External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking about his new book, Why India Matters, in an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 Managing Editor Zakka Jacob, said he used examples from the Ramayana to look at India’s foreign policy journey in 75 years. Used as he wanted. Common people should join it.

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“This book highlights the profound transformation of our country in the last 10 years, domestic and foreign policy. In a globalized world, foreign policy matters even to average citizens. There may be problems, concerns and opportunities. Both the world and India are changing. The combination of the two made a book essential,” Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister further explained: “The purpose of the book is to communicate. In this book, I am not necessarily trying to communicate with foreign policy leaders or academics, but with the world beyond that. You need to communicate using something that people can easily connect with. Foreign policy can be complex for many people… so I wanted to use metaphors, analogies and narratives that any Indian can easily relate to. They should not be taken literally.”

For example, if you look at the world today and say there is a dominant power that is overconfident, then you have Ravana. He thinks he’s invincible, but there are chinks in his armor. Mankind is one of the important hassles. Or the idea of ​​forming a coalition to deal with the problems. This is all an idea of ​​diplomacy.”

“Diplomacy is not modern, it is as old as mankind. It is a complex skill. An example that people connect with is my mention of Hanuman as a diplomat. I interacted with a lot of youth… To show the power of knowledge, I have approached Vibhishan, not as a turncoat brother, but as a source of knowledge.

“Another Dasharatha has four sons, this is being compared to the Quad countries… This should not be taken literally, my aim here was to portray the comfort of shared values ​​and systems. As we grow up, our interests become larger and we need more partners. Diplomatically, we have bigger issues like who to partner with on which issues. We are not one of those friendly countries bound by fate. We have to take this decision continuously depending on the issue and the interests of us as well as other countries. It mentions how Ravana sends a magician to break the alliance of Lord Rama. It’s part of international relations,” he said.