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Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh remembered former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, on Thursday, as he passed away aged 100.
The Congress leader recalled that former US President Richard Nixon and Kissinger created huge 'headaches' for India adding that the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and then Secretary to the PM, PN Haksar proved more than a match for them. "For the last three decades, he (Kissinger) positioned himself as a great friend and supporter of India and indeed he was. But this was not always so and in 1971 especially, President Nixon and he created huge headaches for India and thought they had us cornered," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. "However, Indira Gandhi and PN Haksar proved more than a match for them. I have described the Kissinger-Haksar and Nixon-Indira Gandhi encounters with archival detail in my book 'Intertwined Lives: PN Haksar & Indira Gandhi'," he further said. He added, "Gary Bass in his book 'The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide' indicts Kissinger severely for his role in the events of 1971 leading up to the creation of Bangladesh." Jairam Ramesh said that Kissinger was 'as immensely consequential as he was hugely controversial' adding that he positioned himself as a great friend of India. "He was as immensely consequential as he was hugely controversial. In his long and eventful life, he has been both celebrated and condemned. But there can be no doubt about his sheer intellectual brilliance and awesome charisma," the Congress leader said. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut at the age of 100, The Washington Post reported. Kissinger's death was announced in a statement by his consulting firm, which did not mention the cause. Kissinger, a scholar, statesman and celebrity diplomat held unparalleled power over US foreign policy during the administrations of US Presidents - Richard M Nixon and Gerald Ford and afterwards as a consultant and writer, shared opinions that shaped global politics and business, according to The Washington Post report. (ANI)
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