Bangladeshi diplomat showed Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistan, Pooja Jha stopped the presentation to raise objection: Know who India’s outspoken young diplomat is

· OpIndia

India never compromises with its sovereignty and integrity; this fact has been proven once again. During a high-profile foreign policy seminar held in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, there was a sharp debate and commotion. During the event, India’s integral part, Jammu and Kashmir, was shown as a part of Pakistan on a map. This was immediately caught by a young diplomat from the Indian High Commission present there.

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As soon as this wrong map flashed on the screen, Second Secretary at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Pooja Kumari Jha, without a moment’s delay, stopped the programme midway and registered a strong objection to it with full assertiveness. In clear and stern words, she conveyed a message to the world that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India.

Seminar’s topic and the beginning of the controversy

This entire incident is from an international seminar organised by the ‘Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies’ (BIISS) in Dhaka. The topic of this seminar was extremely important: “Restoring Trust and Reimagining Regional Unity: Ways to Revive SAARC.”

This important programme had diplomats from several countries, big professors, educationists, and experts on foreign affairs present. As the chief guest, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid was also present on the stage.

During this, former High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India and senior diplomat Ahmed Tariq Karim was giving his presentation on the stage. As soon as a slide of South Asia’s map appeared in his presentation, Jammu and Kashmir was shown as a part of Pakistan in it.

Interrupting mid-presentation: Sharp debate between Indian diplomat and former ambassador

On this, Indian diplomat Pooja Kumari Jha directly got angry at the organisers. She interrupted Ahmed Tariq and said that this is factually completely wrong.

Pooja Kumari Jha said, “Sir, the map of India shown here is wrong. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and I think the map shown here is not correct. This is against India’s sovereignty.”

Seeing the stern and clear stance of the Indian diplomat, there was commotion among the seminar organisers. Taking control of the situation and giving clarification, former ambassador Tariq A Karim gave an explanation from the stage.

He said that this map was used only for ‘symbolic and representational purposes’ and it was not intended to show or hurt the actual boundaries or political claims of any country.

However, the Indian diplomat was not satisfied with this answer and remained completely firm on her stance. Pooja Jha replied again, “I understand your point sir, but Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and it has been shown incorrectly here. Therefore, I just wanted to draw attention to this matter and register my objection.”

After this, Ambassador Karim asked her if she was from India. In response, she gave her full introduction and said that she is an officer of the Indian High Commission. After this, Tariq Karim also seemed to agree with her and said, “Your point has been noted,” and after that, he continued his presentation further.

Who is Pooja Kumari Jha?

After this incident, everyone wants to know who this young officer is who so outspokenly put forward India’s side on the international stage. Pooja Kumari Jha is a 2022 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.

She became a part of this prestigious service at the mere age of 25. Currently, she is posted as Second Secretary (Political and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Before her first posting in Dhaka, her diplomatic training took place in Taiwan. Pooja Jha originally hails from Purnahiya village in Sitamarhi district of Bihar. However, her family lives in Delhi.

She had secured All India Rank (AIR) 82 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination of 2021 in her very first attempt, after which she got the option of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) for serving the country.

Father had said – Don’t dream big

Coming from an ordinary middle-class family, Pooja’s journey has been extremely inspiring. When she cleared UPSC, in an interview she had shared her struggles, “In the place and society I come from, even dreaming of clearing this prestigious examination is considered a very big thing.”

Their father has been working as a mere ‘office helper’ in a private company in Gurugram for the past nearly 40 years, and their mother is a homemaker. Pooja had said that when she dreamed big, her father would often say to her in a joking or fearful tone, “You can become anything except a Bollywood actor, an astronomer, and an IAS officer.”

Because he felt that reaching such big positions was impossible for a poor family like theirs. Pooja is the second youngest among her siblings and the fifth daughter of her parents. After her, there is a younger brother.

Pooja said, “My family’s desire for a son was fulfilled with the birth of my younger brother. In the community I come from, a lot of importance is given to the birth of a son. There is no celebration on the birth of a girl, while there is a lot of fanfare on the birth of a boy. This thinking was so deep that it took me several years to fight it and change people’s mentality.”

This environment of social inequality bound Pooja and her sisters together very strongly. The sisters used to have long conversations among themselves about this discrimination, and this created a resolve in Pooja to bring change in society and create a distinct identity for herself.

Studied to get her rights

Pooja said that due to the poor economic condition of the family, all the siblings were taken out of private schools and put into government and Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) schools. Despite limited resources, better performance in studies was expected from them.

For Pooja, studies became the means to get respect in society and at home. She said, “Whenever I scored well in school or exams, my parents would be very happy. Those were the days when I would get more love and attention than my brother. I would just get busy trying to do better to get those moments of love and happiness from my parents.” Today, because of that same determination and struggle, she has emerged as a fighter.

Bangladeshi minister advocated for deeper regional cooperation

Amid this controversy, addressing the seminar, the chief guest and Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid emphasised the importance of deeper regional cooperation in South Asia. Speaking about the current state of the SAARC organisation, she said that we need to bridge the gap between its potential and actual performance.

Referring to the steps to revive the organisation, she said, “The SAARC organisation needs better functioning capacity, more economic strength, more effective practical methods, and a strong follow-up culture to take the work forward.”

She also indicated that in the coming months, Bangladesh is considering taking some concrete steps to increase mutual trust among SAARC countries, which may include talks with SAARC country ambassadors present in Dhaka and contacting the SAARC Secretariat located in Kathmandu.

India’s stand on sovereignty has always been clear

This is not the first time that Indian diplomats have immediately challenged wrong presentations or controversial maps against India on the international stage. The Government of India’s stand on this matter has always been absolutely clear and firm that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is an inseparable and inalienable part of India.

Recently too, during the debate on the annual report of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), when Pakistan raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, India’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations, P. Harish, used the ‘Right to Reply’ and gave a fitting reply to Pakistan.

This is English translation of the original article published in Hindi

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