We need to get out of the cult worship that the Nehru era was great: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday criticized some of the key decisions of the Jawaharlal Nehru government and said we must get out of this ‘cult worship’ as the period from 1946 onwards was ‘great years’ and the country did it “beautifully”.

In the early years, it was very much “a Nehruvian ideological bubble” when it came to foreign policy and “remnants of that persist even today,” he said in response to a question during a session at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit here.

Jaishankar, a career diplomat turned politician, spoke on a range of issues such as India’s role during the G20 presidency, the criticism surrounding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the abrogation of Article 370, and India-China relations India and Pakistan in the current situation. context and the geopolitical scenario.

The former foreign secretary quoted Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s views on the Nehru-Liaquat pact and BR Ambedkar’s views on Nehru’s decisions to substantiate his claim.

“So this is not an afterthought, this is not a political polemic. I am putting before the younger generation the historical situation, what I called the ‘road not taken’: that road was available and that road was marked,” he said. said.

“Now, I’m not saying they were no-brainers, there are pluses and minuses, but we have to get out of this cult worship that everything from 1946 to, pick your year… that these were great years, and we have done.” beautiful and if something went wrong, other people were to blame.

“But Nehru’s foreign policy is such an impeccable theology that even today anyone who comes to power has to follow it. And any deviation is wrong somewhere,” Jaishankar said.

“Companies are being monitored. After all, a country must also be controlled, its policies must be controlled. People should look at what happened in the past with an open mind and a critical mind,” he said, adding that he would also like to do that. discuss the past 10 years with anyone.

He argued that in the early years after independence it was ‘very much a Nehruvian ideological bubble. Nehru was against America, so everyone was against America. Nehru said China is a good friend, everyone said China is a good friend. remnants of which persist even today”.

“I mean, you have a concept called ‘Chindia’, and many of you will remember, who put forward that concept,” Jaishankar added.

On ties with Pakistan, he said, India’s relations with its neighbors at a formal level are “very minimal”.

This happened for two reasons: the first is that India has “fairly and squarely placed terrorism at the center of the relationship.”

Second, Pakistan’s response to the “long-awaited decision” on the abrogation of Article 370, he said.

“So what would the opposition want us to do, and not do (Article) 370, because it will upset Pakistan. Or talk to Pakistan, ignoring that they are doing terrorism. Actually that is what the opposition was doing” , the minister said.

Asserting that foreign policy is “not being conducted as a global popularity exercise”, Jaishankar said: “If you have a reconciliation mentality at home, you will bring it out”.

During the session, he was also asked about the Narendra Modi government’s domestic politics and foreign policy in the last decade.

“It’s not an if, it’s a when. When I explain to people the foreign policy of the last decade, I tell them, ‘Modi ki Guarantee works as well abroad as it does at home.’ is Modi ki Guarantee who shifted the entire Indian system to Operation Ganga, deputing five ministries, Operation Kaveri, Operation Vande Bharat during Covid or checking the welfare of our people in Gulf countries during the pandemic,” he said.

‘Modi ki guarantee’ is also applicable to keep fuel prices within reasonable limits, the minister said.

‘We have a national interest, and in a sense a national good, we will do what is necessary, we will send Covid-level troops to defend our northern borders, we will respond to terrorism in a way that will deter any recurrence . of such attacks works in different ways,” he added.

Jaishankar said he thought part of the reason people react to foreign policy today is that they see India’s international credibility of weight or influence “has increased.”

He also responded to criticism of the CAA from the US and other parts of the world.

The CAA is about “being just and fair to people who were on the wrong side of history at the time of Partition,” he said.

“If you look at the predicament of these people, these are stateless people… stateless through no fault of their own, because political leaders of a certain era got it wrong,” he said.

“Someone is righting an injustice, he is not wronging anyone. They are actually righting a situation where an injustice has been done to many people,” Jaishankar said.