@@sudhakarrao4907 Agreed. Full credit to Jaishankar. Also, Sushmaji was sick which was not made public, I guess, necessitating travel by Mr. Modi. Modi ji hugging and fawning, especially calling Obama by first name was a blunder.
Mr. Thapar should stop speculative "baiting" - these high-level government honchos are too clever to fall into that trap - we've seen it before. Loved how Mr. Menon persistently and elegantly pushed his own POV [with examples] and sidetracked all the sensationalism. btw, 'behind the scenes' is where all the big-time international political deals happen... always!! The public attention is diverted = fed mush through media :-)
It seemed to me as Karan Thapar getting clarifications (not baiting) on speculations by western media from Shivshankar Menon. As for, these high-level government honchos being too clever --- i suggest an article by IPS N C Asthana on "The Wire" itself, titled -- "The Civil Services Have Failed to Deliver and It's Time to Reconsider Their Importance."
@@rajdeepsarkar8113 you didn't even watched it whole, a journalist has to rub you off to get you going around a certain delicate dissection that he wants from his esteemed panel's side, he is there to make all factions of society understand in depth, what's there at stake.
Karan Thapar will do well in future interviews to let his guest complete what he or she has to say. Frankly it is quite annoying to hear Karan Thapar’s interruptions, especially when Shivshankar Menon was articulating nuances. It was quite a treat listening to Shivshankar Menon though.
@@AmreshTripathi - yes, which is why I sometimes think the word interview is misleading. Seems more like an attempt to steer narratives and opinions than understand the issue at hand. Barkha dutt - of course I’m aware and follow her programs as well. And I do think she is far more vocal is pushing talking points and agendas that are in line with her views than doing any “unbiased” debating.
After listening him I again feel more indebted to sardar patel as he kept civil services intact despite it had a British legacy. What a stream of clear thought with resolve determination n solution. No where in popular media I get to see such thoughtful opinions. As long as civil service is impartial, in my opinion india can glide through any difficulties
Fun fact: His grandfather was India's first foreign secretary and his maternal uncle was also a notable foreign secretary, both of whom have played key roles in India's diplomacy.
Dont you think people like menon are very rare? I still dont agree with the fact why an ias is more competant for finance secretary post in comparison with the person who research 30+years in finance and economy?
@@8_adityasinghrawat319 I believe he would be more competent but at d same time he would be adamant n reluctant too on few things which he may not like n govt. would be left red faced. So there better utilization is in d form of economic advisor. Remember govt. wants to retain power too n for that a generalist is better option to move a policy from file to fields..u may still disagree but I think so☺
@@antxaveace I wish to see someone like Jayalalitha emerges again in TN to run off Stalin with his mundu off like Jayalalitha did to his misogynistic father, Karunanidhi.
This was like a taut chess game between a journalistic need to paint things black and white and a diplomatic need to keep things ambiguous and in the balance. Mr. Thapar had an initial +2 lead with the "war" and "invasion" concession, but couldn't penetrate the black fort and ended up resigning. 😀
Modi Government has been doing excellent job for India from 2014 . Foreign diplomacy has become more matured and stronger. It is purely visionary government. 🙏
The most honest and balanced discussion on the issue. “We must not underestimate the Russian need for agency when it comes to Asia” well said, Russia could help mediate talks between China and India. Also “Russia can not replace the west for us” 👏
Russia is in China's pocket whichever you dice it...this is Indian's folly that Russia will mediate between India and China. Mediate it will but the terms of India's surrender to China..as has been the case in last two years...when they gave India wrong info about China's intent on Military Exercise in Tibet. Not sure when India will see the obvious.
Foreign policy cannot be formulated and implemented through the media. Much of it is conducted secretly and behind the scenes.Thapar should appreciate this and lower his sights and not poke his nose into areas beyond his relevance or competence.
Likes of K Thapar in the family rule days had power to formulate foreign policy of India for the govt of that day in return for goodies. Now their crib is, they are no more part of governance n day dreaming to good old days
For such a senior journalist, Mr Thapar often comes across as an amateur (tabloid) journalist in this interview. The petty baiting, the constant interruption and just the way he conducts himself, give one the impression that Mr Thapar is completely out his league here. Contrast that with Mr Menon’s dignified presence, thoughtful responses and just overall professionalism, you wonder if he agreed to sit down with the crabby Thapar as a favor! That said, this is an important interview and a perspective that you don’t get from the western media. Mr Menons experience and insight are invaluable.
Firstly, coming to the genesis of The Wire.(phobic behaviour) It was founded in 2015 by Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia, and MK Venu[1]. Mr. Varadarajan, a US citizen of Indian descent, is the former editor of The Hindu. The Hindu is well known for its inclination towards communist ideology[2]. However, under the leadership of Mr. Varadarajan, biased printing of news in The Hindu reached a level that its own board of the directors accused him of diverging from the core values of The Hindu. Now you can imagine the biasedness level of The Wire, as even the well known Hinduphobic and communist Mr. N Ram (owner of The Hindu group) found him biased. During the tenure of Mr. Varadajan at The Hindu, the most part of the newspapers were filled with political news. His political link with the Congress was so strong that a journalist of The Hindu named Shalini Singh broke the news of Vadra scam in 2012 but it has taken seven long months to The Hindu to carry out the story[3]. The such exaggeration of biasedness begin to sopil the image of The Hindu. Also, Mr. Subramanian Swamy filed a case in Delhi high court to challenge the appointment of Mr. Varadarajan as the chief editor of The Hindu mentioning his US citizenship. Due to these growing controversies, board of the directors of The Hindu decided to oust him from the editorial board of the Hindu. To pursue his dream of spreading hatred towards a particular ideology and support his political fathers, he founded The Wire with Sidharth Bhatia, a well known hinduphobic, and MK Venu, his friend and former journalist of The Hindu. The story does not end here. Mr. Varadarajan’s wife, Nadini Sundar, professor of Socilogy at Delhi School of Economics, is in contact with Naxals as revealed by an arrested naxal, named Panda[4]. So, these are the facts and now it is up to you to decide whether The Wire is biased or unbiased. Thanks for reading!
@@rohana7646 it is also BJP propaganda. NO media is free even druv rathee , deshbhakt , news laundry , Elvis yadav all are propaganda with ulterior motives . THE Print is quit fair I would say
no previous interview has exposed the super western-media bias in Karan Thapar as this one. Mr. Menon is the ideal picture of practical foreign diplomacy in response to his unnecessary paranoia.
Good interview Mr. Thapar. Mr. Menon spoke well as a seasoned diplomate. In international politics, what's lacking is calling a spade a spade. If India or another country succumb to US or EU pressure and does not address Russia's legitimate concerns of bringing NATO at its doorsteps, that would not be very intelligent. No permanent friends are permanent foes; countries make foreign policies based on their existential needs and long-term objectives. India should talk to China, and both of these most populous countries on the planet earth should work on the d-escalation of this crisis before its gets more dangerous. There are no winners if the conflict gets out of hand and Russia introduces more lethal weapons in NATO in Ukraine or if the battle spreads from conventional to semi-conventional weapons use and war grows to a larger scale. NATO and the USA are in an avoidable situation, simply by ensuring that Putin's backyard is safe and there will not be any NATO missiles in Kyiv. Russia had legitimate concerns about Ukraine joining NATO; no western government had the moral courage to address that concern. Instead, under the US leadership, it made it worse and put Putin in a closed alley to act in an evil, violent and inhumane way. I think India is very close to Russia and the USA; it has a role to play in preventing inflation and economic fall out of the present crisis. Condemning Putin's actions is the right thing to do, and it does not mean that India is abandoning relations with Russia. It would instead earn India respect and the place of an honest broker to find a reasonable escape route for Russia. And give the USA and its allies the reality check; respecting Russia's legitimate concerns is the only way forward. You don't corner nuclear weapon state countries because the consequences can be unimaginable.
Without watching the whole interview, the monsoon frogs are here to cackle, no gives a fuck about Modi, in this dissection of course of war, modi is guided by executive forces at his helm, thats the Indian deep state, and they are and will remain more knowledgeable and profound around their decision making than modi.
This made things clear for me. Neither could I trust western media nor Indian media. This gave a perfect clear picture. This war and what happening is actually taking my time.
I saw videos of Russian troops entering Kharkiv, the second largest city of Ukraine on and the protestors circling the troops with Ukrainian flags. The Russian military could have attacked them easily but they didnt, they just stood there. The 40 mile Russian convoy to Kiev is also moving slow. I feel that Russia is strategically playing safe and slow as for now. But it seems that Putin is hellbent on occupying Kyiv at all cost. It's only a matter of time when Russian blitzkrieg would go in full throttle capturing the whole of East , South and the capital. He did the same thing while annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Sai Nair. You may be right but I feel they know it would be pretty futile. If you look at all the recent American campaigns in the Middle East, you could say , they won every one of them but Amrica has never won the peace in any one of these countries. They have left a legacy of hate everywhere. Just as it is good policy to live in peace with your neighbours, countries have to live in peace and friendship both with their immediate and distant neighbours. In a globalised world , wars bring misery to everybody, every nation.
A blitzkieg or a shock and awe approach has nothing for Russia and they know it. The last thing they want on their border is the instability of a civil war, and that's what they wanted to stop, as Mr. Menon pointed out. A typically American approach (as in Iraq) destroying infrastructure with heavy weapons and airstrikes, with no regard for civilian casualties, would result in the very antithesis of stability. They have no intention of occupying the country, they have simply not enough troops for the purpose. That is why they will be soft and slow all the way. Experience, both first and second hand proves that an occupation will be a disaster. Killing civilians is the best way to make resistance real.
Mr Thapar should acknowledge the intellect he is interacting with and let the gentleman finish a sentence. His constant interruptions are nothing but annoyance.
One other aspect that i wish KT had asked... of the not so subtle US overthrow of a clearly elected govt in 2014 in Ukraine? Could that have been the start of all that we are seeing today..
Karan Thapar and his class just should not interview people like SS Menon... Thapar and his class just gets schooled by them live. Thapar is so dependant on hypothetical situations for constructing his questions to a man who has vast experience in seeing through all the crap and being objective. Thapar might be good at Debate, but Shri. Menon is a seasoned diplomat.
A valuable time and experience of an intelligent Guest wasted by an arrogant, irritable, all- knowing and hypothesis filled 😎 mind of Mr Thapar. He would not allow Mr Menon to complete a sentence leaving us at bay as to what's there . Thapar comes with an agenda and insists that others tore his line. He should allow the guest to put his views, logic and reasons ,but we are denied that valuable part because Thapar objects/ interests midway.
Vinash’s train of thought is with Sanghis . And you vinash fails to comprehend that your icon choukidhar and his polices are nothing to be commended . Your perception turns ultimately to be destructive VINASH
This is sample of our diplomats...we know what is our line...you and even US can not cross it..Don't forget..this is Grt Chanakasya land..bow to Menon sir..
But we had a Russia/NATO agreement on the ground of cooperation and restrictions of troop deployment on both sides, and Russia has violated this agreement again and again, for example by stationing medium range Missiles in the Kaliningrad enclave. Only after 2014 and the annexation of Crimea has NATO deployed more troops, and was committed to invest a greater amount of resources in Central Europe, and there was not even a thought about the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territories of Ukraine, that's why the Cuba as a reference is illegitimate.
Shiva Shankar Menon has correctly portrayed India's diplomatic response to the Russo-Ukranian conflict as the voice of reason and good sense and an honest party to broker peace. As is the tradition pursuing an independent foreign policy based on national interests is the best bet to a safer world
If you study the invasions of Russia or the Soviet Union in the past ,you will soon realize that there were always logistics issues which cropped up right through the duration of Russia be it Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion on 1812 or Hitler's invasion in 1941 ,what happened is so vast was the expanse of land that the invading armies were always falling short of spare parts for tanks or cannons or any other war machinery needed to carry on the war as quickly as possible,the same is happening now even though Ukraine is very small compared in size to Russia
Looking at the performance of Russian military equipment in the Ukraine war, we have a lot to worry about if this is the 'superpower' we are reliant on for our supplies.
A interesting interview. Seems more a battle of intelligence and views between Thapar and Menon. You need to ensure that it is India first - always! Self reliance is key. The Ukraine war is awful but look at history- the West servicing its needs - it tends to forget history and that too conveniently. Upshot the war should end and India help minds meet between the Ukraine and Russia
Mr. Shivshankar played a fantastic role in handling the genocide of the Tamil people in Srilanka! Just abet the SL govt to go on a killing spree. What an expert, always pleasure to hear!
Shivshankar Menon: "Modi Govt Handled Ukraine Crisis Well". Karan Thapar: (sotto voce) "This is not going well.....hmmm....another "Hindutvawadi" in disguise"? Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia, and M. K. Venu: "Okay, okay, you think Modi handled it well, but at least say something about Gujarat riots, demonetisation, COVID pandemic aftereffects, or whatever that shows Modi in bad light!". "Haan, aur jaate jaate 'Laal Salaam' thok dena".
8:53 - is it just me or do other also notice the KT has is hand reaching out & ready to interrupt everytime the guest begins to speak. does he even listen to the answer and understand the response?!?
The whole evacuation point I don't agree with. Last I checked they picked up these kids from countries that already have air services to India. I mean they might as well have paid for the tickets on commercial airways. Maybe sending our own flights was cheaper, who knows but it sure gave opportunities for photo ops.
Ukraine is not like Poland, or the other nations which were not like the Soviet Union. Perhaps, Russia and Ukraine identified with each other in the Soviet Union, like they didn't with any other Soviet state. Russia should have nurtured this relationship, and carried it forward. How can the Ukrainian President decide to join NATO? He is very popular in his nation today, but he may be elected out of office if he is not removed due to the current war, and his successor might want to be friendly with Russia. Ukraine would then leave NATO, in the circumstances mentioned. Is this how NATO and Ukraine's leadership want politics to play out in Europe? What is wrong for Ukraine if it remains friendly and neutral with both NATO and Russia? But, neither NATO nor Russia believe that this can be a possibility.
Dear Mr Thappar, i have always been fascinated by your questioning and interview techniques, but one of the main issue that i have seen emanating from your tactic is that you just don't have that elan in you to accept the opposite guy i.e. the interviewee is also a substantially intelligent, eloquent, erudite person and oftentimes i have seen you seem to feel 'threatrned' by this that u try to demonstrate your intellectual prowess by really uncalled for interjections and almost choking the flow of thought of the the person you are interviewing. If hat is, and we can also argue it is a part of your strategy, i get the impression, as part of the audience that it is not working.. So as Bertie Wooster would have said, 'less of it' ! Ofcourse Menon was not adept and dusolaulyed such character in his response despite being interrupted, which clearly helped show what a great person he is.. But the session was fantastic and really we all know your style will not change but listening fully too is a good strategy..what say?
1. Instead of worrying about evacuating 20,000+ Indians out of Ukraine, Karan is bothered about other peripheral issues, trying to make a case that Modi bungled badly. 2. Given his angularities, it is surprising that Menon came out with unambiguous positive response about Modi Govt doing very well. 3. Menon has otherwise come out with excellent explanations on various issues discussed.
