By Nirendra Dev
Some years back BJP patriarch L K Advani had lauded Sushma Swaraj’s oratorial genius and said in public speech – the External Affairs Minister has always given him inferiority complex.
On March 1, 2019 – as Ms Swaraj marks a major diplomatic achievement for the country by making her speech at the historic inaugural session – she certainly has given ‘inferiority complex’ to a galaxy of stalwarts in their heydays — who have served as Foreign Ministers of India.
Needless to add – her predecessors list include a few giants of our time – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pranab Mukherjee, I K Gujral, P V Narasimha Rao and of course Pt Jawaharlal Nehru himself.
Waxing eloquently – quoting Sura Al Hujurat, the 49th chapter of the Holy Koran, teachings of Sikhism and Swami Vivekananda – she told the OIC meet that at 50 (years of its foundation), the grouping of 57 Islamic countries – is making a ‘new beginning’.
“The choices you make, the direction you set, will have a profound impact on humanity. The OIC has a huge responsibility and a great opportunity to lift humanity to a higher level of peace and prosperity, and to make this planet a better place, not just for your people, but for rest of the world,” she said on a day Pakistan – thoroughly exposed and sidelined – decided to stay away from the meet.
The emphasis of a new beginning – may be also linked to ‘end’ of a phase for Pakistan.
Mark the contrast – in circa while Ms Swaraj, daughter of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) man from Ambala in Haryana on March 1, 2019 made India proud; in 1969 it was at the instance of Pakistan that invitation extended to then Minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, was cancelled.
Ahmed, who later became President, was not allowed to attend the Rabat conference even after he arrived in the Moroccan capital.
Today, a rather helpless looking Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in the joint session of parliament, that he had requested them (UAE) to review the decision (on invitation to India). But UAE summarily rejected his plea and said that ”We extended the invitation…it would be hard to retract the invitation”.
A milestone has been achieved. Pakistan – said to have been created in the name of religion – was forced to stay away from a formal meeting of foreign ministers of Islamic nation.
Known for her oratorial genius, Ms Swaraj did not stop at that and made absolute use of gift of the gab to point out – “Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion”.
This certainly dismantles Pakistan’s religion card linking it to terror.
Ms Swaraj also told the gathering: “The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion”.
“we will work with you to counter the language of hate with the message of harmony”.
Paying tributes to India’s age old diversity and co-existence, Ms Swaraj also took upon herself the role to tell the Islamic world and the global community that notwithstanding a huge number of Muslims – more than 185 million staying in India – “very few Muslims in India have fallen prey to the poisonous propaganda of radical and extremist ideologies”.
This is yet another milestone vis-a-vis the communal clamour of Pakistanis.
In a way – India’s western neighbour has again come before the mirror today after decades when in 1971 – their eastern wing despite being Muslim populated – thought of walking out of their embrace and Bangladesh was created.
Ms Swaraj did not forget to thank Bangladesh and also Saudi Arabia “and others friends, for their strong support, for hearing India’s voice in OIC meet”.
“The OIC members constitute more than one fourth of the members of the United Nations,” Ms Swaraj pointed out and stated clearly that this was nearly a quarter of the humanity.
Thus, the OIC is an organisation, that has a “key role in shaping our world”, said the External Affairs Minister at a turning phase of world history when there is a growing abhorrence towards many Islamic nations in various quarters.
