Jaishankar: India will engage with world on own terms, era of dictation over

EAM S Jaishankar said, “India will engage with the world on its own terms, the era of dictation is over”, addressing the Raisina Dialogue.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar states India will engage with the world on its own terms

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has announced that India will engage with the world on its own terms and the era of dictation is over perhaps referring to the labels India gets about its “human rights violations”.

He said it is better to engage with the world on the basis of who we are rather than try to please the world as a pale imitation of who they are. Addressing the Raisina Dialogue, Dr Jaishankar said the idea that others define us and we need approval, is an era that we need to put behind us.

Dr. Jaishankar also said in the next 25 years, India should be at the next stage of globalization. India should be about capability building, he said.

Talking about India at 75, he said when we look at India at 75, we are not just looking at the 75 completed years, but 25 years ahead. Dr Jaishankar said that one difference that he can pick is that Indians have asserted to the world that they are a democracy and there is a gut sense that democracy is the future.

About Ukraine crisis, the minister reiterated the best way forward apropos Ukraine crisis is to stop the fighting and get the dialogue going.

Under the World Spectrum, India has fallen under the category of the 15 countries of a “Country of Particular Concern”

Under the USCIRF, India has fallen under the category of the 15 countries of a “Country of Particular Concern” due to the elevating violence against Muslims and Christians in particular in regards to unwarranted arrests, murders, lynching, hate speech even from political leaders, attacks on mosques and churches, burning of Bibles, forced conversions to Hinduism called “ghar wapsi” and laws made against Muslims and Christians to intimidate and dehumanize them.

In the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, the President is required to annually review the status of religious freedom in every country in the world and designate each country the government which has engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

Recently, Mehdir Hasan, the television host from Washington DC spoke about the alarming fascist rise in India under BJP-affiliated-RSS.

Perhaps, EAM S Jaishankar was indirectly referring to all the global voices speaking against India’s brutality to religious minorities, clamping, and violence on journalists, governmental attacks on secular Indians, and other atrocities.  Dr. Jaishankar perhaps is ignoring that India comes under the periphery of the world’s largest democracy and is more accountable for functioning as one in partnership with the USA.

United States secretary of state Anthony Blinken recently said that India’s democracy is powered by its free-thinking citizens.”  However, he did say, “We are monitoring some recent concerning developments in India including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials.’

His underlying message was that the Biden administration’s relationship with India would depend upon the extent to which the Modi government respects the written and unwritten rules and conventions of democracy.

Blinken did admit that  American democracy too was a work in progress, but his message was unmistakable that while violations of human rights and freedoms occurred in the US too, its federal and state governments instantly took corrective action. Also, Americans know the power of their first and second amendments and all Americans feel empowered and safe in their system.  In India, however, this is not the case, the system and higher powers can work against a citizen and taint them and put them in jail forever, linking them to some fictitious crime.

Some comments from netizens:

Shashi Tharoor:  “Thanks ⁦@DrSJaishankar⁩ for publicly giving me credit for the term “Multi-alignment“ which I floated 15 years ago without many takers)! Stimulating exchange between our EAM & ⁦@samirsaran
⁩ at #RaisinaDialogue2022 on the wider dimensions of our foreign policy

Thanks ⁦@DrSJaishankar⁩ for publicly giving me credit for the term “Multi-alignment“ which I floated 15 years ago gwithout many takers)! Stimulating exchange between our EAM & ⁦@samirsaran⁩ at #RaisinaDialogue2022 on the wider dimensions of our foreign policy pic.twitter.com/C76LgP2ptq

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 26, 2022

“Smt Indira Gandhi ji did it in 1971.” and another netizen said, “Indira Gandhi said this way back on Doordarshan circa ’78 only, she worded it much better.”

Smt Indira Gandhi ji did it in 1971.

— wuntakal laxman (@WuntakalL) April 28, 2022

Indira Gandhi said this way back on Doordarshan circa '78 only, she worded it much better.

— ArcticBonfire (@ArcticBonfire) April 28, 2022