External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday said there must be a foreign policy for 'Viksit Bharat'. He added that changes in foreign policy were needed given a “changing landscape.”
“When we talk about changing foreign policy and there is talk of a post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be treated as a political attack,” the minister said while addressing the launch of India's World magazine. Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan heads the editorial team of the magazine.
In his address, Jaishankar identified four important factors that he believes should make people in India actually ask themselves, “What changes are needed in foreign policy?”
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“One, and I happened to be talking about this yesterday, for many, many years we had what someone else very aptly summarized as the 'Nehru model of development'. That was yesterday from Dr. Arvind Panagariya published book.” PTI quoted the minister as saying.
“A 'Nehru model of development' has inevitably given rise to a 'Nehru foreign policy' and we are trying to correct this abroad” just as efforts are being made to reform the consequences of the model at home,” Jaishankar had said in his statement on Saturday Virtual lecture said speech at the launch of the book “The Nehru Development Model”.
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“The Nehru model of development gave birth to a Nehru foreign policy”: Jaishankar
Addressing the event on Sunday, he reiterated that a “Nehru model of development” had produced a “Nehru foreign policy”.
“I mean, it was obvious. And it wasn't just what was happening in our country, there was an international landscape in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s that was bipolar. Then there was a unipolar landscape. And both landscapes have also changed,” the Foreign Minister added.
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“In addition, in the last two decades or so there has been very intense globalization, strong interdependence between countries. “In some ways, the relationships and behavior of states towards each other have changed,” he said.
“Finally, if you look at technology, technology on foreign policy, technology on the ability of the state, technology on our daily lives, that has changed too,” he added.
“So if the domestic model has changed, if the landscape has changed, if the behavior patterns of states have changed and if the instruments of foreign policy have changed, how can foreign policy remain the same,” he argued.
“My point to you today is, when we talk about changing foreign policy, when there is talk of a post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be treated as a political attack. I mean, it was not necessary for Narendra Modi to do this. Narasimha Rao started it,” Jaishankar added.
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“So I think we have to be down-to-earth, we have to be realistic, we have to be practical in this country, and the foreign policy discourse within Track 2 and between Track 2 and Track 1 will certainly improve as we move forward.” this direction,” said the EAM.
In his address, Jaishankar also stressed that a vision for a developed India requires a foreign policy for 'Viksit Bharat'.
“If our aim today is to become a Viksit Bharat, then surely there must be a foreign policy for Viksit Bharat. And this foreign policy, I would say, we had pointed out about a decade ago that India needs to start thinking about how you can be more ambitious and plan ahead,” the EAM said.
(With PTI inputs)