External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Saturday underscored the centrality of leadership by drawing a parallel with Lord Hanuman, stressing that nations are shaped by leadership, not individuals alone.
While speaking at an event in Pune, the Union Minister was asked if only “one Jaishankar” is enough for India. He
“corrected” the question, replying, ‘You actually should have asked me ‘there is one Modi.’”
“Your question is wrong. You should have asked me: there is one Modi,” Jaishankar said, drawing a metaphor from Hindu tradition. “Because ultimately, Shri Hanuman finally serves,” he said as quoted by news agency ANI.
#WATCH | Pune, Maharashtra: When asked if one Jaishankar is enough for the country, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, “Your question
is wrong. You should have asked me: there is one Modi. Because ultimately, shri Hanuman finally serves… Countries are defined by leaders and vision.… pic.twitter.com/qtIKI8pEUt
— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2025
Emphasising the role of leadership, Jaishankar said that while there are many people involved in executing responsibilities, it is vision, leadership and confidence that make the decisive difference. “Countries are defined by leaders and vision. There are people who execute it. But ultimately, it is the vision, the leadership, and the confidence that makes the difference today,” he said.
Jaishankar, who served as India’s foreign secretary from January 2015 to 2018, has been the country’s External Affairs Minister since May 2019, following PM Modi’s second consecutive term win.
He further said that the global political situation was like “coalition politics” with constantly shifting alignments, and India should focus on its own interests while remaining nimble.
“In our country, there was an era of coalition politics. The world today is like coalition politics. There is no majority of anyone. No coalition enjoys a majority. So what is happening is that constantly combinations are formed, deals are struck, somebody is up, somebody is down. This is completely a multipolar world where there are multiple partners,” Jaishankar said as quoted by news agency PTI.
His mantra for dealing with this fluid situation was to choose what serves India’s interests, he said.
“….we have to be very nimble. Sometimes, you are with someone with one issue and with another on another issue. All the while, I have one principle — what is helping my country. Whatever helps my country, that would be my choice,” the Union Minister said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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