Tag: M.J. Akbar

India to Pakistan: Peace or peace talks, decide….

- by India Writes Network

A day after an international court stayed the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer accused of spying, India signalled its wariness with Pakistan by stressing that asking for peace talks are an excuse for avoiding real peace and reflect a position that “may be hypocritical.”
“When anyone asks for peace talks, it does not necessarily mean that that country is asking for peace. And one has to measure that difference very carefully,” Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar said in the Indian capital New Delhi after launching a pioneering journal on international affairs, entitled “India and World” on May 19.
“Do you want peace or do you want peace talks as an excuse for a position that may be hypocritical? And our reaction will be based on the larger assessment of what you mean,” said the minister, without naming Pakistan. Published by India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and edited by Manish Chand, a well-known foreign affairs analyst and author of “Journeys Across Continents: A New India on the Global Stage,” India and World seeks to present India’s viewpoints on pressing international issues and debates amid shifting global equations and a mutating world order. The birth of a new publication on global affairs is a cause for celebrations at a time when India’s engagement with the world is steadily expanding, said Mr Akbar.

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Toasting India-Thailand Sanskrit Bonding: Honouring Princess Sirindhorn

- by Shweta Aggarwal

It was a time for Indo-Thai cultural bonding. Sanskrit and sanskriti (culture) blended beautifully as Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was conferred the first World Sanskrit Award in the Indian capital on November 21.
“The Thai language is very different from Sanskrit. But culturally it’s very similar,” the Thai princess said after receiving the first Sanskrit award instituted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). It’s a great honour to receive it from the Vice President of the country. The award included US$ 20,000, a citation and a lapel pin.
Sirindhorn, fondly called by Thais as “Phra Thep” (“princess angel”), has emerged as a top contender for the crown in Thailand after the recent death of the country’s beloved monarch. A well-regarded scholar of Sanskrit, the 60-year-old Thai Princess has served as Royal Patron for the World Sanskrit Conference.
In his speech, Vice-President Hamid Ansari evoked the beauty and depth of the Sanskrit language in which many of India’s iconic religious and philosophical texts were written.
Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar underscored the effortless spread of Sanskrit to foreign countries over the years, and cited it as an example of India’s soft power. “Sanskrit did not travel with arms and is the first true evidence of what we today call soft power,” he said.

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