There Was A Time When Nehru Said ‘India Second, China First’: Jaishankar | India News

AHMEDABAD: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday focused Jawaharlal Nehru and claimed that previous errors had been chargeable for the issues corresponding to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and occupation of some components of the Indian territory by China. Referring to India’s stand when it was provided a everlasting seat within the UN Security Council, he claimed there was a time when Nehru, the nation’s first prime minister, stated “India second, China first”.

Speaking on the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry right here, Jaishankar was replying to the query whether or not India ought to reconcile itself to the standing of POK and Indian territories occupied by China, or work to get them again. Notably, in the previous few days, BJP leaders have additionally been concentrating on previous Congress governments beneath Nehru and Indira Gandhi over the ceding of the island of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. 

“In 1950, (then home minister) Sardar Patel had warned Nehru about China. Patel had told Nehru that today for the first time we are facing a situation on two fronts (Pakistan and China) which India had never faced earlier. Patel also told Nehru that he does not believe what the Chinese are saying as their intentions seem different and we should take precautions,” the minister stated. 

“Nehru replied to Patel that you are unnecessarily suspicious of the Chinese. Nehru also said it is impossible for anybody to attack us from the Himalayas. Nehru was totally dismissive (about Chinese threat),” Jaishankar stated, including that everybody is aware of what occurred subsequently. 

“Not only that, when the debate of a permanent seat of the UN (Security Council) came and it was being offered to us, Nehru’s position was we deserve the seat but first China should get it. We at present are following India first policy, but there was a time when Nehru said India second, China first,” he stated. 

Patel was not in favour of taking the Kashmir subject to the UN as he knew the “mentality” of a choose there, Jaishankar additional stated. “If you know that the judge is partial, would you go to seek justice from him? But that’s what happened, the issue was taken to the UN and immediately a lot of pressure came to stop the military exercise (to reclaim POK),” he stated, including “today we have ended up in these situations due to mistakes of the past.” 

“Today when we talk about our boundaries, some say rewrite our boundaries. Our boundaries are still our boundaries, we should never ever doubt that,” the External Affairs Minister stated. In the final ten years, the Union authorities has tried to take care of many points inherited from the previous, he stated, including that it has been profitable to find options to a few of them whereas some points will take extra time. 

“In the case of Kashmir we have a Parliament resolution (regarding POK) and everybody has to respect it,” Jaishankar stated, including that it was necessary to hunt solutions about our place right this moment, nevertheless it was additionally necessary to have a look at the errors of the previous. Earlier, giving a lecture at GCCI on `International coverage, catalyst of Viksit Bharat’, Jaishankar stated for the event of any economic system, 5 components are essential: manufacturing, consumption, expertise, logistics and demography. 

Foreign coverage can play an important position in taking home industries to different international locations, getting essential expertise, creating logistics and connectivity for enterprise, he stated. Some of the takeaways of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s final go to to the US had been that after virtually 40 years the US agreed to provide India a jet engine expertise, and three corporations making semiconductor chips agreed to determine vegetation in India, Jaishankar famous. 

“It was when the prime minister put these things forward to US President Joe Biden, it could materialize,” he stated. India was working with pleasant international locations to create new enterprise corridors and the proposed India, UAE, Saudi Arabia to Europe hall is certainly one of them, the minister stated. India’s high precedence was exports and Indian businesspersons can take assist from the nation’s embassies in overseas international locations to extend exports, he stated. The minister additionally stated that the Indian diaspora is the nation’s biggest asset.