INDIAPOSITIVE
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2014
- Messages
- 9,318
- Reaction score
- -28
- Country
- Location
NEW DELHI: India may be pounding Pakistan heavily on the border in retaliation to its continued ceasefire violations, but minister of state (MoS) for home Kiren Rijiju feels New Delhi does not need to be hawkish on Pakistan and must let go of its obsession with the neighbour.
Speaking at an event in the capital, Rijiju said India should retain its image of a soft state as that is its strength. He, however, qualified his statement with the caveat that it should, however, be firm in defending itself.
The minister was speaking at the second RV Raju Memorial Lecture organized by National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Speaking after senior journalist Shekhar Gupta, who delivered the lecture titled 'Pakistan and Neighbourhood—A Hawkish Attitude', Rijiju said, "We are a natural soft power. We don't need to be hawkish (vis-a-vis neighbourhood). We should not tinker with our international image of being a soft power."
Speaking on Pakistan, Rijiju said, "I think Indians and Pakistanis should not be obsessed with each other. If we need to be a superpower, we need to let go of our Pakistan obsession."
He, however, said that "our apparatus does not need to be soft" and that India should be firm in defending itself.
READ ALSO: Pakistan supporting proxy war in J&K, Army chief says
Pakistan has to make a conscious choice of peace with India: Arun Jaitley
The minister seemed to echo a growing view in the foreign policy establishment in the country that Pakistan is a mere irritant and not a strategic threat to India and that India is far more powerful, bigger and economically well-off to be obsessed with Pakistan.
He also seemed to agree with Gupta who quipped that certain "idiots" on prime time news were trying to give direction to Indian response to Pakistan. Warning against giving in to media frenzy, Rijiju said, "We should not jump (in response to TV debates). TV debates are not taking India to the right place."
He also said much of the obsession with Pakistan was limited to North India albeit due to historical reasons.
"Northern part of India is obsessed with Pakistan and it is overriding our attitude. We don't need to bring in Pakistan in all dimensions (of governance in India)," Rijiju said.
The minister also spoke against the need for any special law to tackle terrorism, even though it was the last NDA government which brought in POTA. The minister instead pushed for greater efficiency of counter-terror agencies. "People often feel the need for an extraordinary law to tackle terrorism. I feel the agency and its efficiency matter more," Rijiju said.
The minister's statements come in the backdrop of India's strong response to cross-border fire from Pakistan under the Narendra Modi regime and repeated demands from NIA for a special anti-terror law.
Kiren Rijiju: Pakistan obsession is a north Indian thing - The Times of India
Speaking at an event in the capital, Rijiju said India should retain its image of a soft state as that is its strength. He, however, qualified his statement with the caveat that it should, however, be firm in defending itself.
The minister was speaking at the second RV Raju Memorial Lecture organized by National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Speaking after senior journalist Shekhar Gupta, who delivered the lecture titled 'Pakistan and Neighbourhood—A Hawkish Attitude', Rijiju said, "We are a natural soft power. We don't need to be hawkish (vis-a-vis neighbourhood). We should not tinker with our international image of being a soft power."
Speaking on Pakistan, Rijiju said, "I think Indians and Pakistanis should not be obsessed with each other. If we need to be a superpower, we need to let go of our Pakistan obsession."
He, however, said that "our apparatus does not need to be soft" and that India should be firm in defending itself.
READ ALSO: Pakistan supporting proxy war in J&K, Army chief says
Pakistan has to make a conscious choice of peace with India: Arun Jaitley
The minister seemed to echo a growing view in the foreign policy establishment in the country that Pakistan is a mere irritant and not a strategic threat to India and that India is far more powerful, bigger and economically well-off to be obsessed with Pakistan.
He also seemed to agree with Gupta who quipped that certain "idiots" on prime time news were trying to give direction to Indian response to Pakistan. Warning against giving in to media frenzy, Rijiju said, "We should not jump (in response to TV debates). TV debates are not taking India to the right place."
He also said much of the obsession with Pakistan was limited to North India albeit due to historical reasons.
"Northern part of India is obsessed with Pakistan and it is overriding our attitude. We don't need to bring in Pakistan in all dimensions (of governance in India)," Rijiju said.
The minister also spoke against the need for any special law to tackle terrorism, even though it was the last NDA government which brought in POTA. The minister instead pushed for greater efficiency of counter-terror agencies. "People often feel the need for an extraordinary law to tackle terrorism. I feel the agency and its efficiency matter more," Rijiju said.
The minister's statements come in the backdrop of India's strong response to cross-border fire from Pakistan under the Narendra Modi regime and repeated demands from NIA for a special anti-terror law.
Kiren Rijiju: Pakistan obsession is a north Indian thing - The Times of India
if you know what I mean
