'India-China ties must be based on realism'

India should deal with China on the basis of "realism" and bilateral relations should be based on mutual understandings in respect, sensitivity and interest, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said in an assessment of New Delhi's approach to engage with Beijing.

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Jaishankar lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his pragmatic approach towards China in an interview with ANI to mark the release of his new book "Why Bharat Matters". He criticised the approach towards China during the tenure of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

"I argue for dealing with China from a basis of realism - that strain of realism, which I feel strains all the way from [former home minister] Sardar [Vallabhbhai] Patel to Narendra Modi.

That is the strain of realism which I feel should allow us to have a certain approach," he said. "I would say the Modi government has been very much more...in conformity with a strain of realism, which originated from Sardar Patel." Jaishankar's remarks came against the backdrop of a military standoff between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that is set to enter its fourth year and has taken ties to an all-time low. India has insisted China should restore normalcy on the LAC in order to normalise the overall bilateral relationship.

Jaishankar highlighted the difference of opinion between India's first home minister, Sardar Patel, and the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on China. "Even when it came...to the UN Security Council seat, it's not my case that we should have necessarily taken the seat, it's a different debate, but to say that we should first let China - China's interest should come first, it's a very peculiar statement to make," he said, referring to the process for entry into the UN Security Council in past decades.