External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said India responds in a "much more befitting" manner to instances of cross-border terrorism under the current political dispensation terrorism along the country's border with its western neighbour, Pakistan.
"On the western front, the long-standing challenge of cross-border terrorism now elicits more befitting responses. Believe me, Uri and Balakot send their own message," he was quoted by ANI as saying.
Jaishankar said while addressing an event on "Bharat and the World" at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
He also referred to the cross-border raids by Indian forces in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri and Pulwama on security forces in 2016 and 2019 respectively.
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He also shared his own understanding of the "political symbolism" of "Bharat".
"Let me start with my own understanding of what is Bharat. It has multiple symbolisms in different domains. Economically, we could be talking about 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'...Developmentally, when we speak about Bharat...it implies a just and fair society where no one is left behind", he was quoted as saying.
"Politically, Bharat is a statement of independence, it is a declaration that India engages the world...not necessarily on terms set by others. Our objective in that engagement is to let our own personality and innate qualities come out and then there are cultural aspects of Bharat. Here we could be speaking about our thinking, traditions, heritage and our practices,"he said.
