"When the country was facing a lot of challenges, what game was going on in the name of foreign policy is being exposed through this book," PM Narendra Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday,Feb 4, said those interested in foreign policy should read the book 'JFK's Forgotten Crisis', which sheds light on Jawaharlal Nehru's meetings with US President John F. Kennedy.
The book, titled 'JFK's Forgotten Crisis: Tibet, the CIA and the Sino-Indian War', is written by Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official.
It delves into the 1962 Sino-Indian War and how Nehru wrote to Kennedy to provide India with fighter jets against an aggressive China.
The book also throws light on Nehru and his diplomacy when the nation was facing challenging times. Social media users were quick to dig out controversial excerpts from the book which mention how Nehru was "interested" in "Pat Kennedy", the former US President's "attractive 27-year-old sister".
This was during Nehru's visit to the US on November 6, 1961.
“Some people feel they don’t look mature enough until they have spoken on foreign policy even if it means harming the country.
I have a suggestion for such people — if they really have interest in foreign policy, they should read “JFK’s Forgotten Crisis”, Modi said.
The remark is being seen as a counter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's assertion in Parliament that the government sent the External Affairs Minister "three or four times" to the US to secure an invitation for PM Modi to Donald Trump's inauguration.
PM Modi was replying to the motion of thanks on the President's address in the Lok Sabha.
The remarks come a day after Rahul Gandhi, participating in the motion of thanks to the President's address, claimed that China had intruded on Indian land because the Make in India "initiative has failed".
The book mentions that India's first Prime Minister was keen to stay in a guest house often used by Lady Edwina Mountbatten, the wife of the last viceroy of India.
The book also throws light on the state visit of John Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to India in March 1962.
"The embassy had rented a villa for Mrs Kennedy to stay in, but Nehru insisted after she arrived that she stay in a guest suite at the prime minister's residence.
It was the suite often used by Edwina Mountbatten... A frequent visitor to India after Independence, Edwina and Nehru were close friends if not more," the book says.
Recently, a row had erupted after the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library requested the Gandhi family to return the personal letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to Edwina Mountbatten. The BJP has alleged that 51 cartons of Nehru's letters were taken away by Sonia Gandhi in 2008.
One of the excerpts of the book that emerged on social media mentions that Kennedy told the then United States Ambassador that it was the "worst state visit" of his presidency. "Kennedy also felt that Nehru seemed more interested in talking with Jackie (Jacqueline Kennedy) than with him," the book mentions.
The Prime Minister also slammed Rahul Gandhi and took a veiled dig at late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, asserting that he used to continuously talk about the 21st century but was "disconnected from reality".
Citing a cartoon made by renowned cartoonist RK Laxman, PM Modi said it was an example of how Gandhi's talks were just 'hawa hawai' (wishful thinking).
"Works that should have been done 40 to 50 years earlier are done now. That's why when the public gave us a chance to work, we focused on the development of the youth and nation building," PM Modi said.
Recalling R K Laxman's cartoon, Modi said the sketch had a plane, a pilot and passengers.
But the aircraft was on a cart that was being pulled by the 'common man' (labourers), he said.
"That cartoon was funny at that time, but later it became the truth. That cartoon was an example of how that PM's talks were 'hawa hawai' and disconnected from reality," he said.
He slammed Rajiv Gandhi for his famous 1985 remark that only 15 paise reached the intended beneficiary when the government spent Re 1 on poverty alleviation and welfare.
"In our country, there used to be a Prime Minister. There was a fashion to call him 'Mr Clean'. At that time, from panchayats to Parliament, there was the rule of only one party. And he said when Re 1 is spent, the poor used to get 15 paise," he said.
U.S. President John F. Kennedy faced two great crises in 1962 - the Cuban missile crisis and the Sino-Indian War. While his part in the missile crisis that threatened to snowball into a nuclear war has been thoroughly studied, his critical role in the Sino-Indian War has been largely ignored.
Bruce Riedel fills that gap with JFK's Forgotten Crisis: Tibet, the CIA, and the Sino-Indian War.
Riedel's telling of the president's firm response to China's invasion of India and his deft diplomacy in keeping Pakistan neutral provides a unique study of Kennedy's leadership.
Embedded within that story is an array of historical details of special interest to India, remarkable among which are Jacqueline Kennedy's role in bolstering diplomatic relations with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan, and the backstory to the China-India rivalry - what is today the longest disputed border in the world.
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