New Delhi: Maintaining that India will continue to tread the "middle path" on Iraq,
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha on April 19 said there was no need to panic
over possible US intervention in its affairs, nor should there be any apprehension
that Indo-US relations were on the verge of collapse.
Observing that government had chosen to adopt the middle path on Iraq after
considerable deliberation, he said, "India will go to neither extremes. We will
continue to balance the pursuit of our national interests with our principles."
Delivering the second Rajendra Mathur Memorial lecture organised by the Editors
Guild of India, he said, "Neither will we sell our souls to others nor will we
pursue blindly antagonistic policies for the sake of antagonism."
While pursuing the middle path might be a lonely endeavour, "but if that is what our
national interests dictate, we shall proceed on this path with conviction and
determination", he said.
Noting that there was no dearth of advice on foreign policy issues, Sinha said he
would like to make it clear that "we neither need to panic over possible US
intervention in our affairs nor should there be concern that our relations with the
US are on the verge of collapse".
The Minister asserted that India cannot remain silent simply out of fear of
incurring the displeasure of others.
Emphasising that Indo-US relations should not be viewed through the prism of only
one issue, he said these ties were based on a whole host of objective factors, which
continue to bring the two countries closer.
Sinha said there were some in the country who believed that India should have been
in the trenches fighting the US and UK with the Republican Guards of Saddam Hussein.
There were others who would have liked India to be a "vassal state" and to
subordinate its thought and action to the rich and the powerful.
He said, on the issue of terrorism, which impinged on the very core of country's
security and the well being of its people, India would remain steadfast and single-
minded in the pursuit of its national interests.
Cautioning that these were "trying times", he said a "new reality" with far-reaching
implications confronted the country in West Asia and a fresh chapter in history was
being written.
He said the military action in Iraq had caused "great anguish" in India and
Parliament had given voice to the widespread concern of the people.
While it was still "too premature" for firm conclusions to be drawn on the direction
of future events, he said much had changed as a result of Iraq.
As far as India was concerned, pre or post Iraq, one of the most critical challenges
that confronted it was the menace of terrorism.
He said there was a tendency amongst some to condone terrorism in some places, while
condemning it elsewhere. "Such lenience will only boomerang on everyone," he said.
PTI
