World Still Significantly “Western” In Intellectual Concepts: S Jaishankar

Pune:

Noting that the world today is still significantly ‘Western’ in terms of its intellectual concepts, traditions, and construct, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Saturday laid emphasis on strengthening Indian strategic culture and devoting more energies to native knowledge and traditions to create international relations with Indian characteristics.

“Is it not necessary that we actually devote more time, attention, and energies to look at our reservoir of culture, knowledge, history and traditions,” said Mr Jaishankar while speaking at the International Relations Conference 2023 with the theme of ‘India’s Strategic Culture: Addressing Global and Regional Challenges’ here at Symbiosis Institute in Pune.

Addressing the event, S Jaishankar said, “The world is still significantly Western in terms of its intellectual concepts, traditions, and construct. When we say Western, a large part of it is actually British, because, in the last 250 years, among the Western powers, the British…were an extensive empire”.

“They have actually shaped the great debates and conversations. Now, interestingly, if you look at the way, thoughts in history, political science, and international relations are unfolded,” he added.

He said Western powers have been globally dominant and hegemonic, adding that many equate Westernism with Modernism.

“Out of the last 300 plus years, western powers have been globally dominant. They have been hegemonic. For them, superior powers mean superior ideas; it means superior constructs in a way; it means superior history. So, it is the intellectual domination that comes from that era still continues even if political and economic changes have happened since the Second World War,” S Jaishnakar said.

He added, “Second reason is we ourselves. If you look at the last century, especially in Asia, a lot Asians themselves…have associated Modernising with Westernising”.

The EAM further said that the Westerners and Britishers worked “history backwards” and created the whole legacy of wisdom, knowledge and philosophy.

“The Westerners and British have put themselves to be the successors of the Greeks and Romans. They have worked history backwards…once the empire-building exercise started, and then you needed legitimacy, then you needed justification, you needed narrative. You needed a rationalisation. They created this whole legacy of wisdom, knowledge thought and philosophy,” he said.

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