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Sushma Swaraj's UNGA speech sharply rips apart Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan

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DailyBiteSep 26, 2016 | 20:53

Sushma Swaraj's UNGA speech sharply rips apart Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan

It is telling that the sharpest of ripostes that India handed over to Pakistan in the wake of Uri attack were from women: first Eenam Gambhir, and now Sushma Swaraj.

Speaking at the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 26, the Indian minister of external affairs not only gave Pakistan a befitting reply on issues as volatile as terrorism, Kashmir, Balochistan and others, she forefronted an important message: terrorism is the biggest human rights violation in the world today and must be fought globally.

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Swaraj gave a well-rounded speech touching upon issues of climate justice, sustainability and Yoga - pet topics concerning the Indian delegation, given that New Delhi has just ratified the Paris Climate Accord, hitherto signed by major global powers like the United States and China.

However, the cherry on the cake of her sharp as a sword speech was the no-holds-barred full-on attack on terror emanating from Pakistan.

Speaking in Hindi, Swaraj was addressing as much as an eager audience at home, as she was reiterating India's urgent plea to the international arena that tackling terror and isolating Pakistan on the issue was a matter of immediate strategic action.

Sustainability, climate justice and yoga

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Highlighting the important contribution that sustainability plays in the global fight against climate change, Swaraj insisted on the phrase "climate justice", which drove home the matters of rights and responsibility, as well as reparative justice for developing countries like India.

She gave a nod to the important projects undertaken by the government of India in areas such as sanitation, disaster management, etc.

The sustainability developemnt goals made an early appearance in her speech.

She linked India's biggest cultural export - yoga - and how the UN has made it a part of its plan as an indication of India's willing and active participation in the climate policy and reorienting the lifestyle capitalism driven by consumer economies.

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Terrorism as human rights violation

But she came to her elements when she broached the subject of terrorism and put forward an eloquent and articulate offence against Pakistan's state-sponsored acts of terror against India - from Pathankot to Uri in just 2016.

Swaraj said that terrorism is the gravest of human rights violations in the world today, and must be dealt with in a cooperative manner.

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Sushma Swaraj at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 26. (Photo credit: ANI)

She put forward important logistical questions on funding and execution of terror plots from countries that feed off it, mincing no words and pointing a firm finger at Pakistan.

Her take on terror got a massive and immediate applause.

Isolating Pakistan

Continuing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at Kozhikode, and before that young diplomat Eenam Gambhir firm reply to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's attempt to play victim and raising the Kashmir bogey, Swaraj left no stone unturned in the concerted effort at the onerous task that is "isolating Pakistan" in the consular circles.

She mentioned how Pakistan has repeatedly rebuffed India's unconditional efforts at forging the Indo-Pak ties - whether they be at the PM's impromptu Lahore visit, or the Eid wishes, or cricket diplomacy, and has paid back in increasingly heinous terror attacks from Pathankot to Uri in 2016 alone.

Balochistan versus Kashmir

Since Sharif raised the Kashmir bogey, Swaraj paid back in the same coin, literally internationalising the Balochistan gambit. Adding an element of drama to the hot button was her line "those who live in glasshouses mustn't throw stones at others".

Hindi and domestic audience

Speaking in Hindi at the UNGA was of course a conscious choice for Swaraj, who, while investing in nationalism parlour games that the domestic audience lapped up, was nevertheless able to rise above it and give it a genuine global spin.

While some thought that her speech would have worked better in English, the laudatory tweets that followed certainly left no doubt that Swaraj indeed had packed a punch.

Last updated: September 27, 2016 | 11:36
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