Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted the sovereignty of India, stating that all decisions are made by the country’s leadership, and emphasized that “no power on the planet” can dictate how the nation handles its affairs. He made these remarks while addressing officer trainees of the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) 2024 batch at the Vice-President’s Enclave.
“Don’t be guided by narratives outside. All decisions in this country, a sovereign nation, are taken by its leadership. There is no power on the planet to dictate to India how to handle its affairs. We do live in a nation and nations that are a comity. We work in togetherness; we work in tandem. We have mutual respect, diplomatic dialogues. But at the end of the day, we are sovereign, we take our own decisions,” the VP said.
Dhankar On Operation Sindoor
The Vice President also said that India believes in peace and non-violence and added that ‘Operation Sindoor’ is not over yet.
The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor during the early hours of May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). After India’s precision strikes against terror sites, Pakistan launched drone and missile attacks on Indian territories, leading to escalating tensions.
However, a ceasefire was reached on May 10 after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart.
“There will be challenges. Challenges will be to create divisiveness. For example, we have seen global conflagrations, two of them in particular, you know them. These have become open-ended. Look at the devastation of property, human lives, and their misery. And look at our calibration,” Dhankar underlined.
“We taught a lesson, taught it well. We chose Bahawalpur and Muridke, and then brought it to a temporary conclusion. ‘Operation Sindoor’ is not over; it continues. Some people ask the question, Why was it stopped? We are a nation that believes in peace, nonviolence, and a land of Buddha, Mahavira, and Gandhi. We do not wish to kill even living beings, so how can we target human beings? The idea was to generate sanity, to generate a sense of humanity in the others,” he added.
Dhankar On India’s Demographic
“Our demographic dividend is a global envy. 65% of our population is below 35 years of age. The median age of this country is 28, whereas that of China and the U.S. is around 38-39, and Japan, 48. Now, you are the chosen ones. You’ve got the opportunity to serve Bharat, home to one-sixth of humanity. And look at the area of your work. If you commit yourself, keeping in view our civilizational ethos, we are a unique nation,” Dhankar said.
“No nation can boast or claim to be closer to us, five thousand years of heritage, culture, legacy, knowledge, wisdom, and repository. In such a situation, eighteen lakh acres? If you engage, which you are engaging, your seniors are engaging, you can define to the entire country, how to manage the estates, how to manage ecology, how to manage the environment, how to raise herbal gardens, what is sustainable development, how to protect, and how to use modern technology,” he added.
Rajesh Kumar Singh, Defence Secretary, Govt. of India, S.N. Gupta, Director General, Defence Estates, Sanjeev Kumar, Director, NIDEM, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
