‘Differ Politically, But Not On Terror': Kanimozhi Says World Lauded India's Cross-Party Unity
India stands as one against cross-border terror, says DMK MP Kanimozhi.
In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India's strong response under Operation Sindoor, a cross-party delegation of Indian leaders has returned from a global diplomatic outreach spanning over 30 countries. DMK MP Kanimozhi, who led one such delegation, on Tuesday said the unified political front left a strong impression abroad.
'The very strong message even before we spoke was that this was an all-party delegation, led by an opposition MP and comprising mostly opposition members. That itself spoke volumes," she told reporters. 'It showed that whatever our differences, India stands together in the face of terrorism."
Kanimozhi said many countries had already condemned the attack in Pahalgam, but direct engagement helped clarify India's position. 'We told them terrorism doesn't stop at India's borders, it spills over. The world must come together to fight it."
While in Spain, DMK MP Kanimozhi drew applause after responding to a question on India's national language by saying, 'The national language of India is unity in diversity." Her reply quickly went viral online. She also firmly stated that India is seeking to renegotiate the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it 'currently in abeyance," and added, 'India cannot be blackmailed. India cannot be silenced".
During their meetings in Athens, Greece, an all-party delegation led by the MP from Tamil Nadu received backing from the Greek government in India's campaign against terrorism, sources said.
Greece endorsed India's diplomatic boycott of countries like Turkey, which had supplied weapons to Pakistan and expressed solidarity with New Delhi's efforts to expose states that support terror. Greece also conveyed condolences for the Indian lives lost in the April 22 Pahalgam attack and backed India's right to respond, sources told News18.
The Kanimozhi-led team included Rajeev Rai (Samajwadi Party), Mian Altaf Ahmad (Jammu and Kashmir National Conference), Brijesh Chowta (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Ashok Kumar Mittal (Aam Aadmi Party) and former diplomats Manjeev S Puri and Jawed Ashraf.
In Russia, Kanimozhi said the delegation met several Russian thinkers, lawmakers, and even the former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who now heads the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies. 'This country is a very important strategic partner and a very old ally of India," she said. 'We explained our position in detail—what happened before, during, and after the Pahalgam attack and sought Russia's understanding and support in the fight against terrorism".
'Terrorism is not just India's issue, it's a global challenge," Kanimozhi added. 'No country should be harbouring or supporting terrorists."
The delegation's itinerary included visits to Russia, Slovenia, Greece, Latvia and Spain to present India's position on cross-border terrorism to lawmakers, diplomats and civil society leaders.
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10 minutes ago
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NDTV
12 minutes ago
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Explained: Why Peace Deal Before Ceasefire Won't End Russia-Ukraine Conflict
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First Post
12 minutes ago
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India-China ties: Tactical easing or strategic thaw? Wang Yi in Delhi for talks on border and bilateral issues
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Wang is visiting India for the 24th round of the Special Representative (SR) talks on the India-China boundary question with NSA Doval, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Wang and Doval are the SRs of China and India respectively to address the question of the undemarcated boundary of the two countries. Meanwhile, experts Firstpost spoke to warn against hyping the recent bilateral visits and China's remarks on the US tariffs announced recently by President Donald Trump. They say the India-China relationship remains far from normal as China's anti-India campaign shows no sign of stopping. In recent weeks, developments like the resumption of the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra, the resumption of visas to Chinese tourists, and the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, have produced commentary that the India-China ties are on an upward trajectory. 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Chinese opposition to India rules out any alignment Beyond such headline-making developments, the fact remains that China continues to undermine India at every step and that rules out any India-China alignment. Consider these: China has continued to block rare earth supplies to India even as it has resumed supplies to other countries, it has also blocked the supply of speciality fertilisers to India, and has reportedly blocked Chinese engineers from working in mobile factories in India in a bid to stop Indian factories ramping up domestic manufacturing. Besides, China continues to support Pakistan in its anti-India campaign despite taking an official stand of opposing terrorism in all forms. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Steps like resumption of visas and flights are largely for optics. China's continued economic and strategic coercion, including blocking critical imports and standing firmly with Pakistan, shows the structural antagonism remains. These actions reinforce that the underlying relationship remains tense and structurally adversarial. While optics might offer temporary diplomatic cover, they do not dilute the entrenched mistrust or competition at play,' Pankaj tells Firstpost. ALSO READ: LAC patrolling may be back to pre-2020 level, but India-China ties are headed to new normal Such Chinese antagonism means that suggestions that India could align with China to revive the 'RIC' platform to tackle Trump's tariffs seem a little far-fetched. Though the India-US relationship has taken a hit, Pankaj says the RIC format 'simply does not align with India's current strategic priorities, particularly given growing divergence with both Russia and China on key issues'. Pankaj further says, 'There is scant evidence of substantive momentum for RIC's revival beyond rhetorical or social media expressions. For India, meaningful partnership within RIC remains, at best, a peripheral tool — not a central strategy for growth or security. Beyond diplomatic dialogue or regional advocacy, there is no credible economic output from meaningful revival.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Where are India-China ties headed to? While there has been progress in India-China ties, such as the last year's partial resolution of the Ladakh standoff and the resumption of political engagement at the top level, the India-China relationship remains uneasy and complex. The Chinese support to Pakistan during the post-Pahalgam four-day military has been duly noted by Indian government. Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, the deputy army chief, called China the backdoor adversary in the conflict. It was not just Chinese warplanes, missiles, and air defence systems that were stacked against India, Singh said that China was providing real-time intelligence to Pakistan. The situation was such that even though the conflict was limited to one border, India was facing three adversaries — Pakistan, China, and Turkey. In such circumstances, the India-China ties in the near future will likely exhibit managed hostility, which will involve selective engagement on low-risk fronts with persistent barriers in security, trade, and diplomatic spheres, says Pankaj, the Director of ORCA. Can developments, such as Trump's anti-India campaign, bring India and China closer? Pankaj says that unpredictability injected by Trump 'could add volatility but are unlikely to upend the fundamental nature of rivalry and the bilateral framework will potentially remain defined by both tactical engagement and the hard realities of unresolved disputes'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD ALSO READ: As Xi & Putin join hands, what does 'no limits' friendship mean for India? The differences between India and China are simply too many for the two nations to come on the same platform irrespective of Trump's tariff war. Moreover, Trump is barely an irritant to China as he has essentially admitted defeat in the trade war. In fact, with 50 per cent tariffs on India, attempted meddling in the Kashmir issue, and undermining India on Operation Sindoor, Trump could actually be benefitting China. His other actions, such as withdrawal from global institutions, and the suspension of the foreign aid, have also aided China. Many in China see this as an opportunity to deepen its global footprints and dominance, with experts suggesting that Beijing has no immediate incentive to join hands with India to launch a joint pushback against Trump. Instead of an alignment with China, India is recalibrating its engagement strategies, placing greater emphasis on autonomous diplomatic and security networks while maintaining avenues for Quad-style collaboration, recognising that US involvement may oscillate with political cycles, according to Pankaj. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As Trump shakes the reliability of the United States as a long-term ally, Pankaj says India should join hands with the likes of Japan and Australia, with whom India already has robust bilateral and trilateral frameworks independent of US sponsorship, and double-down on diversified arrangements in the Indo-Pacific. India for long has pitched its foreign policy on the principle of strategic autonomy. New Delhi is likely to continue as Trump pushes the world to realignment and China waits to exploit new opportunities emerging from this realignment.
