Dr. S. Jaishankar,
Minister of External Affairs
Dr. S. Jaishankar – Congratulations – Democracies are
intermittently prone to throw surprises. One such surprise or say a wonder of
democracy happened on May 30 on the inclusion of Dr. S. Jaishankar in the
Cabinet of PM NarendraModi. It is a well deserved appointment, no doubt, but
the decision and gesture by NarendraModi and Amit Shah also require applause as
an ‘Out of
the Box' move. Dr. Jaishankar, one of the best diplomats of India,
has been allocated the most coveted Ministry of External Affairs and rightly
so. Is it the beginning of much needed ‘Out of the Box Diplomacy’, visualized
by the outgoing EAM SushmaSwaraj and PM NarendraModi in outset of their first
term in the government? If it is so, it is a welcome step to meet the
challenges of the future and to address the ongoing problems and issues in the
realm of India’s relations with the world and particularly with the countries
in our neighborhood. Dr. Jaishakar is
singularly suited to undertake and do the job with his vast experience and
intellect as one of the best diplomats of India. I wish him all success in the
years to come.
I thought of writing a few lines about Dr. S. Jaishankar too
with whom I have had the good fortune to work and interact. I first met him in
Colombo, Sri Lanka,sometime in 1987-88 in his office during one of my official
trips from Kandy where I was the Second Secretary. I was impressed by his easy
demeanor with a baby face look. I must say with haste that talking to him was
satisfying professionally and otherwise. I followed him in Tokyo in 2000. He
had left for his first Ambassadorial assignment in Prague. But Tokyo was full
of him both in the Embassy and outside, a competent professional with a humane
face. He was, as Deputy
Chief of Mission, the leader of the Embassy team to
face and deal with the resentment and anger of Japan, both the people and the
government, to India’s nuclear tests in 1998-99. Dr. Jaishankar was respected in Tokyo not
only as an excellent diplomat but also a simple and straight human being. It
was my good fortune that my association with Dr. Jaishankar was destined. From
Tokyo, I was posted to Prague, Czech Republic as a Counselor where he was the
Ambassador of India. I did not contact him on account of some non-professional
reasons which I will not like to write here. But I know that Dr. Jaishankar was
fully briefed, good or bad, about me by one of my immediate bosses in Tokyo. I
kept Ambassador Jaishankar informed of my travel plans and joining them at
Prague through my colleague and friend K.R. Chari, whom I affectionately called
Raja, ever since we both joined MEA in March, 1970. On reaching Prague sometime
in January, 2004, I met Ambassador Jaishankar in his office. He received me
with warmth and extended all the professional courtesies and made me at ease. I
was one of his admirers in the service. His stock in my mind went up and high
in the background of my presumed briefings from Tokyo. I found Dr. Jaishankar a through professional
in his work and a fine human being in social and personal etiquette. He
occasionally briefed the senior diplomats about the current issues and he
adviced the course of action in the process of the Embassy’s work. He also kept
the supporting staff in good humour and interacted with them. I being his Deputy
as No.2 of the Embassy as a Counselor and later Minister, Ambassador Jaishankar
treated me very kindly and gave me free hand to handle the assigned desk. I
vividly remember when he invited us to India House in Prague to watch a cricket
match between India and Pakistan as most of us did not have Sky TV facilities
at our residences. While we were watching the match, he along with his domestic
help, a young boy whom Ambassador Jaishankar liked very much, slipped out
quietly and brought loads of Dominos Pizzas and coke for a handy lunch. I
cherish that hospitable gesture of my honourable boss, Dr. S. Jaishankar.
As regards his thinking on the foreign policy of India in the
coming years, just before his appointment as the EAM, Dr. S. Jaishankar said, while speaking at the book launch of
‘Indian Foreign Policy : The Modi Era’ of Harsh Pant, that the country will
have to position itself by optimising ties with all the major players which
include “cultivating America, steadying Russia, managing China, enthusing Japan
and attending to Europe”. The challenges
are big and complex. Let us wish our man at the helm, Dr. S. Jaishankar all the
best in his new assignment as the EAM of India.
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