‘Nothing to be apologetic’: Jaishankar on nationalism & a jibe at foreign media

Foreign minister S Jaishankar, who was in Pune on Saturday for an event where the Marathi translation of his book ‘The India Way’ was launched, spoke about nationalism and foreign relations as he touched various issues in his interaction. Answering a question about diplomacy efforts, Jaishankar asserted: "What happens is that often in the world, this creates a lot of confusion about India." He was asked if other nations too could emulate the approach of following nationalism and internationalism together.

In his response, Jaishankar further underlined: "You know in our country, one of us might proudly say - 'I am nationalist'. In some other countries, people may shy away from saying so because of it being looked at negatively. In many countries, nationalism and internationalism are opposite to each-other. But in our county, we gave vaccines... each one of us when we read that people in other countries thanked us, did we not feel good?" A brief applause followed his comment. S Jaishankar has drawn praise in the past for his sharp comments on global issues.

"There is nothing to be apologetic in being nationalist. Same people have done more projects abroad, they have offered more support. They have moved forward in disaster situations. But foreign newspapers like using words like 'Hindu nationalists'. They will not say Europe or Christian nationalist. These adjectives are especially reserved for us. So next time, when you see this... just observe how wrongly they are reading into it. This country is getting to do more with the world not less," the Foreign Minister further said.

At 200 G20 meetings, India wants to invite the world to see the "positive sentiments", Jaishankar further highlighted on the country taking over the presidency.

The Marathi version of his book was unveiled by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In his address before taking questions, the Foreign Minister asserted that India has the potential to lead the world.