Vidisha Maitra Is The IFS Officer Who Tore Pakistan’s Speech Apart At The UNGA. She Is A Force To Reckon With And This Is Why We Love Her!
I am a 23-year-old Indian living in Delhi who, from time to time, has her qualms with the way our democracy runs, but I know that I will always stand by my country and I will do that proudly. In the recent past, there has been a lot of upheaval in the political fabric of India, the kind that has invited a lot of criticism and dissent from others who by all accounts, should have no say in it. One of the loudest voices in this cacophony has been Pakistan and their Prime Minister, Imran Khan, who recently delivered what people called a ‘hate speech’ against India at the United Nations General Assembly. What he probably was not expecting though, was for his speech to be pulled apart, thread by thread by a fiery woman. Indian Foreign Service Officer, Vidisha Maitra gave it back to the Pakistan PM fair and square, and then some.
Pakistan venturing to upstream terrorism & downstream hate speech, India mainstreaming development in Jammu & Kashmir
– Vidisha Maitra @IndiaUNNewYorkFull statement https://t.co/aQlEcssL1X pic.twitter.com/TKdadPAnWS
— Syed Akbaruddin (@AkbaruddinIndia) September 28, 2019
Being lauded by the entire nation and many others, Vidisha Maitra is being hailed as the youth diplomat that all of us need to aspire to become. Exercising the Right to Reply at the UNGA, Vidisha Maitra took the floor with her thorough and befitting speech, countering and dissecting every single point that Imran Khan delivered on Friday. Aiming direct questions at PM Khan, Vidisha asked him if he would dare deny being an open defender of Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist who was known to be the mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, or if he could confirm that Pakistan is home to 130 UN designated terrorists and 25 terrorist entities listed by the UN.
Also Read : Article 370 Has Been Scrapped And Just Like Us, Bollywood Is Conflicted About The News!
Addressing and retaliating point by point, with facts, numbers, data and research, Vidisha won over the heart of millions, as she called out Pakistan for all of its political, moral and ethical transgressions. She said, “For someone who was once a cricketer and believed in the gentleman’s game, today’s speech bordered on crudeness of the variety that is reminiscent of the guns of Darra Adam Khel.” Further, making use of the statistics, Vidisha said, “This a country that has shrunk the size of its minority community from 23% in 1947 to 3% today and has subjected Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyas, Hindus, Shias, Pashtuns, Sindhis and Balochis to draconian blasphemy laws, systemic persecution, blatant abuse and forced conversions”.
At this and every other point since Vidisha began to deliver her speech, we wanted to give her a standing ovation, for carefully and beautifully countering PM Imran Khan’s digs at India. Quoting Pakistan as now having become ‘Terroristan’ she called out Pakistan’s callous wordplay, “Us versus Them, Rich versus Poor. North vs South, Developed vs Developing, Muslims vs Others. Words like pogrom, bloodbath, racial superiority, ‘pick up the gun’ and ‘fight to the end’ reflect a medieval mentality.”
Sharp and stinging reply by Vidisha Maitra, India to on Imran Khan speech at the #UNGA. She calls him by his full name Imran Khan Niazi. It won't be lost on Pakistanis or on Imran who never uses his last name. It was Lt Gen Niazi who surrendered to the Indian Army in 1971.
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) September 28, 2019
Vidisha Maitra, First Secretary MEA exercises India's right of reply to Pakistan PM Imran Khan's speech: Citizens of India do not need anyone else to speak on their behalf, least of all those who have built an industry of terrorism from the ideology of hate. https://t.co/sK89cd3VVy pic.twitter.com/sLkB7YXUei
— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2019
Subsequently, talking about the most controversial retraction of Article 370, she called Pakistan’s reaction to it ‘virulent’ and said, “Pakistan’s virulent reaction to the removal of an outdated and temporary provision (Article 370) that was hindering development and integration of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir stems from the fact that those who thrive on conflict never welcome the ray of peace.”
We need more women like Vidisha Maitra, a stalwart IFS Officer, who is the secretary of India at the United Nations and one of the newest members of the UN Mission, to take charge and the kind of young voice India needs. Vidisha is from the 2009 IFS officers and she ranked 39th amongst her batch. At present, Vidisha is India’s first secretary and one of the newest officers at the United Nations and one that we are extremely inspired by.
It was a milestone moment and a speech that shall outlive the turbulent times of India’s political history and Vidisha Maitra has emerged as a voice of reason. More power to her!
