Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, while emphasizing the importance of dialogue with Pakistan, said that dialogue is easiest between Indian and Pakistani common citizens. He says that the language, mentality and culture are almost similar. We can understand each other completely. Their kebabs might be better than ours, but we can have a friendly competition ‘No, our kebabs are better than yours!’
Iyer also raised questions on India’s foreign policy. He said why have we suddenly become so close to America and so close to Israel? Why do we depend so much on Russia? If the tragedy of partition had not happened, the citizens of that country would have been citizens of our country. Still we talk about surgical strike against them. If you really have the courage, sit down and talk face to face. Why is our government not showing the courage for this continuous dialogue? He said that dialogue is necessary because in this process both the parties will put forth their grievances and understand the mistakes. He described it as a long process that could last for months, and would involve every aspect of history.
#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan: Former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar says, “In this vast subcontinent, specifically the portion known today as India, there exists an overwhelming Hindu majority… But Muslims constitute the largest minority, about 20 crore… 5 crore people… pic.twitter.com/QCtUAoHdLr
— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2026
Warning on Hindu Rashtra idea
Mani Shankar Aiyar also cautioned against the idea of Hindu Rashtra in the country. He said that the number of Hindus is more in this vast subcontinent, but Muslims are the largest minority, about 20 crores. Apart from this, there are 5 crore followers of other religions. If we build India’s national identity on the basis of Hindu Rashtra and consider Muslims as our enemies, then India will not be able to survive. We will be divided into at least 43 different states.