S.M. Krishna will be remembered for his grace as External Affairs Minister

S.M. Krishna will be remembered for his grace as External Affairs Minister

S.M. Krishna’s tenure as Minister of External Affairs (2009-2011) is often remembered for gaffes, like the time in 2011 when he accidentally began to read out the Portuguese Foreign Minister’s speech at the United Nations, but diplomats and journalists covering Indian Foreign Policy have lasting memories of Mr. Krishna’s grace and “old style of politics  and diplomacy” in what was a particularly tense second term for the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, and his ability to deal with crisis without showing the pressure. 

Also read: S.M. Krishna, former External Affairs Minister and Karnataka CM, dies

His tenure in handling Indian diplomacy was particularly difficult as the government pressed Pakistan for accountability over the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and Mr. Krishna was pilloried for a press conference in Islamabad in 2010 where the then Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was publicly rude about the fact that Mr. Krishna had “taken calls from New Delhi” during their meetings.

Mr. Krishna, however, shrugged off the personal attacks, pursuing his line on the need for Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed to be brought to justice. The period also saw the U.S. come around to India’s view on terror emanating from Pakistan, and New Delhi was able to place Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force’s ‘grey list’ for the first time in 2012.

A series of Wikileaks cables sent over India-U.S. talks at the time quoted Mr. Krishna’s persistent line on the need to address terrorism with U.S. officials, including the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Officials at the time also remember that no matter the controversy or criticism, Mr. Krishna, who had a long career in politics by the time he took oath as Minister at the age of 77, never deflected the blame for problems to his juniors or colleagues. 

“He was very good at cooling down tempers, adding moderation to any desire by others to respond in haste”, said an Indian Foreign Service Officer who worked with him at the time. As a globally well-travelled former Chief Minister of Karnataka, who had studied in the U.S. as a Fulbright scholar, the official found Mr. Krishna well-connected , “who did not need to be told how the world worked.” Mr. Krishna’s bigger challenge, however, was to carve out a space for himself where he did not step on toes in the Prime Minister’s Office, while fighting off attempts by other senior Ministers seeking to encroach on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s workings. 

Mr. Krishna also faced some push back from within the Ministry, like when he hired a Bangalore-based tech MNC to modernise the working of the passport system in India. The launch of the Passport Sewa Project in 2010 revolutionised the distribution of passports by putting tech consultants in charge of gathering data and biometrics and cutting down the time and middlemen involved in the process. For a while, the All India Passport Employees Association even went on strike to protest the changes. However, officials recall Mr. Krishna’s refusal to reconsider his plans.