Manmohan Singh was ready for military action against Pak if another Mumbai-like attack took place: Cameron

David Cameron visited India three times as UK’s Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016. He has made several references about his ‘India doctrine’ in his memoir, For The Record, that was released on Thursday. Here are a few:

On Manmohan Singh

“I got on well with prime minister Manmohan Singh. He was a saintly man, but he was robust on the threats India faced. On a later visit he told me that another terrorist attack like that in Mumbai in July 2011 and India would have to take military action against Pakistan.”

On India-UK relations

“When it came to India, I argued that we needed a modern partnership – not one tinged with colonial guilt, but alive to the possibilities of the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy.”

On Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

“This holiest of Sikh sites had been the scene of a massacre in 1919, when British Indian Army soldiers fired upon a peaceful public meeting, killing hundreds of people. No serving prime minister had ever been to Amritsar, let alone expressed regret for what happened…I wanted to change both those things, and would do so after the trade mission – the largest in UK history – I would lead to India in February 2013. Ahead of my visit there was an internal row about whether I should say ‘sorry’…But ultimately, I felt that expressing regret for what I described in the memorial’s book of condolence as ‘a deeply shameful event in British history’ was appropriate. I knew what it meant to British Sikhs that their prime minister had made that gesture, and I’m glad I did so.”

On the Indian Diaspora in UK

“Many of Britain’s most successful business leaders and cultural figures are from the Indian diaspora community and would be our greatest weapons in that endeavour.”