External affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar recently addressed the March 19 violence at the Indian High Commission in London in ‘The Ranveer Show’ hosted by Ranveer Allahbadia on YouTube. He also discussed a number of subjects pertaining to the difficulties faced while handling the foreign policy of the country.
In the podcast, Dr Jaishankar stated, “I had actually landed from a plane when I saw the picture of this man climbing up the Indian High Commission in London and was trying to pull down the flag. It got under my skin. When people try to score points, personal points, I just shrug it off. But if the collective ‘I’ that is not me but India is demeaned or attacked, then yes it does get under my skin. That sense that you are not given respect and people are condescending, sometimes ambush you.”
On March 19, pro-Khalistan elements staged demonstrations outside the Indian High Commission building in London and attempted to vandalise it and tear down the national flag. The incident took place the day after Punjab Police launched a crackdown against radical Sikh preacher and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh who was nabbed on the 23rd of April after being on the run for over a month.
“Diplomacy is an art of detail. There are a lot of nuances like body language, dressing, how you hold your hand, etc. It depends on the person and national relationship. It depends on the situation of how we react with other diplomats,” he remarked while offering a brief note on diplomacy. In reference to the current difficulties the nation is facing, he observed that “the world is a tough place.”
The External Affairs Minister added, “The young people need to know it is all about making India. Our infrastructure needs to be strong for people to set up work here. At the end of the day, it is about creating new job opportunities. Our job is to market India. To make India a magnet for people to do business with us.”
“When we get up, the first thing we do is reach out to our phone. It has completely connected us to the world. Once you start getting used to global content and comparisons. What you eat, what you read and everything becomes global. That is why we call it globalisation,” he highlighted while responding about the growing popularity of foreign politics.
The union minister earlier declared that India will not accept different security standards. Additionally, he charged that the United Kingdom had failed to uphold its duty to guarantee the protection of the mission’s diplomats.
Watch the entire interview below.
