Shashi Tharoor SLAMS War Rhetoric: ‘1971 Had a Moral Cause, Today It's Just Shells’

yesterday

Shashi Tharoor sparks debate by comparing today’s Indo-Pak tensions to the 1971 war. He praised Indira Gandhi’s leadership, saying the Bangladesh war had a moral cause and clear objective, unlike today’s shelling without purpose. Tharoor’s bold remarks question the current military approach and call for strategic clarity.

#ShashiTharoor #IndoPakTensions #1971War #IndiraGandhi #BangladeshLiberation #IndiaPakistan #India

🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE

For More Updates:

English: https://newsable.asianetnews.com/

Hindi: https://hindi.asianetnews.com/

Malayalam: https://www.asianetnews.com/

Kannada: https://kannada.asianetnews.com/

Tamil: https://tamil.asianetnews.com/

Telugu: https://telugu.asianetnews.com/

Bengali: https://bangla.asianetnews.com/

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsianetNewsa...

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AsianetNewsEN

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ann.newsable/

➡ If you like our video, give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel to get the daily dosage of news, entertainment, sports and more.

Transcript

00:00The truth is that the circumstances of 1971 are not the circumstances of 2025.

00:05We just wanted to teach the terrorists a lesson.

00:08That lesson has been taught.

00:10Today's Pakistan is a different situation.

00:13Their equipment, their military equipment, the damage they can do, everything is different.

00:17If Pakistan did not escalate, we would not have escalated.

00:19Pakistan did, we also did.

00:21The whole idea of this book launch is to celebrate the Constitution as a living document, an evolving document.

00:27A document that is relevant to the lives of every Indian, but it takes different shape at different times.

00:33We've had 106 amendments since it was first passed.

00:35There have been a number of judgments of the Supreme Court that have changed the way it applies.

00:40There have been serious issues, disputes, cases going on.

00:44It's all part of the fabric of the political, social life of Indians every day, not just legal.

00:50So it's a book that tries to demystify the Constitution for ordinary people.

00:53It's not written for lawyers.

00:55It's not written for constitutional scholars.

00:57But for you and me, just to appreciate what the Constitution means in our lives.

01:01Sir, a big development happened between India and Pakistan.

01:05What's your take on it?

01:06Because now on all social media, Indira Gandhi is trending and Congress Party is saying that Indira is Ireland ready.

01:14You see, the fact is that, to my mind, we had reached a stage where the escalation was needlessly getting out of control.

01:22Peace is necessary for us.

01:25The truth is that the circumstances of 1971 are not the circumstances of 2025.

01:30There are differences.

01:31As far as I'm concerned, I believe that the people of India deserve peace.

01:37We have suffered a lot.

01:38We have lost a lot of casualties.

01:39Asked the people of Punsh, how many have died since this war began and the shelling from the Pakistanis.

01:46I'm not saying that we should always stop wars.

01:51When there are reasons to continue them, we should continue.

01:54But this was not a war we intended to continue.

01:56We just wanted to teach the terrorists a lesson.

02:00That lesson has been taught.

02:01I'm sure the government will continue trying to identify and track the specific individuals who did the horrors of Helgaam.

02:08But as far as this particular conflict with Pakistan was concerned, there was no reason to risk the loss of more lives and limbs and fortunes.

02:18We need to focus on the well-being and prosperity of Indian people, of growth, development, progress.

02:24I think the peace is the right way to go at this stage.

02:26I'm sure India's position on terrorism will remain the same.

02:30Our position on terrorism will not change.

02:32The way the government took a few steps, like inter-voters will be suspended, there will be other measures also.

02:37Other measures have to be taken.

02:39I think we have to definitely use all the intelligence means available to find these people who did this terrible crime in Helgaam,

02:46to identify them, track them down wherever they are and bring them to justice.

02:51That is indispensable.

02:53It may not happen overnight.

02:54It may take months, it may take years, but we will have to do it.

02:57No one should be allowed to get away with killing innocent Indian civilians.

03:02But that doesn't mean we should put the entire nation at risk in a prolonged war.

03:05So I'm in favor of peace, but I do not in any way suggest that we should stop the quest to find these terrorists and bring them to justice.

03:15One last question, sir.

03:15Are you happy with Prime Minister Modi's trap and you're still missing Indira Gandhi ji?

03:20Look, I think 1971 was a great achievement of our history.

03:25I'm proud of it as an Indian.

03:26Indira Gandhi ji rewrote the map of the subcontinent.

03:29But the circumstances were different.

03:31Today's Pakistan is a different situation.

03:34Their equipment, their military equipment, the damage they can do, everything is different.

03:39And the circumstances of Bangladesh were fighting a moral cause to actually bring people to freedom and liberation.

03:47That was a completely different story.

03:50This is a different story.

03:51We would have ended up with a much longer protracted conflict with a lot of loss of life on both sides, a lot of damage, a lot of expense.

03:59Is this the biggest priority for India today?

04:02No, it's not.

04:03We wanted to teach those who had sent these terrorists across that there is a price to be paid.

04:08We still have to catch the individual terrorist perpetrators.

04:12But we do not need to tie the whole country down in a war.

04:16That is something I've been very clear about from the start.

04:19India did not, I believe, at any stage, see the action of the 7th as the beginning or the opening salvo of a long protracted conflict.

04:30For us, it was one-off.

04:31We'll do it.

04:32If Pakistan did not escalate, we would not have escalated.

04:35Pakistan did.

04:36We also did.

04:37It was getting to a point where if it continued like this, we would needlessly have been caught into a long-drawn-out war without a clear objective at the end of it.