India
oi-Deepika S
India
has
seen
a
huge
transformation
in
the
last
eight
to
nine
years
and
the
country
will
be
a
leading
power
after
it
becomes
‘atmanirbhar’
(self
reliant)
S
Jaishankar
said.
Mumbai,
Jan
28:
Union
External
Affairs
Minister
Dr
S
Jaishankar
on
Saturday
used
Mahabharata
analogy
to
target
Pakistan,
saying
just
as
the
Pandavas
could
not
choose
their
relatives,
India
cannot
choose
its
geographical
neighbours.
He
was
speaking
at
the
launch
of
his
English
book
“The
India
Way:
Strategies
for
an
Uncertain
World,”
which
has
been
translated
into
Marathi
as
‘Bharat
Marg’.
Responding
to
a
question
whether
Pakistan
as
India’s
neighbour
is
an
asset
or
a
liability
to
the
country,
Jaishankar
said
“It
is
a
reality
to
us.
In
life,
you
have
what
you
have.
Pandavas
could
not
choose
their
relatives,
we
can’t
choose
our
neighbours.
Naturally,
we
would
hope
good
sense
prevails
and
practises
of
the
past
are
not
followed.
And
in
diplomacy,
it
is
important
to
be
hopeful.”
“Today,
we
say
we
need
to
demonstrate
strategic
patience.
The
best
example
in
this
regard
perhaps
was
Lord
Krishna
–
how
he
tackled
Shishupal,
he
forgave
100
times
and
then
you
know
what
happened.
If
we
really
have
to
understand
the
Indian
strategic
culture,
we
have
to
go
back
to
our
own
tales,”
Jaishankar
said.
India
has
seen
a
huge
transformation
in
the
last
eight
to
nine
years
and
the
country
will
be
a
leading
power
after
it
becomes
‘atmanirbhar’
(self
reliant),
Jaishankar
observed.
“There
are
eight
chapters.
I
wanted
people
to
be
associated
with
(the
country’s)
foreign
policy.
I
want
to
involve
people
from
other
states
as
well,
not
just
Delhi.
I
have
written
this
book
in
simple
language
and
it
is
an
easy
read,”
he
said.
“The
first
chapter
is
about
two
nawabs
losing
Awadh
to
the
British
East
India
Company
while
playing
chess,
the
second
chapter
is
about
globalisation
and
the
challenges
it
throws
up,
and
the
third
chapter
is
about
the
“dogmas
of
Delhi
that
is
traditionally
defined
and
constrained,”
Jaishankar
said.
“The
fourth
is
about
foreign
policy.
Some
people
allege
we
are
sitting
in
ivory
towers
and
analysing
the
world.
I
feel
we
should
not
leave
foreign
policy
to
the
mandarins.
We
should
also
listen
to
the
masses.
We
should
consider
the
feelings
of
people
while
formulating
our
foreign
policy,”
he
said.
Speaking
about
China,
the
EAM
said
it
is
India’s
only
neighbour
which
is
a
global
power
and
may
become
a
superpower
in
the
years
to
come.
“It
is
obvious
there
are
challenges
when
we
have
such
a
neighbour.
How
to
manage
China
is
one
chapter
in
my
book.
I
have
also
written
about
how
Japan
will
benefit
us.
After
Partition,
the
nation
faced
limits
but
now
our
influence
is
right
up
to
the
Pacific
Ocean,”
he
said.
Jaishankar
said,
in
the
book,
he
has
also
deliberated
on
the
COVID-19
pandemic,
the
Afghanistan
crisis,
the
Russia-Ukraine
war
along
with
how
tensions
between
nations
impacts
the
world.