The Ex-US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger passed away on Wednesday at the age of 100. He was famous for being a big deal in American foreign policy. He also got the Nobel Prize for being an excellent diplomat. But, some people didn’t like him because of his controversial decisions. Some people further called him a war criminal. Kissinger played an important role in shaping foreign policy after India’s independence. Though he was not a fan of India, he wanted to be friends with India. But it did not happen because of Prime Minister Nehru’s Non-Aligned Movement. India just wanted to stay out of the fight between the big powers.
India became friends with the Soviet Union, which caused headaches for the US. So, he turned his attention to China to try and stop India’s military moves. Even though the US tried to stop India during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, India still won big time.
Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. Sec. of State during the Nixon and Ford administrations, has died at age 100. Kissinger was said to be one of the most influential and controversial foreign policy architects in postwar United States. @jonkarl reports. https://t.co/fKq8mLSrOP pic.twitter.com/gnPSVOusmp
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Henry Kissinger’s Thoughts About India
He was a very important person in the United States. He was the National Security Adviser and the Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford. Kissinger had negative views during his time with Nixon and their relationship with Indira Gandhi was not so good. The US became friends with Pakistan to stand up to the Soviet Union. Nixon and Kissinger tried to get China involved to scare India in the 1971 war. The US sent a big ship called ‘Enterprise’ to the Indian Ocean on his advice. They wanted China to send troops to the Indian border. But, the ship stayed away from India to avoid problems with the Soviet Union. India won the war and that’s when Bangladesh was born.
He changed his tune recently and said he wanted to be friends with India. Even he told the US Chambers of Commerce to make the US-India Business Council. He also suggested India and Japan should be permanent members of the UN Security Council. The relationship with Indira Gandhi was not so well during the 1971 conflict. Declassified talks show they used some bad words about India and called Indira Gandhi “ A B***h.” They called Indians “Bastards.” Kissinger further talked about Indians being good at praising people to get what they want. They also didn’t like that India was helping lots of Bangladeshi refugees.
Is Henry Kissinger the GOAT of war criminals? Let’s discuss. pic.twitter.com/dGH0dheELd
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) December 1, 2023
Henry’s Later Views On India
He had negative views and might have made some bad comments about India and Indira Gandhi earlier. But his views changed about India and Indians in recent times. He called Indira Gandhi, “a woman of great character.” He appreciated India’s strategy. He tried to justify his not-so-good comments by saying that it was Cold War times. Kissinger told President Ford that Indira Gandhi had a strong need to criticise the US a lot. But, she also aimed for a more equal and improved friendship between India and the US. After the Cold War, relations between India and the US improved, and Kissinger wanted to strengthen the friendship with India. He became a big fan when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014. He wanted strong ties with India under Modi’s leadership.
