Raavan for Overconfident Power, Hanuman As Diplomat: EAM’s Book Explains Foreign Policy Through Ramayan | Exclusive Interview

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while speaking about his new book, Why Bharat Matters, in an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 Managing Editor Zakka Jacob, said he used examples from Ramayan to look at the India’s foreign policy journey over 75 years as he wanted common man to connect with it.

“The book looks at the last 10 years of our country, the profound transformation of the country and foreign policy. In a globalised world, foreign policy matters to average citizens too. There can be problems, anxieties and opportunities. The world and India, both are changing. The combination of the two mandated a book,” Jaishankar said.

The EAM further explained: “The purpose of a book is to communicate. In this book, I am not necessarily trying to communicate with foreign policy heads or academicians, but to the world beyond that. You need to communicate using something people can easily relate to. Foreign policy may be complex to many… So I wanted to use metaphors, analogies and narratives to which any Indian can easily relate. They are not to be taken literally.”

“For example, if you look at the world today and say there is a major power which is overconfident, then you have Raavan. He feels he is invulnerable, but he has chinks in his armour. The human race is one of the important chinks. Or the idea of creating coalitions to deal with problems. It is all an idea of diplomacy.”

“Diplomacy is not modern, it is as old as the human race. It’s a complex skill. An example that people relate to is my mention of Hanuman as a diplomat. I interacted with a lot of young people…To show the power of knowledge, I have approached Vibhishan, not as a defecting brother, but as a source of knowledge.”

“Another is the four sons of Dashrath, comparing it to the Quad countries…Not to be taken literally, my point here was to illustrate the comfort of shared values and systems. As we become bigger, our interests are greater and we need more partners. Diplomatically, we face larger issues like whom to partner with on which issue. We are not one of those allied countries which are bound because of any fortune. We have to constantly make that judgment, depending on the issue and the interests of other countries as well as ours. There is a mention of how Raavan sends a sorcerer to break Lord Ram’s alliance. This is part of international relations,” he said.