Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that prolonging the conflict with Pakistan is not the biggest priority for India right now, while dismissing the comparisons between former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's actions in the 1971 war with those of the current escalation after Operation Sindoor.
Shashi Tharoor’s remarks come as social media was abuzz with comparisons between Indira Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Congress leaders also joining in.
"1971 was a great achievement. Indira Gandhi rewrote the map of the subcontinent, but the circumstances were different. Bangladesh was fighting a moral cause, and liberating Bangladesh was a clear objective. Just keeping on firing shells at Pakistan is not a clear objective," Tharoor was quoted by ANI news agency as saying.
He said that prolonging the conflict would have resulted in many deaths on both sides.
{{/usCountry}}He said that prolonging the conflict would have resulted in many deaths on both sides.
{{/usCountry}}"Today's Pakistan is a different situation. Their military equipment and the damage they can do are different. Bangladesh was fighting a moral cause to actually bring people to freedom and liberation. That was a completely different story. This is a different story. We would have ended up with much longer, protracted conflicts with a lot of loss of lives on both sides. Is this the biggest priority for India today? No, it is not," he said.
Congress remembers Indira Gandhi
Shashi Tharoor's remarks came as Congress leaders remembered Indira Gandhi amid the de-escalation of hostilities with Pakistan on Saturday.
Pawan Khera posted images of the former Prime Minister on social media platform X amid the announcement of the ceasefire understanding between the two nuclear-armed neighbours
"India misses Indira," Khera posted, alluding to the 1971 war between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also posted old images of Indira Gandhi on Facebook, captioning, “Indira Ji, today the whole country is remembering you...”
The 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, was a major event during Indira Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister of India. India provided crucial support to the independence movement in East Pakistan (later Bangladesh), and the war began after Pakistan launched airstrikes on Indian airbases. Indira Gandhi's leadership was instrumental in India's victory and the birth of Bangladesh.
In a crucial step toward de-escalation, foreign secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart, and the two sides agreed to halt all military actions--on land, at sea, and in the air--effective from 1700 hours IST.
However, Pakistan violated the understanding by indulging in cross-border firings, and the Indian armed forces were given instructions to deal strongly with the situation, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.