‘Not saying because he is PM but..,’ Jaishankar on PM Modi’s leadership

Reflecting on his own transition from being a diplomat to a politician, Jaishankar highlighted the contrasting nature of the two roles. As a diplomat, he had previously worked alongside politicians, but stepping into the world of politics brought him face-to-face with its relentless and non-stop demands, with no respite even on weekends.

“I feel it’s been an enormous good fortune of the country to have someone like PM Modi at this time. And I am not saying this because he is the prime minister of the day and I am a member of his Cabinet. I am saying this because when you have a once-in-a-century health challenge, it’s only someone who’s so grounded can say okay there is a health challenge, but what will do for the persons going home; what will you do to feed them; how will you put money into their account. The idea that women will manage money better will not occur to many people,” Jaishankar said.

“Good leaders are people very grounded, very experienced with an enormous feel for what is happening but who also has the passion to take the country to a different level — enormously grounded and enormously visionary. And such people, I can tell you, come once in a lifetime,” Jaishankar said.

The best diplomat..

Addressing a question about a book he had authored, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar responded by expressing his belief that, in his opinion, Lord Hanuman is the greatest diplomat of all time. “I was usefully employed during the gap year between my diplomat career and the entry into politics and I wrote a book at that time on how Mahabharata can serve as a guide to deal with international politics. Mahabharata is like statecraft but if you see Ramayana too if you ask me who I think is the best diplomat, my answer will be no question, Lord Hanuman.”

Jaishankar further added, “You are setting out on behalf of Lord Rama, but let us take that as a country, into the unknown dealing with another entity where you don’t have that much information…You have to go there, find intelligence, locate Sita…he surreptitiously sets contact with Sita, keeps her morale high, sets the place on fire which is not my prescription for diplomats…but if you look at the totality, he comes back successfully.”

Jaishankar is on a visit to Thailand to participate in the 12th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism on July 16, 2023. MGC is one of the oldest mechanisms of the lower Mekong region and is guided by India’s Act East Policy.

​In Bangkok, EAM will also attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat on July 17. BIMSTEC is an economic and technical initiative which brings together the countries of the Bay of Bengal for multifaceted cooperation. The retreat would discuss ways to further deepen the BIMSTEC agenda and strengthen the organisation.

Updated: 16 Jul 2023, 08:57 AM IST