New Delhi, May 11, 2025 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, “1971 was a great achievement, Indira Gandhi rewrote the map of the subcontinent, but the circumstances were different. Bangladesh was fighting a moral cause, and liberating Bangladesh was a clear objective. Just keeping on firing shells at Pakistan is not a clear objective.”
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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,
00:26an evolving document, a document that is relevant to the lives of every Indian,
00:30but 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.
00:43It'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, it'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,
01:11and the Congress Party is saying that Indira is iron-leadding.
01:14You see, the fact is that, to my mind,
01:17we had reached a stage where the escalation was needlessly getting out of control.
01:22So peace is necessary for us.
01:25The truth is that the circumstances of 1971 are not the circumstances of 2025.
01:30There are differences.
01:32As 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.
01:40Ask the people of Punj how many have died since this war began
01:44and the shelling from the Pakistanis.
01:45I'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
02:05who did the horrors of Helgaam.
02:07But as far as this particular conflict with Pakistan was concerned,
02:12there 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,
02:21of growth, development, progress.
02:23I think the peace is the right way to go at this stage.
02:26Sir, India's position on terrorism will remain the same.
02:30Our position on terrorism will not change.
02:32Other measures have to be taken.
02:39I think we have to definitely use all the intelligence means available
02:42to 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.
02:55It may take years.
02:56But we will have to do it.
02:57No one should be allowed to get away with killing innocent Indian civilians.
03:01But that doesn't mean we should put the entire nation at risk in a prolonged war.
03:05So I'm in favor of peace.
03:07But I do not in any way suggest that we should stop the quest
03:11to find these terrorists and bring them to justice.
03:15One last question, sir.
03:16Are you happy with Prime Minister Modi's trap?
03:18And 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
03:46and 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,
03:58a 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.
04:07We 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 seventh as the beginning or the opening salvo of a long,
04:29protracted 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.
04:36It was getting to a point where if it continued like this, we would needlessly have been caught
04:41into a long-drawn-out war without a clear objective at the end of it.
04:46Liberating Bangladesh is a clear objective.
04:48Just keeping on firing shells at Pakistan is not a clear objective.
04:51You see the difference.