Skip to main content

HENRY KISSINGER

HENRY KISSINGER
By Mohan Guruwamy

Henry Kissinger died yesterday at the age of 100. He was active till almost the end giving his opinion on issues and lending weight to his causes. Over the years I met him a few times. 

The first meeting was in November 1982 when I was in the Mass General Hospital in Boston for the excision of a soft tissue tumour in my head and neck area. On the second morning after surgery I was rolled in on a wheelchair into the solarium to cheer me up and deaden the pain a bit. There was one other person in the solarium, also on a wheelchair. It was Henry Kissinger recovering from open heart surgery. Our nurses rolled the wheelchairs close and took off for a coffee break. He was a much reviled man in Harvard for his role in the Nixon administration and his brand of cynical realpolitik. 

I wished him and said I was a graduate student doing International Relations and Security courses at the Kennedy School that term. He responded with a self deprecatory “guess what, they found I had a heart!” After chuckles he asked if I was an Indian? When I responded in the affirmative he said with a chuckle “I know Mrs. Gandhi and I also know she doesn’t care for me!” We then had a brief chat about my faculty and coursework. Then he suddenly said: “I don’t think there will be a world crisis for the next two weeks!” I asked why he thought so, he replied “because both of us are here!” His deadpan sense of humour delivered in his Teutonic accent was famous.

I then met him when he visited New Delhi in the early 1990’s. It was known that the Narasimha Rao government had retained Kissinger and Associates to bolster India’s standing in the USA and use him to lobby for India in high places. I met him at a small luncheon at the Oberoi hosted for him by a former Indian ambassador in Washington. Kissinger wanted to get a feel of India after reforms and the end of the Cold War. I had been to Russia a few times in the waning Gorbachev era and he was interested in my take. The conversation was interesting and wide ranging. While we were waiting for the lift, I told him about our meeting at Mass General. Without batting an eyelid he said: “Of course I do!” Of course he didn’t. But that’s what made him such a famous diplomat.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Helen Mirren once said: Before you argue with someone, ask yourself.......

Helen Mirren once said: Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective. Because if not, there's absolutely no point. Not every argument is worth your energy. Sometimes, no matter how clearly you express yourself, the other person isn’t listening to understand—they’re listening to react. They’re stuck in their own perspective, unwilling to consider another viewpoint, and engaging with them only drains you. There’s a difference between a healthy discussion and a pointless debate. A conversation with someone who is open-minded, who values growth and understanding, can be enlightening—even if you don’t agree. But trying to reason with someone who refuses to see beyond their own beliefs? That’s like talking to a wall. No matter how much logic or truth you present, they will twist, deflect, or dismiss your words, not because you’re wrong, but because they’re unwilling to see another side. Maturity is...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why BJP is opposing the Telangana caste census?

The BJP opposes the Telangana caste census primarily due to concerns about its political motivations, alleging that the Congress party is using it for electoral gain rather than genuine welfare of Backward Classes (BCs)  1 3 .  BJP leaders argue that the census distracts from Congress's unfulfilled promises to BCs and could exacerbate social divisions  2 4 .  Additionally, there are fears within the BJP that a detailed caste enumeration might reveal ongoing upper-caste dominance in politics and society, which could challenge their support base  7 8 . The BJP's main arguments against the caste census include: Political Manipulation : BJP leaders assert that the Congress party is using the caste census for political advantage rather than for the welfare of Backward Classes (BCs), claiming it distracts from unfulfilled promises made to these communities  2 4 . Threat to Hindutva Agenda : The party views the census as a potential challenge to its support base a...
Post a Comment
Read more

JAI HIND: WHO DO WE OWE IT TO?

Though the origin of Jai Hind is usually ascribed to Chempakaraman  Pillai in 1907, it didn’t have a popular usage till Netaji Bose made it the standard greeting of the INA. How this happened to be has a Hyderabad connection. It is believed by Netaji’s close followers that the slogan "Jai Hind" as coined by Abid Hasan Safrani.   Abid Hasan Safrani  was the son of the soil of Hyderabad in India. His real name was Zainul Abedin Hasan. He preferred to be called Abid Hasan. His parents expired during the British Raj. Before that they had sent him to Germany instead of England for higher studies in Engineering stream. During the that time, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose visited Germany and addressed Indian  prisoners of war & also students and asked them  to join Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj). Abid Hasan met him and got inspired by the charisma of Netaji.  He told him that he would join him after finishing his studies. Netaji said tautingly t...
Post a Comment
Read more