Is One S Jaishankar Enough For India? EAM Responds With ‘There Is Only One Modi’

Speaking at the Pune Book Festival, S Jaishankar also said that there is a need to use and popularise Indian terms, concepts, and context in the domain of strategic thinking. He also noted that Lord Hanuman was sent to Sri Lanka, actually, to get information.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday emphasised India’s traditions and highlighted examples of strategy and statecraft found in the scriptures. He stated that Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman were also “great diplomats,” explaining that one is considered the greatest diplomat in the story of the Mahabharata, while the other is the greatest diplomat in the Ramayana.

Speaking at the Pune Book Festival, S Jaishankar also said that there is a need to use and popularise Indian terms, concepts, and context in the 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 psychologically 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 doesn't present before the world, I think we do our culture a great injustice," he said.

When asked if one Jaishankar is enough for the country, Jaishankar quipped, "Your question is wrong." The EAM responded, "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 make the difference today."

(with ANI inputs)