Lisa Curtis, a former U.S. government official who dealt with Jaishankar during the 2005 nuclear deal negotiations as well as in his time at the Indian Embassy in Washington, said he has acquired a “sharper edge” in recent years but has always been effective at communicating India’s position. “Since he’s so steeped in the issues and so articulate on global matters, that helps India to put forward a good face on the international scene,” said Curtis, now a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. “I think he’s helped India immensely in being accepted as a global power.”
Jaishankar’s pugilistic zeal has also extended to defending Modi’s Hindu-nationalist ideology, including against criticism about its more illiberal elements and the treatment of minorities in India over the past decade, with increased instances of violence against Muslims in particular. “Are there people in any country, including India, who others would regard as extremist? I think it depends on your point of view,” Jaishankar said during the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi in February when asked by an FP reporter how those concerns might impact India’s global standing. “Some of it may be true. Some of it may be politics.”
Read the full story and more from Foreign Policy.
Author
-
Lisa Curtis
Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program
Lisa Curtis is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS. She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in...
