External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday took a dig at Western hypocrisy which was at display during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
Jaishankar, while interacting with members of Indian community in Luxembourg, said that countries that are miles away say that they get worried if there is tension, but refuse to look inwards, what risks lie in their own region.
“So those who are willing to work with us and be helpful, positive, we have to deal with them in that way. Those who do the kind of things which Pakistan does, we have to deal with it in a different way,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar remarked sardonically at the way several countries advise the others on how to deal with their local conflicts, often without thinking.
“Now, to what extent does the developments in the rest of the world affect it? It’s hard to say. People sitting far away will say things, sometimes with application of mind, sometimes not, sometimes with a self-interest, sometimes carelessly. That will happen. But at the end of the day, I can tell you, whatever you might say, in this day and age, countries are more, I don’t want to say they become more selfish, but they will do things only if it is of direct benefit to them. They’ll offer you free advice. If something happens, say, no, please don’t do that. It worries us if there is tension,” he said.
Jaishankar recounted how during Operation Sindoor launched by India, several countries advised India on how it should conduct itself, and India accepted it as the way of the world and moved on.
“Sometimes you hear people say, like it happened during Operation Sindoor. Now if you ask them, say, oh really you’re worried, why don’t you look at your own region? And ask yourself, what are the levels of violence there, how much risks have been taken, how much worry the rest of us have about what you are doing. But that’s the nature of the world. People, what they say is not what they do. And we have to accept it in that spirit as well,” he said.
Apart from this, Jaishankar said his remarks spanned political, business and technology domains.
In a post on X, he said, “Glad to interact with members of Indian community in Luxembourg today. Underlined the significant deepening of our partnership with Luxembourg across political, business and technology domains. Appreciate the contributions of our diaspora in deepening India – Luxembourg ties.”