Into the spotlight: Why India deserves a permanent seat in UN Security Council

The year was 1945, the world was still reeling from a six-year-long war that had left economies and people devastated. What was needed was strong and decisive leadership – one that could lead the way as a new era dawned upon the world. In a nutshell, this is a highly compressed version of what led to the formation of the United Nations (UN), on 24 October 1945, over 75 years ago. At the time, India’s revolutionary movement was at a head, our struggle for freedom was reaching a crescendo and unsurprisingly, the colonial occupiers were forced to relinquish control in less than two years – not before they ruptured the very fabric of our motherland by diving India and Pakistan. 75 years have passed since then; a lot has changed. In fact, with respect to both the aforementioned events i.e. the formation of the United Nations and the independence of India, a lot has changed – internally, externally and globally. While India seems to have evolved into a globally appreciated nation that has embraced modern sensibilities but has learnt from its millennia-old past that championed inclusion and equality, the UN seems to have devolved into a protectionist and isolated organisation that continues to stick to an eight-decade-old position which has become highly irrelevant today. Today, India is the world’s fifth-largest economy, it sends the highest number of UN peacekeepers, it is home to over 18 per cent of the world’s population – and yet, at the UN the age-old rules that only 5 nations may have a seat at the permanent table dictate that India is pushed to a mere participatory role. Moreover, this disparity is further amplified if we consider that India has the world’s largest population of youth as well as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem for whom the UN’s messaging has been discouraging at best. At a time when the world is becoming increasingly digital, India makes 46 per cent of the world’s real-time transactions in a year and yet, our bid for a permanent seat at the UN is still spoken about in hushed tones. When India has the credentials, when India has the history, when India has time and again showcased its commitment to global good – why then are we still a non-permanent member? To use PM Modi’s iconic quote, “The people of India have been waiting for a long time for the completion of the reforms of the United Nations. Today, people of India are concerned whether this reform-process will ever reach its logical conclusion? For how long will India be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations?” In the last nine years alone, India’s role in global affairs has expanded exponentially and with it has expanded India’s global footprint. Today, in addition to 140 crore Indians at home, we are the world’s largest diaspora with over 1.8 crore Indians living in countries around the world. Consider this, when the COVID-19 pandemic eased, over 13 lakh Indians took up jobs around the world; all in 2022 alone. In 2021, Indians sent home around $89 billion in remittances, that’s equal to what the Filipinos, the French and the Germans sent home in remittances – combined! At the UN, ignoring India’s clout has become impossible and yet, for some unknown reason, the sidelining continues. Take for example our election to the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 2021-22 for a two-year term with over 95 per cent of the votes polled in our favour; not to mention that this was the eighth time in the UN’s 77 years of existence that India was voted into the UNSC. India was also voted into the UN Statistical Commission for a four-year term with over 86 per cent of the votes polled in India’s favour. In 2022, we added 10 iconic destinations to UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. In 2021, we were elected to the UN Economic Council and the UN Human Rights Council. A year before that, it was the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Let us also remember that 29 crore doses, affordable medicines and life-saving drugs by tonnes were sent to nations across the world – all because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to the ancient Indian ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam (The world in one family). Now let’s look at our leadership potential – India currently presides over the G20, India ensured that the strides we made towards mainstreaming Solar Power were shared with the world with the International Solar Alliance (a global grouping of over 100 nations). At the UN headquarters, India spearheaded the establishment of the Gandhi Solar Park with a $1 million grant. Similarly, India’s proposal to observe 21 June as the International Day Yoga was endorsed by a record 175 member states – that’s close to 91 per cent. Each year millions around the world come together to practice yoga and adopt this ancient Indian science as the key to health and disciplined life – this year, with the theme of ‘Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a historic yoga session at the United Nations itself. A similar proposal from India to observe 2023 as the International Day of Millets was also unanimously supported by the UN and its members. Millets, a highly nutritious ‘superfood’, require a lesser amount of water and care to grow and have the potential to become a pillar of ensuring global security in the world. One may ask what grounds does India have to make such a proposal, well, India did successfully run the world’s largest food security programme – the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana – feeding over 80 crore Indians through the toughest years of a once-in-a-century pandemic. We must also remember that this was done in tandem with the world’s largest voluntary vaccination drive under which more than 220 crore vaccines have been administered in the fastest possible time. Not to mention the world’s largest health insurance scheme – the Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana – that has ensured that hospital admissions for over 4 crore Indians were covered, saving upwards of Rs. 50,000 crore. Dozens of nations have called for a permanent seat for India at the UNSC – because India has emerged as a voice for the developing world. An example is India’s call for greater representation of African nations at the UNSC and the fact that when it comes to the Global South, it is India that nations look up to; it is India that millions would like to see as a proponent of their demands; it is India that more than half the world trusts; it is time that the other minority half accepts it too. The author is an anchor for New India Junction, a prominent news and analysis channel. Views are personal.   Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.