Rising India 2023: Agenda Being Set Against Us, Says Jaishankar on Vandalism at Indian Missions

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said host countries must do more to protect Indian missions and diplomats amid recent incidents of vandalism allegedly by pro-Khalistan activists following the police action against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.

“A narrative with an agenda is being set against India. We must not fall for a narrative, we should see facts on the ground in India. Which society will allow a mob to ransack a police station? You can’t threaten diplomats and take down Indian flags,” he said.

Jaishankar also questioned how the host countries would have reacted had their missions in India been threatened this way.

On March 19, supporters of the Khalistan movement pulled down the Indian flag at the country’s high commission in London and smashed the building’s window in a show of anger against the move to arrest Amritpal Singh. India had denounced the incident and summoned the UK’s deputy high commissioner in New Delhi to protest the breach of security at the embassy in London. The supporters of the Khalistan movement also vandalized the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on March 20.

India has said it expects to see action against the perpetrators of vandalism at its missions abroad and hoped the host governments would prosecute those involved in these incidents instead of holding out assurances. Indian missions in London, British Columbia, and San Francisco were vandalised recently.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi had said last week that India is “not just interested in assurances”.

“I think we would like to see action… It is our expectation that in any country our diplomats can perform their legitimate and normal diplomatic duties and functions and that the host government will ensure a conducive environment for doing so,” he said.

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