'If we were more Bharat...': EAM on foreign policy towards China after Independence
New Delhi, Jan 3: The year 2024 will continue to be turbulent or the world but India is well-positioned politically and economically to navigate the challenges, maintain its rising global role and its path of development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
The union minister was speaking at the launch of his new book 'Why Bharat Matters' in which he examines the geopolitics and various aspects of India's foreign policy since Independence using the epic Ramayana as the overarching perspective.
"I do think that 2024 will continue to be turbulent, (and) that many of the same factors which drove 2023 would remain very much in play," he said addressing a group of foreign diplomats, strategic affairs experts, academicians and intellectuals. The external affairs minister said India is well-placed to look at 2024 with a fair deal of confidence.
"Today where we are positioned, where we are positioned politically, where we are positioned economically, when you look at a lot of these societal changes and the capabilities that have grown, I would say at the end of this conversation, I'm closer to saying we have strung the boat," he said at the event hosted by leading think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Delving into India's engagement with China after Independence, Jaishankar appeared to criticise Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's policy, saying if the approach had been "more Bharat, we would have had a less rosy view of our relationship with China".
He especially noted this for the first decade after Independence.
"And this is not something which is my fantasy. I mean there is a kind of record out there. There's an exchange of letters between Sardar (Vallabhbhai) Patel and Pandit Nehru on China. And they have very starkly differing views," Jaishankar said.
He also cited China getting into the UN Security Council and Pandit Nehru's approach on the matter. "I mean there is a letter which Nehru has written to chief ministers saying first let China take its place in the Security Council."
The external affairs minister also recalled how Pandit Nehru was hesitant in taking assistance from the US following the 1962 war with China as he was unsure how it would be seen.
"There was very ingrained hostility towards the United States," Jaishankar said, adding the Americans did a lot to deserve it.
"But you know, in fact, again it's an interesting issue where one of the last comments of Sardar Patel on foreign policy was why are we sort of so distrustful of America; we should look at America from the viewpoint of our own interest, not from the viewpoint of how the Americans are dealing with China," he said.
Referring to economic reforms, Jaishankare said, "We were not sufficiently sweeping in our reforms in the first two decades of reform."
"We kind of fell for the mantra of globalisation, where we actually didn't benefit as much relatively as those who dominated production and those who dominated finance did," he said.
To a question on internal constraints, Jaishankar said they were pretty obvious as a lot could have been done in the period after Independence.
"I think the internal constraints are pretty obvious to all of us, it would be that, let us say after the first 60 years after Independence, if you were to look at basic social economic indicators -- how many of your homes were connected to electricity, how many to piped water, you look at your literacy rate, you look at your gender ratio, you look at your nutrition level, you look at your health system."
"I think it's fairly clear that in a lot of this we had not done what we could have done, what other countries who had started off in a similar base had done," he said.
In his remarks elaborating on the book, Jaishankar explained how he looked at various aspects of geopolitics and statecraft through the perspective of Ramayana.
"My point is that every 'Ram' requires a 'Laxman' -- that countries are better served if you have reliable friends and allies who can temper you down when you need to be, who can strengthen you when you are down," the external affairs minister said, citing an example of lessons that can be drawn from Ramayana.
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Justice must be seen to be done: Kejriwal on refusal to appear in excise case before HC judge
New Delhi (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has written to Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, saying he will not appear in the excise case personally or through a lawyer before her, the party said on Monday.
Pointing to a "grave miscarriage of justice", Kejriwal, in a four-page letter, said he has "serious and unreconciled" concerns regarding the matter.
"I have decided that I shall not participate in the further proceedings in this matter, either in person or through counsel. I do not take this step lightly," Kejriwal added.
In his letter, Kejriwal further said that "justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done".
"The principle that justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done, is among the most sacred assurances that a court gives to a citizen in a democracy," he said.
The assurance cannot be dishonoured by asking the citizen to ignore what "anyone can plainly see" in a case like this, he added in the letter.
The letter also invoked the principles of Satyagraha and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, with Kejriwal saying that his intent is "strengthening of judiciary and prevent its weakening".
He added that he has given the authority an opportunity to consider and correct what he perceived to be a grave miscarriage of justice.
His earlier plea seeking the recusal of Justice Sharma, which was rejected on April 20, was interpreted as a personal attack, the AAP chief claimed.
"After the said judgment, I am left with the painful and inescapable impression that what I had urged as a lawful plea of apprehension was received and answered as a personal attack upon Your Ladyship and as an assault on the institution itself.
"Those are not, with respect, answers to the case I had brought. They show me that my plea of apprehension has been judicially understood as a personal and institutional affront," he said in the letter.
The letter further noted the leader's belief that it was now "impossible to receive an impartial hearing" in Justice Sharma's court.
Kejriwal also reiterated two grounds cited earlier in his recusal plea.
"First, the issue of Your Ladyship's repeated public association with the RSS's legal front, the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) -- an organisation belonging to the ideological ecosystem of the ruling dispensation," he wrote, further pointing out that Justice Sharma's children "are professionally engaged on multiple advocates' panels of the Union government which happens to be the opposite party in this case".
Reflecting on his personal experience during the proceedings, the former Delhi chief minister expressed concern over the broader implications of his case on public trust in the judiciary, while he said he maintains respect for the institution.
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"When I appeared before Your Ladyship to argue my case, the question in my heart was simple: Will I get justice? Today, with the deepest respect, I must say that the same question has become graver and deeper in my conscience," he said.
This case has now become a matter of widespread public discussion. It is being discussed not merely in legal and political circles, but in homes across the country, the letter read.
Addressing potential criticism, Kejriwal clarified that his remarks should not be interpreted as opposition to the judiciary.
"As I write this, I am also cognisant of the fact that some might portray me as someone 'against' the judiciary. But how can that ever be the case when I have personally received relief from the judiciary, including orders of bail and the present discharge?
"Today, I walk free because of the judiciary. Let there exist no figment of imagination that my present stand is against the institution," he asserted.
Kejriwal further said his respect for the judiciary "remains intact" and he has "unwavering faith" in the Constitution of India.
"My objection is not to the institution of the High Court or the larger judicial system, but only to the continuance of this matter before Your Ladyship (Sharma) under a cloud of grave and unresolved questions and circumstances that have generated grave public doubt in your ability to dispense impartial justice," Kejriwal further wrote in the letter.
He also clarified that his "personal inability" is confined to just this matter.
"I shall continue to appear in matters where these serious and unreconciled concerns do not arise, including matters in which the solicitor general does not appear and matters unconnected with the Union government, the BJP or the RSS," the letter added.
He further said he has made the decision by listening to the voice of his conscience and that he is prepared to bear the consequences.
"I may prejudice my own legal interests. I understand that I may lose the opportunity to advance submissions before this Hon'ble Court and that adverse consequences in law may follow. I am prepared to bear those consequences," the AAP chief said.
He added that he will reserve the right to approach the Supreme Court to appeal against Justice Sharma's decision.
