Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM releases J.N. Dixit's book

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, today released 'Indian Foreign Service: History and Challenge' by J.N. Dixit, former National Security Adviser. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said:

" I am both sad and moved to have the privilege of releasing my friend Mani's book entitled 'Indian Foreign Service: History and Challenge'. I would have hoped to have this privilege with Mani by my side. I am sad that I have to do so with him no longer with us. My association with Shri Dixit goes back very many years. But he worked intensively with me when I was the Finance Minister and he was the Foreign Secretary. His deep and abiding commitment to India's cherished ideals, his capacity to sum up an argument in a paragraph or two cogently and outline the pathways to reforms, left a lasting impression on me. I cherished his friendship and this friendship grew after he left the Foreign Office. And in recent months, when he was with me, I saw a side of Mani which I had not seen before and I miss him every single day.

Recently, I had the opportunity of having him as a colleague, as an adviser and, above all, as a friend during the short and eventful tenure that he had as the National Security Adviser. This is, therefore, for me, a poignant occasion and I am sure all his other friends here feel the same way.

Mani Dixit was an outstanding civil servant, who served our country with great distinction over nearly five decades in public life. And yesterday, the President presented the coveted award of Padma Vibhushan to his wife as a mark of respect, as a mark of our nation's gratitude for all that Mani had done in the service of our country. During his long years in the Foreign Service, he came to acquire acknowledged mastery of the art and craft of diplomacy. After his many challenging assignments, including several in our immediate neighbourhood, it was a natural progression that he rose to become the head of the Indian Foreign Service.

I know of no other individual who had such deep knowledge of the problems, prospects and the challenges our Foreign Policy faces, in particular, dealing with our difficult neighbourhood. History will, in my view, place him among the most successful of our Foreign Secretaries, who helped India respond to and build new bilateral relationships with important countries during the critical post-Cold War years. He played an important role in the Look-East policy initiated by our Government in the early nineties and understanding their nuances and implications, brought disarmament and security issues into the mainstream of our foreign policy.

I know that he was deeply respected and loved by his colleagues in the Service, not only for his professional ability but also for his human qualities, warmth and openness. His happy willingness to reject hierarchy was a source of inspiration to all those who worked with him. His pleasure in a good honest argument honed the skills of many young colleagues.

Even after his retirement, Mani continued to give us the benefit of his insight through more than a dozen books and the many columns that he wrote on foreign policy and security matters. His rich experience and comprehensive vision of India's security always came through in the writings and contributed greatly to an educated and aware public debate in our country.

In a sense,therefore, it is fitting that his last book was on an institution to which he contributed in such great measure and whose finest traditions he represented and cherished. He has drawn on his experiences from his early years as a young diplomat up to the time he served as Foreign Secretary. In an inimitable style combining both wit and wisdom, Shri Dixit has blended history, politics, administration and governance into a highly readable and seminal piece of work on an important subject.

It is noteworthy that the work was commissioned by the Ministry of External Affairs itself. There would be few who would question this choice of the author most able to deal with the subject of this book.

He has delved deep into our history to search for lessons that are relevant, even today, in the context of relations between States. He cites examples from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Mauryas, the Chalukyas and on to the Mughal rulers, the British and the colonial empire, to demonstrate that the art of diplomacy has been the preferred instrument of both projecting power and influence as well.

Mani has also dealt in some detail with organizational issues of the Ministry of External Affairs and I hope that all concerned would examine with an open mind his suggestions on issues like the need for specialists or the need to broaden the resource-base for inputs into the making of our foreign policy.

Mani's passing away has left a deep void. For some months, I had the benefit of his advice on a daily basis and I relied upon him for inputs and ideas on the entire spectrum of security-related issues and for the prompt execution of my directions. I was always impressed by his deep understanding and articulation of the national interest and for the free and frank advice, for which I came to depend on him so much.

He delivered on all counts and did so with that inimitable sense of humour and twinkle in his eyes, which lightened up many a tense moment during a heated discussion.

Fortunately, due to his prolific writing abilities, generations of strategists, diplomats and thinkers will continue to have the benefit of his view of the world and the exciting times that he lived through.

I have therefore great pleasure in releasing Shri J.N. Dixit's book - Indian Foreign Service: History and Challenge".

The Minister of External Affairs, Shri K. Natwar Singh also spoke on the occasion. Shri Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary, introduced the book. Smt. Annapoorna Dixit, wife of J.N. Dixit, proposed a Vote of Thanks.