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Indian minister: 'restraint over violence'

By Channel 4 News

Updated on 21 January 2010

Krishnan Guru-Murthy interviews India's minister for external effairs Shashi Tharoor about the David Headley affair and the reaction to the Mumbai attacks.

India's Minister for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

Asked about his reaction to the likely possibility that David Headley will not be extradited to India for trial as he will stand trial in America he said:

"We obviously respect the American legal system and the American legal procedures - it is important to us however that the full truth of what Mr Headley was up to comes out.

"We would like to know exactly what he was doing, at whose behest he was doing it, what his intentions were and what else he might have been attempting to do that haven't yet.

"So there's a great deal that Indian authorities would like to know about Mr Headley and his work. When asked if he believed India was kept in the loop, given how much it's become clear MI6 knew about him was America passing on information to India?

He said: "I'm not quite sure that I do know the answer to it. My impression is we would have liked to known more sooner.

"If another attack were to occur on that scale, would India feel pressured to retaliate?"

The government took the statesmanlike position that to use force would merely play into the hand of the terrorists.

"The fact is India wants to see that Pakistan is serious about reigning in these elements on their soil.

"What was clear about 26/11 was that it was conducted by people on Pakistani territory. These were people who essentially led, directed, guided, financed and even on a minute to minute basis gave instructions to the killers whilst this was going on, and that is something which is extremely difficult for any Indian government to accept."

So has India been a weak power because it has not retaliated?

"As Mahatma Ghandi taught us it actually takes strength to be restrained in the face of violent provocation than it takes to simply retaliate."

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