S. Jaishankar
Who is S. Jaishankar?
What is S. Jaishankar’s background?
What is S. Jaishankar’s stance on Pakistan?
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S. Jaishankar (born January 9, 1955, New Delhi, India) is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who was appointed India’s external affairs minister in 2019. Prior to entering politics, Jaishankar had a distinguished diplomatic career, serving as India’s foreign secretary, the highest bureaucratic position in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), from 2015 to 2018. He previously held ambassadorships to China (2009–13) and the United States (2013–15). He is the first Indian career diplomat and foreign secretary to become external affairs minister.
- In full: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
- Education: St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru University, M.A. in political science and M.Phil. and Ph.D. in international relations
- Political affiliation: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Occupation: Diplomat, politician
- Notable positions: External affairs minister (2019–); foreign secretary (2015–18); ambassador of India to China (2009–13) and the United States (2013–15)
- Family: Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam (father); Kyoko Jaishankar (wife); Dhruva Jaishankar (son)
Early life
Jaishankar was born into a Tamil family. His father, Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam, was an eminent bureaucrat and strategic analyst. Jaishankar completed schooling in New Delhi and Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Karnataka, and graduated from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. He has an M.A. in political science and an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in international relations, specializing in nuclear diplomacy, from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1977.
Diplomatic career
In 2005 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. Pres. George W. Bush announced the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative. Formalized in 2008, the deal ended nearly three decades of U.S. restrictions on nuclear trade with India that had been imposed following India’s nuclear test in 1974. It allowed India access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel in exchange for separating its civilian and military nuclear facilities, and placed the former under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
From 1979 to 2006 Jaishankar held key postings abroad and within the MEA, building a deep familiarity with India’s diplomatic machinery. He was posted to Indian embassies in Moscow; Washington, D.C.; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Budapest; and Tokyo. In the MEA he served in the Americas and East Europe divisions and as press secretary for Shankar Dayal Sharma, the ninth president of India. In 2000 he was appointed as India’s ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Jaishankar returned to India in 2004 and soon headed the Americas division in the MEA. He played a key role in the negotiations that led to the announcement of the landmark Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal in 2005, which enabled India to engage in civil nuclear cooperation globally. From 2007 to 2009, he served as India’s high commissioner to Singapore.
Ambassador to China
In 2009 Jaishankar was appointed as India’s ambassador to China and served until 2013, the longest anyone has held the post. This was a significant period in India-China relations. Both countries made efforts to stabilize ties, but tensions persisted over border regions. In 2012, when China issued passports showing Arunachal Pradesh (administered by India but claimed by China) and Aksai Chin (administered by China but claimed by India) as its territories, the Indian embassy in Beijing, under Jaishankar, responded by issuing Chinese nationals visas with maps depicting the regions as part of India. He was also at the forefront of negotiations to resolve the 2013 standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh, where Chinese troops had allegedly pitched tents. At the time, Ladakh was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, before becoming a union territory in 2019.
Ambassador to the U.S.
When Jaishankar took charge as India’s ambassador to the United States in 2013, the two countries were in the midst of a diplomatic row over the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in Washington, D.C., on charges of visa fraud. Jaishankar reportedly met with senior American officials and negotiated the diplomat’s release. He has noted that although India-U.S. ties are amicable they require regular maintenance.
In his role Jaishankar was involved in negotiations to strengthen defense, strategic, and economic ties between India and the U.S. Additionally, he helped facilitate Narendra Modi’s first visit to the U.S. as prime minister in 2014, as well as U.S. Pres. Barack Obama’s visit to India the following year.
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Foreign secretary
In 2015, after two years as ambassador to the U.S., Jaishankar was appointed foreign secretary. As India’s top diplomat, he prioritized strengthening bilateral ties with neighboring countries and those in East and Southeast Asia. He helped coordinate India’s humanitarian response to Nepal’s devastating earthquake in April 2015, which killed about 9,000 people.
India and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Friendship in 1949 to establish “perpetual peace.” Under the original treaty Bhutan agreed to be guided by India in its foreign policy and India pledged noninterference in Bhutan’s internal affairs. The treaty was updated in 2007 to remove outdated provisions and to reflect Bhutan’s greater sovereignty in foreign policy. It also enhanced their economic and strategic cooperation.
In 2017 Jaishankar engaged in negotiations with China to end the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam, Bhutan, a plateau claimed by both China and Bhutan. The standoff began after People’s Liberation Army forces attempted to build a road in the disputed area near India’s border, and India intervened in support of Bhutan under the terms of the India-Bhutan Treaty of Friendship. He also helped plan Modi’s visit to Israel that same year, the first by an Indian prime minister. He served as foreign secretary until January 2018, when he retired from the IFS.
External Affairs Minister
After retiring from the IFS, Jaishankar briefly worked in the private sector. Although he had not considered entering politics, Jaishankar was asked by Modi to join his cabinet. In May 2019 he took charge as external affairs minister in the second Modi government and was elected to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) as a BJP candidate from Gujarat in July 2019.
As external affairs minister, Jaishankar oversaw a period marked by global upheaval and strategic shifts. During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he spearheaded India’s Vaccine Maitri (“Friendship”) initiative, which supplied made-in-India vaccines to more than 75 countries. He also coordinated one of the world’s largest repatriation efforts through the Vande Bharat Mission, which facilitated the return of hundreds of thousands of stranded Indian citizens throughout the globe because of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions.
A 2 + 2 dialogue is a meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of two countries to discuss strategic and security issues. India held its first such dialogue with the United States in 2018 and later initiated similar dialogue with other key partners such as Australia, Japan, and Russia.
Jaishankar played a crucial role in strengthening partnerships with countries such as the U.S., Russia, Japan, as well as blocs, including the European Union (E.U.) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). He visited the U.S. on multiple occasions, focusing on strengthening cooperation in defense, trade, and technology. In 2020 Jaishankar was part of the 2 + 2 India-U.S. ministerial dialogue that saw both countries sign the landmark Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), an advanced intelligence-sharing pact.
As external affairs minister, Jaishankar has furthered the government’s policy of increased strategic autonomy and emphasized that India engages with all major powers without aligning with any bloc. This stance was particularly evident after the Russia-Ukraine war erupted in 2022. Despite Western pressure to condemn Russia’s invasion, India maintained strong ties with Russia, particularly in the energy and defense sectors. India ramped up purchases of discounted Russian oil in 2022, making Russia the largest supplier of crude oil to India that year. Jaishankar has insisted that India will continue to make foreign policy decisions based on its interests. In 2023, when asked by German newspaper Die Zeit why India continued to purchase oil from Russia, Jaishankar responded that India was pursuing its interests just like every other country.
Jaishankar was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, in 2019 for his contribution to Indian diplomacy.
Jaishankar has articulated the Indian government’s stance that bilateral talks with Pakistan cannot happen as long as it supports cross-border terrorism and has called for Pakistan to be held accountable in international forums. Regarding China, he has conveyed India’s cautious approach. He has criticized Chinese actions at the border and asserted that normalcy in ties depends on peace along the border. Meanwhile, Jaishankar has emphasized the government’s desire for better bilateral ties with China and a peaceful resolution of border issues. During his tenure, India and China have continued to collaborate in several multilateral forums such as BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Jaishankar was reappointed as external affairs minister in June 2024 in Modi’s third cabinet. Following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed, India renewed its accusations about Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism, leading to a breakdown in relations between the two countries. Jaishankar told Politico that Pakistan was using terrorism as an “instrument of state policy.” He supported the Indian air strikes in Pakistan and warned that India would strike terrorist organizations in Pakistan if they continued to operate from the country. Jaishankar also held talks with key global leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, to convey India’s stance on the matter.