'We have a harder job...': Jaishankar says West built up China while running India down at BT Mindrush

The world we wake up to is no longer the one we went to bed believing in. That was the message from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at BT Mindrush, where he laid bare the long-standing global dynamics shaping perceptions of China and India. In a pointed reflection, he said, “China was always—for not always, but for a long time—a strategic objective of the West… praising their achievements, history, and running us down was equally a strategic compulsion.”

In a world where narratives shape power, Jaishankar suggested India starts from a tougher place—and must work harder to make its presence felt.

Speaking at BT Mindrush, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar offered a historical view of the perception gap between India and China in the global arena. He stated, “China was always—for not always, but for a long time—a strategic objective of the West… building them up as a society, praising their… achievements, history, and running us down was equally a strategic compulsion.”

He linked this to decisions made as far back as the 19th century, during the colonial period. “What has been happening in the last few years, I think it's a result of what has been happening for about 200 years,” Jaishankar said. He explained that while the British systematically undermined Indian history during colonization, they simultaneously supported and projected Chinese history for strategic reasons.

“They were afraid at that time that Zarist Russia would come and occupy China,” he said, referring to Western motivations in the 1800s. “If you look at the 19th century, for example, the biggest advocates of China were UK and America—especially American missionaries.” He cited Pearl S. Buck, the Nobel laureate author, as a cultural product of that early Western push to promote China.

Jaishankar stressed that the image competition India faces today begins from “very different starting points.” He added, “I think we have a harder job and therefore we'll work harder… in the way the world is nowadays, we sleep knowing the world to be a certain way.”