Former minister for external affairs and diplomat K Natwar Singh reignited the debate over the way former PM Jawaharlal Nehru approached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seeking resolution to the Kashmir issue by calling it “a great mistake.”
Delivering a lecture on the legacy of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to mark his 124th birth anniversary, he said, “The last viceroy Lord Mountbatten had warned that the Kashmir issue can snowball into a full-fledged war against Pakistan and it was decided to seek Security Council’s help under Chapter 6 which deals with disputes. This was a great mistake. We should have gone to the UNSC under Chapter 7 that deals with aggression.”
Chapter 7 of the UN Charter allows the Security Council to “determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression ” and to take military and non-military action to restore international peace and security.
“Back then, we were new to diplomacy. A ceasefire was declared. Since then, the issue has not been solved,” the former external affairs minister said.
Singh further hit out at “some people claiming to have the ability to solve the Kashmir issue” by saying that it was one of those problems that cannot be solved.
“No government in India or Pakistan can survive by making any compromise over Kashmir. It is a problem that cannot be solved and we have to live with it,” he said.
“History has not been kind to Nehru. In every newspaper or magazine survey on PMs, Nehru is always placed third or fourth. He should be the first, ” he said.
Governor H R Bhardwaj was present.
KPCC Pays Tributes to Nehru
Congress leaders, including CM Siddaramaiah and KPCC President Dr G Parameshwara, paid tributes to country’s Jawaharlal Nehru on his 124th birth anniversary here on Thursday.
After offering floral tributes to the portrait of Nehru, Siddaramaiah described him as the pure patriot and a great leader. He maintained that there is a dire need to continue his legacy.