Sita. He was able to get her morale up. He was able to go in the court, size up Ravan’s whole setup, he did the talent escorting of Vibhishan… and then in a way he was able to pyschologically defeat Ravan… Which bigger diplomat can you find? He was given one job and he did ten and that too beyond expectations. Now, if a person like you don’t present before the world, I think we do our culture a great injustice,” he said.
Asked if one Jaishankar is enough for the country, Jaishankar quipped “your question is wrong”.
“You should have asked me: there is one Modi. Because ultimately, shri Hanuman finally serves… Countries are defined by leaders and vision. There are people who execute it. But ultimately, it is the vision, the leadership, and the confidence that makes the difference today,” he said.
Answering a question on brain drain, Jaishankar said there is today a global brand of Indians.
“Brain drain is a very complex issue… I see today a global opening for Indian talent, in fact, just now we had President Putin. One of the agreements we did was that he was keen to get Indians to come and work in Russia. When I look at the demography of the world, I look at Europe,” he said.
“Even though there’s an immigration debate in Europe, Indians are well regarded…So there is today a global brand of Indians. It’s a good brand. We have built it over the years. I would say young people should take advantage of it. Take advantage of it and look at the world as a global workplace,” he added. (ANI)
