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Is one S Jaishankar enough for India? External affairs minister responds
EAM S Jaishankar explained that the countries are defined by leaders and vision, and that is what makes the difference.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that diplomats and ministers are like Shri Hanuman, who “ultimately serve” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was speaking at the Pune Book Festival, where he was asked if one Jaishankar is enough for the country. He answered by saying that the question put to him was “wrong”.
"Your question is the wrong question. You should have actually asked me: there is only one Modi. Because ultimately the diplomats…even Sri Hanuman finally serves…,” Jaishankar said, without completing the sentence in reference to Lord Ram.
The EAM explained that the countries are defined by leaders and vision, and that is what makes the difference.
“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 added.
‘Lord Krishna and Hanuman were the greatest diplomats’
EAM S Jaishankar’s use of mythology to convey his message didn't end there. He also emphasised the need to use and popularise Indian terms, concepts, and contexts in the domain of strategic thinking, giving the example of Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman.
"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 was quoted by ANI as saying
Jaishankar said that people think the Mahabharat is about power, struggle, and family, but don't naturally think of the complexity of the Ramayan, including its tactics, strategy, and 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.
