Shashi Tharoor on Jan Ki Baat

The interview is about:

Pradip Bhandari, the CEO and Founder of Jan Ki Baat, spoke to Shashi Tharoor, a Member of Parliament and the Chairman of Parliamentary Committee for External Affairs, about the BRICS Summit of 2016 and Pakistan’s alienation from the discussion. Tharoor pointed out that India is a member of the BRICS whereas Pakistan isn’t and to that extent, Pakistan is not a part of the discussion. However, he also observed that Pakistan has bilateral relations with many of India’s regional neighbours and partners and these countries continue to maintain their cordiality with Pakistan. Cutting of Pakistan from these discussions would not be wise and neither would it happen so easily. Tharoor also remarked India’s divergence from the Chinese opinion; India disregarded the validity of terrorism as a solution to any problem and this is where “we disagree with the Chinese”.

The BRICS Summit 2016, held in Goa, was an occasion for its members, Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India, to cut across the geographical gaps and coordinate collectively on a variety of issues, from defence to technology. The Goa Declaration was adopted by the Summit; this Declaration, in Modi’s words, “lays down a comprehensive vision for our cooperation. Combating terrorism, including cross border terrorism will be a BRICS priority.”

The primary intentions of this Summit included hitting out at Pakistan, diplomatically and unanimously. However, this doesn’t imply Pakistan’s isolation and it continue to collaborate of its own relations with its neighbours, many of which it shares with India. Tharoor’s argument, of Indian idea of alienating Pakistan being unwise, does remain true, to an extent.

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